There was a shortage of good news for Asia-Pacific publishers when IfraExpo in Amsterdam opened this morning with the announcement of winners in its XMA Cross Media Awards. The annual awards are however, a good ‘checklist’ of some of the best crossmedia projects in the world. This year’s prize was focussed on advertising projects that best featured the messages of commercial customers. Says Jochen Dieckow, IFRA research manager and member of the jury, “Some media houses are able to not just 'play one instrument', but manage a whole 'orchestra'. “They are not just selling space, they are consulting their customers for tailor-made solutions to achieve the best possible efficiency." Some 66 different projects were entered by publishers from 27 countries, and can be viewed at www.ifra.com/xma. Winners are: Category A (small newspapers with a daily circulation below 100,000 copies): 1st place: Herald Express News & Media (XMA project: “Mod my motor”), Plymouth, UK. Working as one unit, the editorial, online, advertising and newspaper sales teams of this newspaper launched the competition “Mod My Motor”. Marketing the project included networking with local and social website databases with registered user groups. Readers could win with their cars a makeover worth over £5,000. Comments of the jury: Robert Cauthorn, CEO CityTools, USA:“I LOVE this idea. It leaps off the page, allows media to occupy a new place in people's lives, tries to reach a new audience and it's incredibly fun.” Dietmar Schantin, IFRA Director of Newsplex: ”Well executed translation of an existing format to the newspaper and online world.” 2nd place: Bocholter-Borkener Volksblatt – BBV (XMA project: “all cross-media business is local”), Bocholt, Germany. By performing the classic media formats along with the "newcomers" (internet, SMS, Internet TV, shopping Centre TV), BBV offers its clients planning, design and implementation of their campaign in a single-stop. Comments of the jury: Jochen Dieckow, IFRA Research Manager: “The publishing house as a creative partner for the local advertising customer.” Christina Gräf-Schlepütz, Managing Director, MPG Solutions, Germany: “An exceptional idea within the publishing house to build an interdisciplinary team (sales, editorial, IT), in order to offer the customer a 360 degree service.” 3rd place: Oberhessische Presse (“Our presence on all channels”), Marburg, Germany. The project offers a cross-media strategy both to new and loyal customers, including video production for the clients. Comments of the jury: Klaus Kurz, Adobe Business Development Manager: “Great idea to offer full service video creation and production services.” Duncan Currall, Regional Managing Director, South West Media Group, UK: “A good example of convergence in the newsrooms coordinated with commercial.” Category B (medium-sized newspapers with a daily circulation between 100,000 and 250,000 copies): 1st place: MiD-DAY (Bollywood lunch contest), Mumbai, India. Readers could win a lunch date with a Bollywood star. The contest has not only become a great revenue source for MiD DAY: today film producers get involved with the initiative as sponsors. Moreover, it has contributed in creating unforgettable ‘fun’ memories for its audience. Comments of the jury: Robert Cauthorn: “A wonderful and creative project - this reaches outside the media itself to participate in society and that makes all the difference in the world.” Michael Heipel, IFRA Director of Exhibitions and Sales: “This project is based on a proper long-term strategy, targeting a clearly defined audience and offering a highly emotional brand platform.“ 2nd place: Ringier, cash (“Cross-media marketplace for the derivative market in Switzerland”), Zurich, Switzerland. cash daily is the daily business and finance newspaper that has established itself as an indispensible medium for derivative emitters to advertise new products. Comments of the jury: Christina Gräf-Schlepütz: “cash offers an added value through the structuring of relevant information –with regards to content, and adjusted to the consumer adoption of innovations.” Theo Blanco, Senior Sales and Marketing Director, Upsala Nya Tidning, Sweden: “Great creative, very professional material, and a true multimedia venture.” 3rd place: Večernji List (“Volim…”), Zagreb, Croatia. Present as a media brand in the communication platforms print, online and mobile, Večernji List has launched the photography competition project “Volim …” (“I like ...”). Comments of the jury: Robert Cauthorn: “This is the sort of initiative more publishers should be engaged in. It attracts new advertisers and creates a deeper relationship with readers.” Jochen Dieckow: “An intelligent brand extension, it shows a good connection between reader and advertisers’ interests.” Category C (large-sized newspapers with a daily circulation more than 250,000 copies): 1st place: Verdens Gang („Gunvors Påske“), Oslo, Norway. “Gunvors Påske” is a comedy and entertainment concept developed exclusively for VG's platforms. It was the first professionally produced TV-concept created only for web-TV in Norway. Through this project the company has established itself as an entertainment provider. Comments of the jury: Robert Cauthorn: “This is an exceptional project in every way and the results for the advertiser speak for themselves. The notion of a news-paper organization stepping out to create radically new content is thrilling.” Theo Blanco: “Great integration of all media-house platforms. A-Z client service including transparency with regards to the results.” 2nd place: Associated Newspapers – The Mail on Sunday (“Sainsbury’s Active Kids 2008”), London, UK. The Mail on Sunday launched this project in co-operation with the supermarket chain Sainsbury’s. The motto was to “Get Britain’s Kids Active”, the target was to reinforce Sainsbury’s positioning as the supermarket “that makes a difference to the community”. With clearly measurable results, the project boosted Sainsbury’s image as a company that cares about healthy living. Comments of the jury: Robert Cauthorn: “The Mail On Sunday's Sainsbury promotion represents the kind of creativity newspapers need to succeed in the future. This project shows what a creative organization can do to meet today's challenges.” Theo Blanco: “A great idea attracting the youth with a high awareness factor which met the goals of the campaign, design was fabulous, a nicely implemented multimedia campaign.” 3rd place: Axel Springer (“Weltklasse”), Berlin, Germany. WELT KLASSE is a cross media advertising platform for the premium segment via channels such as print, online, and TV, as well as mobile and POS. The project coordinates all resources: advertising department, special topics editing, graphics, media planning, direct marking, online, and TV. Comments of the jury: Klaus Kurz: “Impressive multimedia implementation. Powerful usage of the print media for exclusive product promotion.” Dietmar Schantin: “Die Welt endeavours to be the solution provider for the advertiser and to use the whole power of the brand to bring their message across.” The winners and sponsors of the XMA Awards 2008 are displayed at a special exhibit area at IFRA Expo Amsterdam (Fly-over between halls 8 and 9/10). An ePaper with information about all winning projects can be viewed at www.ifra.com/xma. On Wednesday 29 October from 15:00 onwards pictures of the Award Ceremony will be available for downloading at www.ifra.com/xma-photos. The IFRA XMA Cross Media Awards 2008 are sponsored by Adobe and Protec and supported by Atex, Funkinform, KnowledgeView and nStein. The official publication of the XMA Awards is the IFRA Magazine, the awards are supported by the media partner, Horizont. Next year’s IFRA cross-media competition will focus on outstanding crossmedia branding and design across all channels of a news publishing house. For more information, contact Michael Heipel, XMA project manager, email xma@ifra.com.