Elle and Farmer's Weekly win top PPA subs awards 2010

The event at The Brewery in London recognised and rewarded excellence in all aspects of subscriptions marketing, and provided a showcase of the most innovative magazine marketing practices in the UK.

Hachette’s Elle won Customer Direct Magazine of the Year in the consumer category, following a year of collaborations and partnerships with London Underground, The White Ribbon Alliance, The National Portrait Gallery and The Whitechapel Gallery.

Pete Doherty was commissioned to illustrate a fashion spread and Elle was the glossy to put Boris Johnson on the October 2009 cover to mark London Fashion Week’s 25th anniversary.

The award completes a winning week for Elle, after editor-in-chief Lorraine Candy was named Best Editor for Women’s Magazines (monthly or less frequent) for the second year running, and Elle’s creative director, Marissa Bourke, won the Art Director of the Year category at the British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME) Awards 2010 on Monday (8 November).

RBI’s Farmer’s Weekly was last night named the Customer Direct Magazine of the Year in the business category.

Elsewhere, Dennis Publishing and IPC Media were also major winners on the night, each scooping an impressive five awards.

The accolade for subscriptions marketing team of the year went to BBC Worldwide, which would have been a welcome respite from the speculation surrounding a potential sale of the BBC Magazines division.

Peter Phippen, managing director of BBC Magazines congratulated Jess Burney and the subs marketing team, and said: "This award is well-deserved. We are now the UK’s number one publisher for subscriptions, with almost a million subscribers, strong revenues and good retention rates. This is a very powerful asset that has taken many years to establish."

There were also awards on the night for Future Publishing, the National Magazine Company and TSL Education.

In the face of falling and fluctuating newsstand sales, magazine subscriptions, and the rich data it provides, is playing a bigger role in British publishing than ever before. Long the staple of magazine publishing in the US and elsewhere, UK publishers today have never taken data so seriously.

Nicola Rowe, director of circulation and member services at the PPA, said: "Subscriptions – whether in print or across digital platforms – are increasingly important to magazine publishers.

"The Customer Direct conference and awards provides a unique opportunity both to discuss best practice and reward those who are working hard to deliver excellence in the sector."

 
PPA Customer Direct 2010 winners

Best customer retention strategy
Sponsored by Circdata
Winner: IPC Southbank Titles – IPC Media
Highly commended: TSL Loyalty Campaign – TSL Education
 
Direct mail campaign of the year
Sponsored by Air Business
Winner: The Week – Dennis Publishing
 
Direct marketing campaign of the year - mixed media
Sponsored by Air Business
Winner: Christmas 2009 Campaign – Hachette Filipacchi UK
 
Insert promotion of the year
Sponsored by Swiss Post
Winner: The Week – Dennis Publishing
 
Off-the-page promotion of the year
Sponsored by Anderson Norton Design
Winner: Digital SLR Photography – Dennis Publishing
 
Best new launch promotion
Sponsored by OPT-4
Winner: The Knitter – Future Publishing
 
Best subscriptions promotion on a small budget
Sponsored by ESco
Winner: Online video content subscription ads – IPC Media
 
Best use of data
Sponsored by Alliance Media
Winner: TES Schools Direct – TSL Education
 
Best use of interactive media - best online campaign
Sponsored by YUDU Media
Winner: Website re-launch and supporting online activity, Magazinesdirect.com – IPC Media
 
Best use of interactive media - best email campaign
Sponsored by Adestra
Winner: PC Pro Email as an Acquisition Channel – Dennis Publishing
Highly commended: Christmas Campaign, Christmas Countdown & January Sales Emails – IPC Media
 
Best use of telemarketing
Sponsored by White Space Productions
Winner: Lead Generation Campaign – Dennis Publishing
Highly commended: Craft Title Winback Telemarketing campaign – Future Publishing
 
Creative Bravery Award
Sponsored by Royal Mail
Winner: Online video content subscription ads – IPC Media
 
Customer Service Award
Sponsored by Dovetail & Demographix & Subscriber Service Survey
Winner: Customers Are Forever – National Magazine Company
 
Customer Direct new marketer of the year
Sponsored by PFJ
Winner: Katy Ewins – IPC Media
 
Customer Direct subscriptions marketing team of the year
Sponsored by Datalytics
Winner: BBC Worldwide
 
Customer Direct magazine of the year – business
Sponsored by Dovetail Services
Winner: Farmers Weekly – Reed Business Information
 
Customer Direct magazine of the year – consumer
Sponsored by Quadrant Subscription Services
Winner: Elle – Hachette Filipacchi UK

This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk