This award is for columnists or expert contributors whose personal writing style offers a fresh perspective to either consumer or business magazine media brands. They reach their audiences through a regular column or feature, or by blog, e-mail or newsletter. Their creative approach and view points enable them to be a trailblazer for the community they serve.

Entries should demonstrate:

• an authoritative writing style
• content which is trustworthy, informative, educational or leads opinion within a target community
• a sense of personality and individual style which is obvious throughout the series of features

Individuals can only enter into Columnist/Expert Contributor OR Writer of the year, not both

Innovation, knowing your audience, and flawless execution are all central components of creating great content. This award is open to content marketing agencies and to in-house teams focused on offering content marketing solutions.

Entries should demonstrate:

• success in enhancing their market position through the development of their client’s brands
• strong commercial performance
• creativity, new approaches and innovation backed up with solid results
• how the team's collaborative working and strategic goals have exceeded business expectations

A great designer truly understands their audience and brings to life the essence and personality of their brand.

This award is open to Creative Directors, Art Directors or Designers whose skilful and distinctive work has elevated a media brand or publication.

Entries should demonstrate:

• evidence of how the design work has played a key part in the overall success of the brand or publication
• excellent use of photography, typography and illustration
• imaginative and creative designs which push the usual boundaries
• an awareness of the needs of the target audience

Please enter nominees for one brand/publication only. Individuals may enter this category once only.

Editors are the beating heart of a publication. This award celebrates the editors of a B2B media brand or publication whose consistent brilliance and understanding of their industry sector has put their brand at the forefront of the market. They know their audience needs and deliver a high standard of content that is both trusted and helps their communities in their roles.

Entries should demonstrate:

• high quality journalism and understanding of the industry developments
• significant editorial developments and initiatives
• understanding and engagement with the market and/or audience
• impressive results including audience reach and commercial performance

Please enter nominees for one brand/publication only. Individuals may enter this category once only.

Editors are the beating heart of a publication. This award celebrates the editors of a consumer media brand or publication whose consistent brilliance and understanding of their industry sector has put their brand at the forefront of the market. They know their audience needs and deliver a high standard of content that is both trusted and helps their communities in their roles.

Entries should demonstrate:

• high quality journalism and understanding of the industry developments
• significant editorial developments and initiatives
• understanding and engagement with the market and/or audience
• impressive results including audience reach and commercial performance

Please enter nominees for one brand/publication only. Individuals may enter this category once only.

This award is for businesses who have excelled at engagement with their teams, promoted employee welfare, and have showed strong support for both their internal workforce and for the wider community in which they operate.

Entries should demonstrate:

• clear strategies around employee development and retention
• well thought through ED&I policies
• a clearly understood and well communicated company culture
• open communication channels with teams and opportunities for staff to provide feedback
• examples of going the extra mile to provide a supportive and welcoming workplace

Successful teams are goal-focused, communicate well and support each other to deliver on business objectives.

Truly great teams have that bit of extra magic that sees them make a significant impact in their sector, working together to overcome obstacles and collaborating for the benefit of their organisation. This award is for a team or department that has excelled in making a positive and measurable contribution to the company in 2022.

Eligible teams include, but are not limited to: Commercial, Content, Product, Marketing, HR, Operations, Finance, Data, Subscriptions, Business Development and Events.

Entries should demonstrate:

• positive and measurable contribution to the overall company strategy
• how the team's collaborative working and strategic goals have exceeded business expectations
• creativity, new approaches, and innovation backed up with solid results

The best writers have a unique style and an engaging way with words. For those who craft compelling content that connects with an audience, this award is for you.

This award is open to anyone who writes for a media brand or publication on one platform or across multiple platforms.

Entries must demonstrate:

• original, entertaining and engaging writing style
• well researched and credible journalism
• content that is appropriate to the relevant audience
• a distinctive personal style

Individuals can only enter into Columnist/Expert Contributor OR Writer of the year, not both.

Truly great commercial partnerships will deliver both the goals of the advertiser whilst generating traction amongst the target audience through their marketing solutions. The winning partnership will demonstrate innovation and ROI for an advertiser brand or product, across multiple platforms.

Entries should demonstrate:

• a real understanding of their audience and community that enabled them to meet the brief
• clear objectives and mutual goals, and how these were delivered
• strong commercial performance
• creativity and innovation, which has generated significant traction among the target audience

Truly great commercial partnerships will deliver both the goals of the advertiser whilst generating traction amongst the target audience. The winning partnership will demonstrate strong commercial performance for an advertiser brand, product, or marketing service across any publisher platform.

Entries should demonstrate:

• a real understanding of their audience and community that enabled them to meet the brief
• clear objectives and mutual goals, and how these were delivered
• strong commercial performance
• creativity and innovation, which has generated significant traction among the target audience

Events bring our brands to life, allowing interaction with customers and forging closer ties with key audiences.

This award will recognise an outstanding event, either in-person, hybrid, or online, at which a B2B publisher brings together its target audience. The event can either stem from an existing parent brand or be a wholly standalone experience.

Entries should demonstrate:

• evidence of innovation and creativity in relation to the event format and content
• increased audience reach and/or strong commercial performance
• deep levels of engagement with the target audience
• how the event serves the audience beyond the day itself

Events bring our brands to life, allowing interaction with customers and forging closer ties with key audiences.

This award will recognise an outstanding event, either in-person, hybrid, or online, at which a B2C publisher brings together its target audience. The event can either stem from an existing parent brand or be a wholly standalone experience.

Entries should demonstrate:

• evidence of innovation and creativity in relation to the event format and content
• increased audience reach and/or strong commercial performance
• deep levels of engagement with the target audience
• how the event serves the audience beyond the day itself

Do you go the extra mile for your clients or do you work with a partner that does this for you? This award recognises the suppliers to the specialist media industry with an exemplary record of customer service, who regularly over-deliver, ensure challenges are overcome with minimal fuss and proactively suggest initiatives that deliver.

Any organisation that supplies a product, platform or service to the industry can enter, from distribution and fulfilment, to digital publishing, ad tech, training, subscription management, printing, retail, marketing, event services and beyond.

Entries should demonstrate:

• evidence of service levels and a genuine partnership approach
• meeting or exceeding client objectives and expectations
• innovation and creativity in finding solutions
• working towards sustainability alternatives and best working practices
  

For the purpose of this award, an innovation is anything which expands the reach and influence of a brand or publication among an existing/new target audience. Innovations can include (but not restricted to) launches, new products, innovative use of data or audience insights, new methods of working, enhanced communication methods or cultural change.

Entries should demonstrate: 

• significance and value to the audience and/or business whilst adding to the consumer experience
• a creative and innovative approach
• strong commercial performance
• longer-term vision and sustainability of the relationships and revenues generated

A great media brand stands head and shoulders above its peers. They produce content their audience wants, tackle important topics in their sector, inform their communities and have an authoritative voice in their market.

This award is for a business media brand or market intelligence product which demonstrates:

• how they understand and meet the needs of their target audience
• strong commercial performance
• editorial and design that represents and enhances the brand
• innovation in responding to the changing dynamics of its market
• a multi-channel approach that creates a deeper engagement with the target audience

Please note that brands cannot enter both Media Brand of the Year and Special Interest Magazine Brand of the Year.

A great media brand stands head and shoulders above its peers. They produce content their audience wants, tackle important topics in their sector, inform their communities and have an authoritative voice in their market.

This award is for a consumer media brand which demonstrates:

• how they understand and meet the needs of their target audience
• strong commercial performance
• editorial and design that represents and enhances the brand
• innovation in responding to the changing dynamics of its market
• a multi-channel approach that creates a deeper engagement with the target audience

This category honours the brilliantly crafted newsletters that showcase a unique voice of a business or publication, providing a personal touchpoint with customers. From regular news digests, sharing ideas and insight, to delivering invaluable information and opinion, this award will recognise the creativity, engagement and personalisation that comes from truly knowing your audience.

Entries can be for newsletters created to complement existing brands or publications, to help launch new ones, or as a standalone product.

Entries should clearly demonstrate the following:

• performance against objectives
• excellent audience engagement and readership figures (please provide metrics)
• innovation and creativity
• original content which meets the needs of the target audience
• well researched topics and trusted content resources

Truly great podcasts connect specialist media brands with their audiences and engage communities around topics they are passionate about.

This award is for podcasts which are created by publishers to complement existing brands or publications, or stand alone ones. The podcasts can be produced using in-house technology or external production support.

Entries should demonstrate:

• excellent audience engagement and listening figures (in the context of specialism universe size)
• innovation and creativity
• original content which meets the needs of the target audience
• long term sustainability in line with brand objectives
  

Delivering specialist content to engaged audiences is what this industry is all about. This category celebrates the special interest brands of which the title or description addresses a specific B2B community or sector, or consumer leisure interest – from architecture to medicine, food to sport, and everything in between.

Entries should demonstrate:

• understanding of the needs of the target audience
• strong commercial performance
• editorial and design that represents and enhances the brand
• innovation in responding to the changing dynamics of its market
• a multi-channel approach that creates a deeper engagement with the target audience

Please note that brands cannot enter both Media Brand of the Year and Special Interest Brand of the Year.

Brought to you by the PPA Next Gen Board

This new award has been created to recognise the huge variety of audiences who trust and engage with specialist media, and the value these communities bring to both commercial partners and publishers.

As well as providing background insight and data about the particular community you serve, judges will be looking to understand how you deliver content and value to this audience, as well as opportunities for commercial monetisation. You will need to be able to demonstrate the impact of your activity – engagement, audience growth, commercial performance, as well as evidence of advertiser ROI, across the eligibility period (1 January 2023 – 31 January 2024).

Entries should demonstrate:

• Scope of community (size, sector, personas)
• How and why the community comes together
• Community data insight integration
• Alignment of content with community values
• Monetisation model
• Development of community within the eligibility period (1 January 2023 – 31 January 2024)

With this particular award, the PPA is looking to compile a series of case studies to demonstrate the value of our specialist audiences. Please bear this in mind when compiling your entry. We will not share your entry outside of the judging process without contacting you first.

Smart thinking, audience insight and clear goals are key ingredients to highly effective campaigns. This award looks to recognise a campaign with internal or external objectives that overcame challenges and embraced new approaches to deliver significant results. This can be anything from subscriptions campaigns, to campaigns for good where specialist publishers use their platforms to reach key audiences with important causal messages.

Entries should demonstrate:

• performance against objectives
• where the campaign sits within the context of the brand strategy
• creativity, new approaches, and innovation
• solid results
  

Children's brands are uniquely placed to serve a younger audience in clever, creative and informative ways.

This award celebrates any brand or magazine who publishes specialist content for the younger reader, including the teen market.

Entries should demonstrate:

• understanding of the needs of the target audience
• strong commercial performance
• engaging and informative editorial content
• a commitment to championing and demonstrating diversity in across the brand
• creative design appropriate for the audience

Standout covers can be headline grabbing, a piece of art, or simply capturing a moment or theme that makes the reader want to find out more.

This award is for the standout front covers from 2023 that were simply unmissable, and which really captured that magical magazine moment.

Entries should demonstrate:

• instant impact
• an enticing promise
• how the cover supports sales/readership figures and fits in with the overall brand positioning

The judges shortlist will be put to public vote to help decide the winner. Brands/publications may enter multiple front covers.

This award will go to a business who can demonstrate excellent use of data to deliver value. This might be in the form of a data driven product or by using data and insights to better inform their audience or commercial strategy.

Projects can include a focus on:

• factuality and quality
• data driven journalism
• engagement that drives loyalty and returning visits
• segmentation, retention, acquisition of the audience
• lifetime value of the subscriptions
• innovative ways to drive registration products

This award seeks to recognise a company, brand, or publication that takes recognising the importance of diversity across their business and publications one step further by actively tackling inequalities and dismantling barriers. The winner of this award might have created an inclusive workplace in which all employees not just feel valued but thrive, or a product or campaign which serves, promotes, and upholds underrepresented communities.

Entries must demonstrate at least one of the following:

• widening participation in publishing – engaging underrepresented audiences, raising awareness of publishing as a career, or inspiring the next generation of diverse talent
• a track record of successfully embedding a commitment to ED&I in all areas of operations in-depth understanding of ED&I by all stakeholders
• demonstratable positive action taken to recruit, train and develop a workforce profile that is representative of its audiences and the communities that it serves
• a redressing of under-representation in senior roles in a sustainable manner

All entries must be able to demonstrable results of the positive impact of work in this area.

Successful subscription business models and strategies are at the core of many brands. This award looks to the teams utilising audience knowledge, smart thinking and clever use of data to deliver new customers and retain loyal ones.

This will celebrate a brand that has maximised revenue through effective implementation of a new or enhanced subscriptions initiative.

Entries should demonstrate:

• innovation and creativity
• understanding of the target market
• effective use of data to drive conversions
• strong commercial performance
  

This award looks to reward and champion a change, campaign, project or event (internal or external) that has enhanced the social and environmental credentials of the publishing company in 2023.

Entries should demonstrate:

• an understanding of the company’s responsibility towards a more sustainable now (and future)
• the impact of the movement on the business
• the success in relation to the objectives and expectations