SINGAPORE - Close to 200 guests, including judges, sponsors and members of the Singapore's magazine industry attended the Media Publishers Association Singapore (MPAS) Awards 2014 held on Thursday 8 May 2014 at Rendezvous Hotel Singapore. The awards recognise best practices and top talents within Singapore's magazine publishing industry.
Said Raymond Wong, President, Media Publishers Association Singapore, "This year we have increased the number of award categories from 17 to 30, with the majority of new categories being digital focused. This highlights the current realities of the industry, whereby the online medium is an integral part of magazine content distribution."
Patsy Tan, Deputy General Manager, Times Printers Pte Ltd, one of the sponsors for the event added, "Times Printers has always viewed publishers as invaluable partners in our business. The MPAS Awards is aligned with our brand values, as it serves as an excellent platform for us, as printers, to show our support to Singapore's Magazine Publishing Industry, network with publishers and share the joy with winning publishers."
More than 170 award submissions were received for this year's MPAS Awards. According to Victor Wong, Area & Development Director (Asia Pacific), Small Luxury Hotels of the World, one of the judges for the awards, "The quality of the submissions reflect the generally high standards of magazine media in Singapore." This observation was reiterated by Budi Putra, Chief Executive Officer, The Jakarta Post Digital and Royce Shih, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Asia-Pacific PR Newswire Asia, who found the judging process was very challenging, due to the large number of quality entries received for this year's event.
One of the winners of the night was Olivier Burlot, CEO & Publisher, Heart Media Group, who had picked up the Publisher of the Year award. He said, "I am deeply honoured to be receiving this Award. It means a lot to the team at Heart Media as well as for myself. With this affirmation, I am even more passionate and confident about the great work that we are producing."
Mongoose Asia won the Media Company Publishing Company of the Year award, which was presented to the publishing company with the most number of wins at the MPAS Awards 2014. The company publishes magazines such as Esquire Singapore, Time Out Singapore. Said Russell Channon, Managing Director of Mongoose Publishing Pte Ltd, "We are extremely honoured to receive this prestigious award. At Mongoose, we believe magazines create an environment, in print and online, that no other media can replicate. Making brilliant magazines drives us and we are humbled that our hardworking and creative team has been recognised. This award will inspire us to aim higher, as we seek to demand even more from ourselves."
Other winners at MPAS Awards 2014 include SilverKris and The Peak Selections: Gourmet & Travel, which picked up the Travel Media of the Year award and Food Media of the Year awards respectively. Both magazines are published by SPH Magazines Pte Ltd. Not to be outdone, MediaCorp Pte Ltd come away with the Marketing Campaign of the Year award for its 8 DAYS Eat Mobile App Launch Campaign and User experience of the Year for Style: Jan 2013 iPad App.
Meanwhile, Marina Bay Sands' Sands Style magazine, produced by Edipresse Asia Ltd won the Closed Circulation Media of the Year, while Luxury Magazine PRIORITY, won in the Luxury media of the Year category.
