MEDIA PIONEERS - Specialist Media Show

Media Pioneer Awards 2013 - winners & video

The Winners of the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards were announced on 24 April at the British Library, in front of the audience for the Specialist Media Conference.

The Media Pioneer Awards celebrate innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in specialist media, across print, web, mobile, social & events. Watch this video to find out more about the shortlist, and learn which businesses were commended and won awards.

Learn from the Media Pioneers - 2013 shortlist

It's just a week till we announce the winners of the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards. This year's shortlist are true pioneers in specialist media - exploring and innovating across print, web, mobile, social and events, often on limited budgets. Read their stories for some true inspiration for your own media business.

The winners will be announced at the end of the Specialist Media Conference on 24 April at the British Library.

Interactive Barbie iPad mag sells internationally

The interactive Barbie app, published by Panorama Publications of South Africa, is the highest selling children’s mag in the App store, with international reach and 60% of sales coming from archive issues.

Dawid Venter, Digital Head at Panorama Publications of South Africa, tells the story…

Innovative retro football fanzines by Media73

Media73 produces retro football fanzines and takes a unique and innovative approach with guest editors and special publications, helping the company grow its portfolio, sales and social media reach. Media73 joins the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.

Football Week: a truly revolutionary digital magazine

The football media market is truly crowded. So to stand out and create an iPad-only magazine Future had to do something different. With their mix of live feeds of results & data from a partnership with PA Sport, 20 tribal cover choices, innovative animation and social media promotion, they have taken Football Week to the No.1 free sports magazine on Apple Newsstand, and a place on the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.

Sift Media's Startup Clinic engaged small business owners for Microsoft

Sift Media created a commercially successful, cyclical content journey, the Start-Up Clinic, empowering users and demonstrating real engagement through social media, working closely with Microsoft. Sift are the latest addition to the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.

How Railway Gazette TV shaped debate in a global industry

The century-old Railway Gazette has developed a series of global online debates, winning sponsorship and engaging a worldwide audience, and also earning them a place on the 2013 Media Pioneer shortlist.

DJ Mag hosts top 100 poll and powers facebook audience to 800k

DJ Mag is the world's largest dance music and clubbing magazine.

For the last 18 years they have run a poll to find the most popular DJs in the world. In 2011 they launched a facebook app for voting that powered their facebook audience to 800,000, with dramatic impact on sponsorship revenues, earning them a place on the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.

Lusso Magazine goes digital only, grows circulation and tracks readers from social

Lusso Magazine is a Luxury Lifestyle title published bi-monthly by SWR Media (Magazines) Ltd and, following a successful relaunch in March 2012 and always quick to try new things, the publishers took the bold step of moving away from print to an entirely digital format for online, tablet and smartphone apps.

Their use of social sharing to extract reader data and gain deeper understanding of reading habits has helped the story for advertisers, and gained Lusso a place on the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.

Photography Week shows social media, user content and iPad only is a profitable combination

In just six months, Future’s new iPad-only magazine ‘Photography Week’, has firmly established itself as the global market-leader in its sector on Apple’s Newsstand - as well as becoming the world’s biggest consumer photography magazine brand on Facebook.

As Future's second-biggest digital edition profit-maker, Photography Week is the latest addiiton to the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.

Launching a b2b specialist community into a global growth sector

Luke Bilton & a team at UBM spotted the growth in "big data" and quickly launched a community-driven website, Big Data Republic. With quality content it has grown fast, and has not only established itself in an expanding global industry, but has also attracted significiant sponsorship and supported an event launch. Big Data Republic is the latest addition to the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards.

Media Briefing launches awards and conference from quality online analysis

Building on a comprehensive B2B website based on curated content and analytical commentary, the Media Briefing has grown traffic and newsletter subscribers, and lauched a series of half-day, full-day and 2-day events plus awards, enabling the business to take on more staff. Commended in the 2012 Media Pioneer Awards, the Media Briefing now joins the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.

New digital edition and online back catalogue for 70 year old An Cosantoir magazine

An Cosantoir, the magazine for the Irish Defence Forces, was first published in 1940, and in the last two years has made the transition to digital, with paid subscribers to its digital edition, good social media integration, and a back-issue catalogue on its website. Readership and subscriptions are now growing, and An Cosantoir is the latest addition to the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.

BOYD reinvents tablet magazines in yachting market and attracts premium sponsors

Start-up premium yachting magazine, BOYD, is designed for tablet and stretches the definition of a magazine. With thousands of subscribers already, it is creating innovative oportunities for blue chip sponsors like Bentley to reach a high net worth global audience of superyacht owners. The sheer inventiveness of its content across images, audio, video and graphics has earned BOYD a place on the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.

How a niche publisher launched in the Nordic market using LinkedIn

Specialist b2b publisher the Covered Bond Report used LinkedIn to build a reputation in the Nordic region, attract a blue-chip sponsor and grew its revenues by 50%. Not bad for a small independent! They are the latest addition to the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.

How Songlines magazine built partnerships around awards and music sales

Songlines, the world music magazine, has been growing its flagship Songlines Music Awards, building new media partnerships and launching on tablet. It’s a great example of the power of a small magazine to influence music sales and unite an industry, earning Songlines a place on the Media Pioneer Awards 2013 shortlist.

How Imagine Publishing’s digital publishing strategy shows the value of content

Imagine Publishing was an early adopter of Apple Newsstand, and has now taken an approach of “everything everywhere” by putting all their magazine titles onto Zinio, Google Play, Kindle Fire, Nook and Magzter.

Flagship titles like “How it Works” are now reaping the benefits, with over 22% of their circulation via digital channels in the July-Dec ABCs. Imagine's pioneering digital strategy has earned them a place on the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.

British Journal of Photography grows readership 25x with iPad app

The British Journal of Photography (BJP) has grown its readership worldwide twenty-five fold since launching its iPad app. App subscribers now surpass print subscribers by over 70%, and the app is frequently highlighted as "New & noteworthy" in Apple Newsstand. BJP's app is the latest addition to the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist...

How Rock Sound grew followers and copy sales with Google Hangouts

Online video has been out of reach for many smaller publishers, but Rock Sound has used Google Hangouts, YouTube and Twitter to run broadcasts with their cover stars and seen dramatic growth in their social media reach plus newsstand sales. This has earned them a place on the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.

Charity tailors print and digital mags to create a sense of community and identity among its volunteers and cadets

Charitable youth organisation Sea Cadets wanted to create suitable publications for its volunteers, supporters and the cadets themselves. Immediate Media Branded Content developed tailored digital and print publications designed to create a sense of community and identity among its volunteers and cadets.

International editions of online magazines strengthen LEGO Club membership

International editions of the popular LEGO club magazines were transformed into an interactive page-turner with comics, games and puzzles, and have grown LEGO club membership.

How Immediate Media engaged readers with a free mobile magazine

Free tablet downloads are relatively easy to grow, what is harder is building engagement with readers. Immediate Media’s Cineworld has achieved an impressive 17 minutes average visit per reader, using exclusive video and galleries. More importantly, the iPad mag is prompting its readers to watch new films, earning a place on the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.

Enter the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards

Over the last three years, the Media Pioneer Awards have rewarded the quiet innovators in specialist publishing, those niche consumer or b2b media businesses that are pushing the boundaries, just out of the spotlight.

Automating niche publishing: how one small publisher created their own systems

The Recycler is a pretty typical independent b2b publisher, with one print title, a trade show and set of conferences, for the toner and inkjet remanufacturing industry. Like many small media owners, it was feeling the pressure on ad revenues yet didn't want to cut back on editorial quality. Their innovative approach to creating their own publishing management system to streamline their back office processes has won them a place on the shortlist for the 2013 Media Pioneer Awards.

Media Pioneer Awards 2012: Winners announced

The winners of the 2012 Media Pioneer Awards were announced at the Specialist Media Show on 24 May at Thinktank Birmingham.

The Media Pioneer Awards were established by the Specialist Media Show in 2010 to recognise innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in niche consumer and b2b markets, across print, digital media, events and all the new activities that specialist media owners are pioneering. The 2012 Awards were sponsored by Audience Media.

Bringing together a local community and audience: Kingsroad.co.uk

Kingsroad.co.uk is successfully engaging a local audience and generating leads for local businesses. Its use of social media and focus on the needs of its commercial clients has earned it a place on the 2012 Media Pioneers shortlist.

Creating a Behavioural Revolution: Ink

Ink connects travellers with advertisers, working with three dozen airlines, creating print, mobile and tablet publications. Ink also runs the Airline Retail Conference. They have recently taken a radical approach to motivating and rewarding their sales teams, earning a place on the 2012 Media Pioneers shortlist.

The Media Briefing: how content curation and reader interaction fuelled success

Can you launch a digital B2B publishing brand with the slimmest of budgets, just one permanent member of staff and no office and build a substantial and influential audience, two major conference brands and an industry-wide awards event within 18 months? TheMediaBriefing.com (TMB) shows that indeed you can, earning a place on the Media Pioneer Awards shortlist.

Peach Business Tracker: Leveraging trusted partner status to deliver business-critical intelligence

All B2B publications aspire to be at the heart of their industry. The Peach Business Tracker is a great example of leveraging relationships to create a research monitor that is avidly followed by pub and restaurant brands. This innovation by a small independent publisher is the latest addition to the 2012 Media Pioneers shortlist.

Dive: from UK print mag to international free digital publication

How Dive magazine took the plunge from UK-centric print to digital freedom, and discovered a world of new ad revenues. A daring strategy from an independent publisher, earning a place on the Media Pioneers 2012 shortlist.