New award categories in South Asian Digital Media Awards at WAN-IFRA India 2018 Conference in Hyderabad

WAN-IFRA India Conference returns to Hyderabad after a gap of 14 years at the same venue where the World News Media Congress was held in 2009. The conference this year expects to pull more than 400 senior publishing executives from all over South Asia. This year the conference enters its 26th year and it will have its regular sessions, such as World Editors Forum – South Asia Summit for editors, CEOs and journalists and World Printers Forum Conference for production and technical managers. Two pre-conference workshops, networking dinners and exhibition will complete the event. The exhibition will have limited number of stalls, interconnected with the conference.

While the conference and the expo at WAN-IFRA India 2018 Conference will take place on September 26-27, the pre-conference workshops will take place on

September 25, all at the same venue. A visit to a modern printing plant in Hyderabad is also planned on the last day of the event, September 27. The conference offers various sponsorship opportunities for suppliers to highlight their presence and brand image.

South Asian Digital Media Awards 2018, which will be organised as an integral part of WAN-IFRA India Conference 2018, has added four new categories— Best Reader Revenue Initiative, Best Branded Content Project, Best Digital Marketing Campaign and Best Digital News Start-Up.

Best Reader Revenue Initiative: This is best new paid content initiative or marketing campaign, with the aim of increasing revenue from digital subscriptions or one-off purchases. Entries should demonstrate understanding of brand strengths, clarity for the reader or customer, and an effective call to action.

Best Branded Content Project: This award is designed for publishers or publisher-owned agencies creating branded content/native advertising. For this award WAN-IFRA is looking for campaigns that have a clear brand voice and identity, that play well across different platforms, quality content, and demonstrate high levels of reader engagement.

Best Digital Marketing Campaign: This category is open for publishers’ marketing campaigns for their own news brands. Entries for this award should have clear messaging, an effective social strategy, strong brand voice and efficient targeting.

Best Digital News Start-Up: This category is open to all independent news-related start-ups or larger news publishers launching new businesses or spin-offs. Entries for this award should demonstrate clear value to their target market, stand out from the crowd and be able to outline a current or future business model.

Apart from these newly added awards categories, the existing categories of South Asian Digital Awards 2018 will be Best News Website or Mobile Service; Best in Lifestyle, Sports, Entertainment Website or Mobile Services; Best Use of Online Video (including VR); Best Data Visualisation; Best Reader Revenue Initiative; Best Branded Content Project; Best Digital News Start-up; Best in Social Media Engagement; Best Digital Marketing Campaign; and Best Innovation to Engage Youth Audiences.

Entries to the South Asian Digital Awards 2018 should be submitted in PDF document containing a PowerPoint presentation of no more than eight slides describing with text and screenshots the service’s main features as well as the registration and access processes. Registration deadline is 9 June and entry submission deadline is 16 June.

For expo booth booking and enquiries on submission for awards, e-mail at: infoindia@wan-ifra.org or sureshbabu.kr@wan-ifra.org.