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Doom defying behaviour

Investing in good ideas & people proves win for HB Media & AUT Media

At a time when many companies are cutting back, one Kiwi outfit is proving that investing in ideas and talent is the best way to get results.

Magazine and web publisher HB Media and sister brand AUT Media (publisher of Idealog) won one-third of the categories at the 2009 MPA Magazine Awards—and took home half of the Supreme awards.

“We were thrilled to be nominated for 16 of the 37 categories in this year’s MPA awards,” says HB editorial director Vincent Heeringa. “But to take out 13 of them on the night was a huge result for us. We’ve worked hard on our titles, we’re very proud of their success and we really appreciate the recognition from our peers in the magazine industry.”

He’s toast

Heeringa says art director Adrian Clapperton is “the toast of his industry” today after winning the Supreme Designer of the Year and Supreme Cover of the Year for his work on Idealog and Good. Idealog also won the award for Best Use of Photography. “We make magazines that people want to read, and a big part of that is their top-notch design and illustration,” he says. “Adrian’s work means reading Good and Idealog is always a pleasure. He deserves his plaudits.”

Best by design

Other highlights include Idealog’s wins for Magazine of the Year, Designer of the Year, Website of the Year and Cover of the Year in the Business category. In the ultra-competitive lifestyle section Good magazine took the plaudits for Designer of the Year. Inspire magazine took out three major wins in the custom category, with Sarah Heeringa winning Editor of the Year, Custom Publishing, Ben Gibb and Sarah Yetton winning Advertising Sales Achievement of the Year and the magazine itself winning the Custom Magazine of the Year.

Good launch

And there’s another sweet victory. “Launch of the Year was a very closely watched category this year, where Good competed against two other great magazines—Mindfood and Oh Baby,” says HB business director Martin Bell. “To win it against such competition is fabulous—particularly as Idealog won the same category two years ago!”

Butt kicking

To round out the evening, HB Media sales manager Ben Gibb and former account manager Sarah Yetton won the only sales award, Advertising Sales Achievement, for their work on travel title Inspire. “It’s proof that we’re kicking butt in every part of our business,” says Bell. “Sales, editorial, design and circulation are all critical and we reckon we have the best in the business.”

HB’s success comes despite a record number of entrants and the recent consolidation of the MPA awards structure. “This year saw the widest range of publishers entering in the awards history—22 publishers compared with 20 last year—with 188 entries across 11 awards,” says Kath Hurley, MPA marketing and communications manager. “Forty-four different titles entered this year.”

In many cases, the consolidation of categories meant that entries were judged against a broader range of their peers. “Comparisons with past awards are difficult because of this year’s new structure,” says Heeringa, “but HB Media’s win quite possibly represents the biggest collective win of any one publishing company, in one year.”

Marketing et al

Next year HB will have another entrant in the awards—the relaunched NZ Marketing magazine, which it bought this month from former owner 3Media.

Other HB innovations include the forthcoming Celsias.co.nz, a new climate change social network, and an effort to make all of HB Media’s business carbon-neutral, as Good magazine already is.

Record win

For the record, here’s the full list of the wins:

Supreme winner, Cover of the Year: Adrian Clapperton for Idealog

Supreme winner, Designer of the Year: Adrian Clapperton for Idealog
 and Good

Idealog
: Magazine of the Year, Business
Idealog
: Designer of the Year, Business (Adrian Clapperton)

Idealog
: Best Use of Photography
Idealog
: Cover of the Year, Business
Idealog
: Website of the Year, Business

Good: Designer of the Year, Lifestyle (Adrian Clapperton)

Good: Best Launch or Relaunch

Inspire: Outstanding Sales Achievement of the Year (Ben Gibb and Sarah Yetton)
Inspire: Editor of the Year (Sarah Heeringa)
Inspire: Magazine of the Year, Custom Publishing

HB titles also received two Highly Commended mentions:

Inspire: Cover of the Year, Custom Publishing (best in category)

Good: Best Use of Photography

About HB Media & AUT Media

HB Media was founded by Vincent Heeringa and Martin Bell in 2005. It specialises in magazines, books, online and custom publishing. It also manages AUT Media, the university press for AUT.

AUT Media publishes Idealog magazine and also books including the bestselling children’s book Awesome Aotearoa, Margaret Mahy’s history of New Zealand.

For more information about HB Media contact:
Vincent Heeringa

09 966-0991 or 021 845 693

Vincent@hbmedia.co.nz

For more information about AUT Media contact:
Tiffany White

09 921-9241

Tiffany.White@aut.ac.nz