Screen grabs of several of the winners in the European Digital Competition sponsored by WAN IFRA
Norway shines in the European Digital Award competition and I am not surprised. I see Norway and the other Scandinavian countries as true leaders and disrupters, with publishers and editors who are willing to be adventurous. The results? Products that show us the way.
Let’s take a look here:
Best Data Visualization Project
Winner: the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation
The project set out to identify and examine every single murder in the country over a decade.
Special mention: Aftenposten, Norway
Project: Secret surveillance of Norway’s leaders
The Best Digital Advertising Campaign
Winner: Telekurier Online Medien, Austria
Not enough people were learning about how OMV, a large petrol company, was so active in supporting women and education, so the company came to KURIER for help.
http://kurier.at/thema/bildungsenergie
Best in Tablet Publishing
Joint winners: Axel Springer, Germany, and Aftenposten, Norway
Projects: EPOS (Springer); Aftenposten+
It’s a rare event indeed to have joint winners at WAN-IFRA awards, but in the end the judges’ combined scores for this outstanding couple were exactly equal.
EPOS, claimed to be the best app of 2014 in the German market, is a popular science and history magazine specializing in vivid storytelling, while Aftenposten+ prompted renowned designer and judge Mario García to describe it as, “One of the best newspaper tablet editions: clarity of navigation, excellent combination of short and long content. Good photography and an overall look and feel that reflect the spirit of Aftenposten. Bravo.”
The Best Mobile Service
Winner: DIE WELT, Germany
Project: KOMPAKT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At5rXhiW17Q&feature=youtu.be
DIE WELT launched KOMPAKT in May 2014 as an iOS-only app. KOMPAKT is part of WELT compact, DIE WELT’s daily compact format.
Special mention: Guardian News & Media
Project: The new Guardian app launched in May 2014.
Best New Product
Winner: Verdens Gang (VG), Norway
Project: minmote.no
In 2014, MinMote, a fashion website for daily tips and inspiration, introduced e-commerce to allow users to shop directly from an article.
Special mention: Al Jazeera (London Office), United Kingdom
The Best News Website
Winner: The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/international
An always fiercely-fought category, but the winner, The Guardian, has long been a leader in digital innovation having evolved from a British to a global news website in the face of notable competition from international rivals.
Best Reader Engagement
Winner: Verdens Gang (VG), Norway
https://www.facebook.com/vglista
Project: #vglista
VG-lista is the official music chart of Norway. Since 1998, VG has toured Norway with summer concerts to promote the list and to give VG readers a great summer experience. “This year we wanted to use social media to strengthen the VG brand, promote the tour and engage our readers,” in describing its project.
Special mention: BBC News
Project: BBC NHS Winter
According to BBC, “#nhswinter is an innovative digital storytelling project that combines data tracking and social media with broadcast and online news reporting. The aim is to curate content around the theme of emergency health care and the additional pressures faced during the winter months.”
Best Use of Online Video
Winner: Guardian News & Media
Project: A global guide to the first world war
The Guardian took the anniversary of the war to end all wars and from that often re-told story built a startling interactive documentary using 10 historians from 10 countries and rare footage, which it then presented in eight languages.
Special mention: Berliner Morgenpost
Project: The Unseen – Life on Berlin’s Streets
“We live together in the same city, but we don’t see them. Who are they, where are they from and what is their story? In a photo and video project, homeless Berliners describe life on the streets – without talkin
Where the Innovators are
8 news media innovators with bold initiatives
http://www.inma.org/blogs/innovative-advertising-solutions/post.cfm/8-news-media-innovators-with-bold-initiatives