Publishers in India, and the Asia Pacific are prominent among finalists in INMA's Global Media Awards announced today.

Some 115 finalists in 20 categories are named, with the first-place, regional and 'best in show' to be announced at a dinner on May 23 at the conclusion of the INMA World Congress.

Organisers received 655 entries from 196 media companies in 36 countries, with entries coming from newspapers, magazines, digital media, TV and radio. They were judged by an international panel of 44 executives from 17 countries.

Competition focussed on six crucial activities - energising brands; creating new products; growing, engaging, and monetising audiences; growing advertising revenue; developing customer insights and instilling innovation.

Executive director and chief executive of INMA Earl Wilkinson says creativity abounds across the media community internationally: "Notable this year was the diversity of media companies, including television and digital, along with strong performances from the South Pacific and Scandinavia.

"The news media industry gets smarter as that diversity expands."

Finalists from India, southeast Asia and Australasia are:

India's Kasturi & Sons was honoured in the public relations and community service campaign category.

ABP, HT Media and Jagran Prakashan in India and Australia's Leader Community News were honoured for best use of an event to build a news brand.

News Corp's Summer Time Magazine, and South China Morning Post's This Week in Asia were among finalists in the best new print product category.

News Corp's delicious.100 and NZME's NZ Herald Focus are shortlisted for the best launch of a brand or product to create an audience segment.

Australia's Advertiser Newspapers is a finalist for News Corp Australia's Digital Retail Impulse Stands in the best use of new technology to generate revenue and engage and also for best idea to encourage print readership or engagement, where Jagran Prakashan is also a finalist for its When a Newspaper Decided to Become the Nation's Teacher.

Fairfax New Zealand's Stuff is shortlisted in best idea to grow digital readership or engagement for its Civil Society promotion.

Indonesia's Brilio.net - for 29 Day Instagram Challenge - and Australia's NewsLocal are among those honoured for the best use of social media.

Three Australian businesses, News Corp's Herald Sun (for Data-Driven Subscription Audience Growth) and News Regional Media, Fortitude Valley (for Free NutriBullet or Fitbit), and Fairfax Media (for Instant Access to Premium Content for Australian Businesses) are shortlisted for best new paid content or subscription initiative.

Fairfax's Australian Community Media, Nowra (for Connect with Classifieds) and Jagran Prakashan in New Dehli (for The Gamification of Advertising Sales for Revenue Growth) are shortlisted in the best idea to grow advertising sales or retain advertising clients category.

News Regional Media, Fortitude Valley (Hey Mumma and OMO), Singapore Press Holdings (Courts BrandInsider), Made By Fairfax (The Podcast that Turned a Brand into a Storyteller) and NZME (Brand USA 2016 Road Trip) are all shortlisted for the best marketing solution for an advertising client.

APN Australian Regional Media (for OMO Front Page Wrap), Singapore Press Holdings (The Animated and Interactive New Paper), and Times of India, New Delhi (No Honking Drive) are finalists in best execution of print advertising.

Fairfax's Domain business is shortlisted for Domain and National Australia Bank Commercial Content in best execution of native advertising.

News Corp, Bowen Hills (for More Valuable), Fairfax Media, Sydney (Fairfax Media - Independent News for Independent Thinkers), and Fairfax Media, New Zealand (Driving Audience Growth and Consumption Using Data Analytics) are shortlisted for best use of data analytics

Leader Community News, Melbourne (Your Neighbourhood Research) was the only finalist in the best use of consumer research category.

News Corp Australia (for delicious.100 - Creating Tasty New Revenue Streams), and Fairfax Media (The Store) are shortlisted for best new concept or innovation to create new profit centres.

Here's the full list:

Finalists below are listed alphabetically. Group 1 represents regional/local brands. Group 2 represents global/national brands.

Category 1: Best Brand Awareness Campaign

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

Berliner Morgenpost, Berlin, Germany, "Brand Campaign for the Launch of Berliner Morgenpost Compact"

Toronto Star, Canada, "Toronto Star Touch"

Winnipeg Free Press, Canada, "The Value of Local Journalism"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

Financial Times, New York, United States, "Facts. Truths."

Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore, "A Micro Film entitled Pa's Expressions"

WeltN24, Berlin, Germany, "WELT Campaign"

Category 2: Best Public Relations or Community Service Campaign

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

El Colombiano, Envigado, Colombia, "Plebiscite on the Scale: Casting a Conscientious Vote"

DMNmedia/The Dallas Morning News, United States, "The Dallas Morning News Charities Campaign 2016-2017"

Kasturi & Sons, Chennai, India, "The Hindu Tamil - Tamil Nadu Election Campaign 2016"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

24sata, Zagreb, Croatia, "Better Education for Better Croatia"

Independent Media, Cape Town, South Africa, "Racism Stops with Me"

KSF Media, Helsingfors, Finland, "HBL Launching the Mobile Service Recommend a Refugee - A Small Step for a Greater Good"

Category 3: Best Use of an Event to Build a News Brand

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

ABP, Kolkata, India, "The Telegraph SHE Awards"

HT Media, Mumbai, India, "HT No TV Day"

Leader Community News, Melbourne, Australia, "Snap Melbourne"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

The Economist, London, United Kingdom, "The Economist's Pride & Prejudice Event and Campaign"

Jagran Prakashan, New Delhi, India, "The Road to India's 'Epic' Issue"

NBC News Digital, New York, United States, "Virtual Democracy Plaza"

Category 4: Best New Print Product

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

Independent Media, Cape Town, South Africa, "Home Property Magazine Kwa-Zulu Natal"

LNP Media Group, Lancaster, United States, "Sunday Magazine: For People Who Love Lancaster County"

News Corp, Surry Hills, Australia, "Summer Time Magazine"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

Blank Spot Project, Stockholm, Sweden, "Blankspot #0"

The Economist, London, United Kingdom, "The Economist's 1843 Magazine"

South China Morning Post, New Territories - Hong Kong, "This Week in Asia"

Category 5: Best Use of Mobile

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

Correio, Salvador, Brazil, "Segmented WhatsApp Groups"

Newsday, Melville, United States, "Newsday Sports App"

Toronto Star, Canada, "thestar.com, Toronto Star, SMG Digital"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

O Estado de São Paulo, Brazil, "Songs of Violence"

Grupa Onet-RAS Polska, Warsaw, Poland, "Onet 4.0"

Wall Street Journal, New York, United States, "WSJ VR for Daydream"

Category 6: Best Use of Video

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

Calgary Herald, Canada, "Without Limits: Kids with Special Needs"

Domain, Pyrmont, Australia, "Domain Satirical Video Series: Avalon Now"

KIT, Stockholm, Sweden, "Doing Something Different - How KIT Video Changed Social Video in Sweden"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

The Guardian, London, United Kingdom, "Dab - Shareable Videos from The Guardian"

Hürriyet, Istanbul, Turkey, "Hürriyet - Kilis 360"

Independent Media MOJO, Cape Town, South Africa, "Don't Look Away: 16 Days of Activism"

Category 7: Best Launch of a Brand or Product to Create An Audience Segment

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

Austin American-Statesman, United States, "Austin360 Live Video Concert Series"

Berliner Morgenpost, Berlin, Germany, "Brand Campaign for the Launch of Berliner Morgenpost Compact"

News Corp, Surry Hills, Australia, "delicious.100 - Catering to a New Audience"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

Financial Times, London, United Kingdom, "FT.com New Website"

NZME, Auckland, New Zealand, "NZ Herald Focus"

De Persgroep, Kobbegem, Belgium, "Topics"

Category 8: Best Use of New Technology to Generate Revenue and Engage

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

Advertiser Newspapers, Adelaide, Australia, "News Corp Australia's Digital Retail Impulse Stands"

Albuquerque Journal, United States, "Print in Motion / Classifieds"

MittMedia, Gävle, Sweden, "Local MittMedia takes the Lead on Live News Video in Sweden"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

O Estado de São Paulo, Brazil, "Songs of Violence"

Financial Times, London, United Kingdom, "FT.com: The Fastest Publisher Site Worldwide"

Multipass, Paris, France, "Multipass"

Category 9: Best Idea to Encourage Print Readership or Engagement

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

Advertiser Newspapers, Adelaide, Australia, "News Corp Australia's Digital Retail Impulse Stands"

Berliner Morgenpost, Berlin, Germany, "Brand Campaign for the Launch of Berliner Morgenpost Compact"

BZV Medienhaus, Braunschweig, Germany, "Citizen´s Newspaper - Die Bürgerzeitung"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

Agora, Warsaw, Poland, "Writers' Newspaper"

Jagran Prakashan, New Delhi, India, "When a Newspaper Decided to Become the Nation's Teacher"

Schibsted, Oslo, Norway, "360° Campaign Print and Digital"

Category 10: Best Idea to Grow Digital Readership or Engagement

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

Bergens Tidende & Schibsted, Oslo, Norway, "BT Junior"

Newsday, Melville, United States, "Newsday's Battle of the Bands"

Winnipeg Free Press, Canada, "The Winnipeg Free Press Insiders Program"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

Schibsted, Oslo, Norway, "Good Taste - Good Reading"

Stuff, Fairfax, Wellington, New Zealand, "Civil Society"

USA Today Network, McLean, United States, "Voting Because"

Category 11: Best Use of Social Media

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

Brilio.net, Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia, "Instagram Competition - 29 Day Challenge"

NewsLocal, Surry Hills, Australia, "SnapAustralia"

Zero Hora, Porto Alegre, Brazil, "Zero Hora Social Networks"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

Aftenposten, Oslo, Norway, "#DearMark: How Aftenposten Stood up against Facebook"

Kvällstidningen Expressen, Stockholm, Sweden, "Magda Gad - World-Class War Coverage and Interaction on Facebook"

NBC News Digital, New York, United States, "NBCNews Social Media: Election 2016"

Category 12: Best New Paid Content or Subscription Initiative

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

Herald Sun, Southbank, Australia, "Data-Driven Subscription Audience Growth"

News Regional Media, Fortitude Valley, Australia, "Free NutriBullet or Fitbit"

Judges awarded only two finalists in this group

Group 2: Global/National Brands

15min, Vilnius, Lithuania, "Stop Selling - Start Telling: 15min's Paywall Initiative Against Ad-Blockers"

Fairfax Media, Sydney, Australia, "Fairfax Media - Instant Access to Premium Content for Australian Businesses"

De Persgroep, Kobbegem, Belgium, "Topics for Subscribers of Newsbrands"

Category 13: Best Idea to Grow Advertising Sales or Retain Advertising Clients

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media, Nowra, Australia, "Connect with Classifieds"

The Oklahoman Media Company, United States, "New Business Acquisition Campaign"

Russmedia, Schwarzach, Austria, "VN - Brand Initiative for SMBs"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

Bonnier News, Stockholm, Sweden, "Bonnier News Brand Studio Full Service Integrated Marketing Solutions - The Mazda Case"

Ekstra Bladet, Copenhagen, Denmark, "Programmatic Print - Revolutionizing the Trading of Print"

Jagran Prakashan, New Dehli, India, "The Gamification of Advertising Sales for Revenue Growth"

Category 14: Best Marketing Solution for an Advertising Client

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

AdTaxi, Denver, United States, "Driving the Metrics that Matter with Magellan"

News Regional Media, Fortitude Valley, Australia, "Hey Mumma and OMO"

Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore, "Courts BrandInsider"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

The Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland, "The Irish Times and VHI - Let's Talk Fertility"

Made By Fairfax, Pyrmont, Australia, "The Podcast that Turned a Brand into a Storyteller"

NZME, Auckland, New Zealand, "Brand USA 2016 Road Trip"

Category 15: Best Execution of Print Advertising

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

APN Australian Regional Media, Fortitude Valley, Australia, "OMO Front Page Wrap"

The Oklahoman Media Company, United States, "The Oklahoman's Print Advertising Campaign"

Russmedia, Schwarzach, Austria, "Shopping - Preferably in Vorarlberg"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

Metro Toronto, Canada, "Big Friendly Giant"

Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore, "The Animated and Interactive New Paper"

Times of India, New Delhi, India, "No Honking Drive"

Category 16: Best Execution of Native Advertising

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

Domain, Pyrmont, Australia, "Domain and National Australia Bank Commercial Content"

Russmedia, Schwarzach, Austria, "The Gams Story"

USA Today Network - Gannett, Indianapolis, United States, "Banner Core"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

Forbes Media, Jersey City, United States, "Forbes with KPMG - The Great Rewrite"

The Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland, "The Irish Times and The Audi Q7 - The Best of Both Worlds"

News UK, London, United Kingdom, "News UK Video"

Category 17: Best Use of Data Analytics

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

News Corp Australia, Bowen Hills, Australia, "More Valuable"

Newsday, Melville, United States, "Newsday's Predictive Data Analytics Driving Subscriber Retention"

Toronto Star, Canada, "Toronto Star Touch"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

Aftenposten and Schibsted, Oslo, Norway, "Aftenposten Subscription Purchase Prediction"

Fairfax Media, Sydney, Australia, "Fairfax Media - Independent News for Independent Thinkers"

Fairfax Media, Auckland, New Zealand, "Driving Audience Growth and Consumption Using Data Analytics"

Category 18: Best Use of Consumer Research

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

Leader Community News, Melbourne, Australia, "Your Neighbourhood Research"

Judges awarded only one finalist in this group

Group 2: Global/National Brands

The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada, "Context Matters"

Independent News & Media, Dublin, Ireland, "The Book of Evidence"

Trinity Mirror, London, United Kingdom, "Modal Britain - Life Outside the Bubble"

Category 19: Best New Corporate Innovation Initiative

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

La Voz del Interior, Córdoba, Argentina, "La Voz del Interior Shifting to Innovation"

Judges awarded only one finalist in this group

Group 2: Global/National Brands

Dainik Bhaskar, Bhopal, India, "A Newspaper's Quest to Unleash the Power of Comics"

Folha de São Paulo, Brazil, "Journalism for the Experienced"

Schibsted Media Group, Stockholm, Sweden, "Schibsted Creation Suite: Eliminating Legacy Workflows and Empowering Innovation"

Category 20: Best New Concept or Innovation to Create New Profit Centers

Group 1: Regional/Local Brands

News Corp Australia, Surry Hills, Australia, "delicious.100 - Creating Tasty New Revenue Streams"

Stadsporten Citygate, Stockholm, Sweden, "Repositioning the Local Media House as a One-Stop Shop for Local SME Marketing Needs"

Toronto Star, Canada, "Headline Coffee: Because Coffee and the Newspaper Just Make Sense"

Group 2: Global/National Brands

24sata, Zagreb, Croatia, "Going Where No Croatian Media has Gone Before"

Ekstra Bladet, Copenhagen, Denmark, "Programmatic Print - Revolutionizing the Trading of Print"

Fairfax Media, Sydney, Australia, "The Store"

Pictured: Last year's winners after the presentations at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (Picture INMA)