The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has announced the finalists of its first African Digital Media Awards.
South African companies that have made the list include News24 in the Best News Website for it’s elections website (News24 is also nominated in the Best Mobile News category for its elections site), and IOL for its news site.
Times Media cracked the nod for its election app and also the Best New Product category with the new Wanted website. Media24’s Kickoff site has been shortlisted in the lifestyle and entertainment category and SARIE.com has been nominated for Best Digital Campaign. The M&G and Independent Media were both nominated for their iPad apps.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Johannesburg on 29 September during the Digital Media Africa 2016 conference, which takes place from 28-30 September. The awards are described as the“most prestigious competition in the industry for publishers to benchmark their digital offerings”
The conference features South African and international speakers and is hinged on five pillars: reader revenue, distributed content, paid content, Millennials and Generation Z and lastly, classified ads.
The finalists are:
Best News Website
- News24 Elections, Media24, South Africa
- IOL, Independent Newspapers Ltd., South Africa
- co.keby Nation Media Group, Kenya
- co.zaby Mail & Guardian, South Africa
Best Entertainment & Lifestyle Website
- Kick off, Media24, South Africa
- SDE, Standard Group Ltd, Kenya
- House & Garden/Condé Nast, Independent Newspapers, Kenya
Best use of Online Video
- IOL – What would you take a bullet for? Independent Newspapers, Kenya
- NTV Wild, Nation Media Group, Kenya
- #FeesMustFall, 24.com, South Africa
- New video on demand site launched (tv.guardian.ng), Guardian Newspaper Limited, Nigeria
Best Data Visualisation Project
- TMG Election App, Times Media Ltd, South Africa
- How Long Have Africa’s Presidents Held Office? by The Voice of America, USA
- Newsplex, Nation Media Group, Kenya
- Beyond the Bullet, 24.com, South Africa
Best News Mobile Service
- News24 Elections, Media24, South Africa
- News24 App, 24.com, South Africa
- IOL App, Independent Newspapers Ltd., South Africa
Best Entertainment & Lifestyle Mobile Service
- Men’s Health, Media24, South Africa
- The Juice, News24, South Africa
- House & Garden Condé Nast App, Independent Newspapers Ltd., South Africa
Best in Tablet Publishing
- IOL Tablet App, Independent Newspapers Ltd., South Africa
- News24 App, 24.com, South Africa
- M&G iPad edition: 5 August 2016, Mail & Guardian, South Africa
Best Reader Engagement
- Women’s Health – Next Fitness Star, Media24, South Africa
- My Network – Nation Media Group, Kenya
- Daily Voice, Independent Newspapers Ltd., South Africa
- The Voice Newspaper Botswana, The Francistowner – The Voice Newspaper, Botswana
Best Digital Advertising Campaign
- co.za: Client – John Deere, Media24, South Africa
- com & SARIE.com: Client – Afrikaans.com, Media24, South Africa
- IOL Commercial – ASICS Campaign, Independent Newspapers Ltd., South Africa
- Believe the Truth – Nation Media Group, Kenya
Best New Product
- Wanted Online, Times Media Ltd., South Africa
- Loot/Isolezwe, The Independent Newspapers Ltd, South Africa
- NetNuus, 24.com, South Africa
- NiE Portal, Nation Media Group, Kenya
Register for the conference here.