A CHILDREN’S magazine about pets and animals has been named Scottish Magazine of the Year.
Animal Planet emerged victorious following three wins earlier in the evening by its publisher, DC Thomson, which took the Brand Extension prize (for The Official Jacqueline Wilson Mag), along with the Sales Initiative and Best Magazine Design (Consumer) ones – for The Beano and Animal Planet, respectively.
The magazine is the first one launched by editor, Anna Kennedy, who has been with the company for six years and is a graduate from Edinburgh Napier University’s journalism course, the university having a presence at the awards ceremony, with Pamela Jane Morris named Magazine Publishing Graduate of the Year, following a tie-up between the university’s publishing course and the award organisers, the Professional Publishers Association.
It was a good night too for design and publishing agency, CMYK Design, which took a trio of titles also: Best Magazine Design (Business and Professional), Member Magazine of the Year and Customer Magazine of the Year.
The Big Issue Scotland was also a big winner, taking the Best Magazine Cover, the Editor of the Year (Consumer) and the Feature Writer of the Year (Business and Professional) titles.
The Lifetime Achievement award – aka the Murray Cochran Award – was made to Gordon Young, founder of The Drum media and marketing magazine and website.
The awards were held last night in Edinburgh, with the Chairman’s Award going to John Ross Scott, who had been nominated in the Consumer Magazine Editor category, for his editorship of Living Orkney.
The judges said of Gillian Macdonald, winner of the Business and Professional Magazine Editor prize: “The winning editor has a clear, positive and sometimes controversial approach to content, as well as a total commitment to change that has driven up sales and circulation.”
They said of Paul McNamee, winner of the Consumer Magazine Editor prize: “The winner is someone at the helm of a great magazine which delivers impact, interest and superb writing.”
Kennedy told allmediascotland.com: “I am absolutely thrilled. It was a bit of a surprise because the title only launched in February. The whole team are absolutely delighted. We worked extremely hard on the magazine since it launched. We have gone for a really different feel for the target market. We have been going for seven-to-ten year-olds, girls and boys. We went for the educational content, strong imagery and fantastic design and I think it’s a bit different in the market.”
The Drum has recently expanded its editorial – and associated activities – to across the UK.
Young told allmediascotland.com: “If this is a Lifetime Achievement Award, I feel I haven’t really achieved anywhere near where I want to. As we’ve seen the London market open up, I almost get the sense that, for the last 25 years, what we have been doing is test-marketing The Drum and shaping the proposition and now I think we are in a really good place to launch it properly. Mainly because our other competitors have had to stand back slightly. I think there is everything to play for. Hopefully, in many years’ time, I’ll be invited back to the PPA to get the award, because then I might feel I deserve it.”
The full list of winners reads:
Best magazine cover (new category)
Winner: The Big Issue / The Big Issue Scotland
Nominated: Animal Planet / DC Thomson
No.1 / PSP Publishing
Scottish Field / Wyvex Media
Spirited / Redhouse Lane Communications
The Beano / DC Thomson
The List / The List
Times Educational Supplement Scotland / TSL Education
Trend / Trend Productions
Brand extension
Winner: The Official Jacqueline Wilson Mag / DC Thomson
Nominated: Dumfries & Galloway Life / CN Group Magazines
Scottish Wedding Directory / Scottish Wedding Directory
The List / The List
The Scottish Farmer / Newsquest (Herald & Times)
Business and professional magazine
Winner: ENT & Audiology News / Pinpoint Scotland
Nominated: Focus Scotland / West Dunbartonshire CVS
Holyrood / Holyrood Communications
The Biologist / Think
The Journal (Law Society of Scotland) / Connect Communications
The Scottish Farmer / Newsquest (Herald & Times)
Times Educational Supplement Scotland / TSL Education
Business and professional magazine design
Winner: FYi / CMYK Design
Nominated: Boots & Spurs / MB Design
Focus Scotland / West Dunbartonshire CVS
Holyrood / Holyrood Communications
Surgeons’ News / CMYK Design
Business and professional magazine editor
Winner: Gillian Macdonald, Times Educational Supplement Scotland / TSL Education
Nominated: Alasdair Fletcher, The Scottish Farmer / Newsquest (Herald & Times)
Peter Nicholson, The Journal (Law Society of Scotland) / Connect Communications
Mandy Rhodes, Holyrood / Holyrood Communications
Business and professional magazine feature writer
Winner: Ross Reid, Holyrood / Holyrood Communications
Nominated: Douglas Blane, Times Educational Supplement Scotland / TSL Education
Henry Hepburn, Times Educational Supplement Scotland / TSL Education
Katie Macintosh, Holyrood / Holyrood Communications
Mandy Rhodes, Holyrood / Holyrood Communications
Consumer magazine
Winner: Dumfries & Galloway Life / CN Group Magazines
Nominated: Living Orkney / Orkney Media Group
No.1 / PSP Publishing
Scottish Field / Wyvex Media
The List / The List
The Official Jacqueline Wilson Mag / DC Thomson
Consumer magazine design
Winner: Animal Planet / DC Thomson
Nominated: Gutter / Freight Design
The Banter / West Dunbartonshire CVS
The Big Issue / The Big Issue Scotland
The Dandy / DC Thomson
The List / The List
Consumer magazine editor
Winner: Paul McNamee, The Big Issue / The Big Issue Scotland
Nominated: Richard Bath, Scottish Field / Wyvex Media
Jonny Ensall, The List / The List
Nadine Hawkins, No.1 / PSP Publishing
John Ross Scott, Living Orkney / Orkney Media Group
Andrea Thompson, Dumfries & Galloway Life / CN Group Magazines
Consumer magazine feature writer
Winner: Adam Forrest, The Big Issue / The Big Issue Scotland
Nominated: Anne Armstrong, Dumfries & Galloway Life / CN Group Magazines
Lindsay Cochrane, Enable / DC Publishing
Malcolm Jack, The List / The List
Claire Sawers, The List / The List
Customer magazine
Winner: Aurora / CMYK Design
Nominated: Discover NLS / Think
Edit / White Light Media
Escape / Think
Glasgow / Glasgow City Council
The Key / Connect Communications
Digital magazine (new category)
Winner: Life / White Light Media
Nominated: Choice / Redhouse Lane Communications
Conference Call / White Light Media
Strathclyde People / White Light Media
Digital strategy (new category)
Winner: The List / The List
Nominated: Menopause Matters / Menopause Matters
Perspectives on the Future / RBS Business Services, Strategy & Architecture
Scottish Wedding Directory / Scottish Wedding Directory
Member magazine
Winner: Surgeons’ News / CMYK Design
Nominated: Boots & Spurs / MB Design
Historic Scotland / Think
Life & Work / Church of Scotland
Off the Run / Strathclyde Fire & Rescue
Scotland in Trust / CMYK Design
Unfiltered / Connect Communications
Friends / Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Publisher
Winner: Paul Grant / PSP Publishing
Nominated: Darren Bruce / Newsquest (Herald & Times)
Denise Connelly / DC Publishing
John Innes / Think
Ritchie Marshall / West Dunbartonshire CVS
Sales initiative
Winner: The Beano / DC Thomson
Nominated: Animals and You / DC Thomson
Dumfries & Galloway Life / CN Group Magazines
Scottish Wedding Directory / Scottish Wedding Directory
The List / The List
Staff magazine
Winner: The Exova Magazine / White Light Media
Nominated: Choice / Redhouse Lane Communications
Our People / CMYK Design
Re:Fresh / Heineken UK
Sláinte / Western Isles NHS
Spirited / Redhouse Lane Communications
