Q-Award 2010: Economic pressure increases quality
Thirteen entries—twice as many as last year—were submitted for the 7th Q-Award. The Swiss Media Association presents this award annually to recognize outstanding publications in the field of trade and specialty media.
Compared to previous years, the quality was above average. The jury therefore presented two awards: to the weekly trade journal Baublatt and to the newcomer, the wrestling newspaper Schlussgang. A further five projects received an honorable mention. The jury thus thanks the industry for the significant increase in performance, which also applies to the online sector.
The dossiers submitted were more substantial and complete than ever before; the market seems to have definitely recognized the seriousness of the award and is honoring it with careful documentation, according to a press release from the Swiss Media Association. It almost seems as if the obvious economic pressure in some places has spurred creativity and increased the willingness to perform. The jury, made up of practitioners, saw creative and user-oriented online solutions and intelligent cross-media approaches as significant progress.
The winners
According to a press release from the Swiss Media Association, Baublatt is an institution with an exceptional, up-to-date service section. And Schlussgang is the contrasting program: a demonstrably successful newcomer title in a decidedly conservative but fast-growing market, namely among wrestlers and national gymnasts.
At Building sheet The weekly newspaper for the booming and highly competitive construction industry is dominated by its direct utility value for subscribers (tradesmen, building contractors, general contractors, suppliers, architects and other service providers), the press release continues. The Internet offering impresses with daily access to the latest news. A newsletter for registered subscribers creates additional added value. The website impresses with its attractive, clear and straightforward design and visible investment in content. User numbers in print and online are clearly on the rise.
The dossiers submitted were more substantial and complete than ever before; the market seems to have definitely recognized the seriousness of the award and is honoring it with careful documentation, according to a press release from the Swiss Media Association. It almost seems as if the obvious economic pressure in some places has spurred creativity and increased the willingness to perform. The jury, made up of practitioners, saw creative and user-oriented online solutions and intelligent cross-media approaches as significant progress.
The winners
According to a press release from the Swiss Media Association, Baublatt is an institution with an exceptional, up-to-date service section. And Schlussgang is the contrasting program: a demonstrably successful newcomer title in a decidedly conservative but fast-growing market, namely among wrestlers and national gymnasts.
At Building sheet The weekly newspaper for the booming and highly competitive construction industry is dominated by its direct utility value for subscribers (tradesmen, building contractors, general contractors, suppliers, architects and other service providers), the press release continues. The Internet offering impresses with daily access to the latest news. A newsletter for registered subscribers creates additional added value. The website impresses with its attractive, clear and straightforward design and visible investment in content. User numbers in print and online are clearly on the rise.
Final round the wrestling newspaper with national gymnastics, which follows the festival events in its publication rhythm, has been on the market since 2004 and sells 6480 certified subscriptions, whereby the "target mailing" to free addresses, which is heavily used in other places, is used extremely cautiously. The comprehensive and detailed reporting by the publishing outsider makes people self-confident: they know that they are worth something and can demand something, as the press release goes on to say. The layout of the paper is very hand-knitted, but it is a newspaper with rough paper that is suitable for the target group - an "animal world" for rustic athletes and their fan base, so to speak. The variety and abundance of advertisers confirms the acceptance of the paper in the scene.
Five further nominations
In contrast to previous editions, this year the jury was satisfied with the level of "cruising altitude" of all the projects submitted. None of them really fell short; more than one, however, seemed to have the potential for future awards. Here are the five honorable mentions; they can also be seen as nominations for future years:
At the Swiss ICT platform Computerworld Despite the strong expansion of cross-media activities, print circulation also increased. Special issues, studies and more underpin its leadership in the field. Competence, topicality and in-depth coverage are indisputable, according to the press release from the Swiss Media Association.
In contrast to previous editions, this year the jury was satisfied with the level of "cruising altitude" of all the projects submitted. None of them really fell short; more than one, however, seemed to have the potential for future awards. Here are the five honorable mentions; they can also be seen as nominations for future years:
At the Swiss ICT platform Computerworld Despite the strong expansion of cross-media activities, print circulation also increased. Special issues, studies and more underpin its leadership in the field. Competence, topicality and in-depth coverage are indisputable, according to the press release from the Swiss Media Association.
CuravivaThe Swiss Association of Care Homes & Institutions, which focuses on care home managers, has a surprisingly strong journalistic emphasis in a narrowly defined specialist area, but is still somewhat hesitant in its online presence.
The Swiss trade magazine for the hotel and catering industry, HotelierThe magazine presents a sensual industry attractively, i.e. lavishly and richly illustrated. Since the relaunch, the editorial team's consistent stylistic device has been personalization, whereby original journalistic forms of presentation and strong opinions are of great importance.
The 2009 award winner, HRT Hotel Revuethe Swiss trade newspaper for tourism, confidently maintains the high quality of its content and form under popular design criteria and impresses with daily online news and clever use of social media.
Annemarie Wildeisen's cooking was judged by the jury to be a convincing media platform, with a very successful relaunch of the website.
The Q-Awards
The award is still based on reasonably plausible market success that has been proven over a longer period of time. It is the results that count, which is why convincing concepts such as that of Hotelier and Computerworld will have to wait a little longer, as the press release goes on to say. The award for trade and specialty titles is part of the ongoing quality offensive in favor of print media that the Swiss Media Association has been conducting for many years. Against the same background and with the same motives, the publishers' association has also been awarding the Q seal of quality for some time now. It is currently held by 102 specialty and trade journals published in German and French.
The jury 2010
The jury for the 2010 Q-Awards was unchanged from previous years. It consisted of Pepi Burch, publishing consultant (Zurich), Dr. René Grossenbacher, Managing Director of Publicom (Kilchberg), Josefa Haas, Head of the Media Institute of the Swiss Media Association, Karl Lüönd, publicist and author (Elsau), Urs Schneider, owner of the media agency Mediaschneider (Zurich) and Jürg Siegrist, Managing Director of SWA (Zurich).
The award is still based on reasonably plausible market success that has been proven over a longer period of time. It is the results that count, which is why convincing concepts such as that of Hotelier and Computerworld will have to wait a little longer, as the press release goes on to say. The award for trade and specialty titles is part of the ongoing quality offensive in favor of print media that the Swiss Media Association has been conducting for many years. Against the same background and with the same motives, the publishers' association has also been awarding the Q seal of quality for some time now. It is currently held by 102 specialty and trade journals published in German and French.
The jury 2010
The jury for the 2010 Q-Awards was unchanged from previous years. It consisted of Pepi Burch, publishing consultant (Zurich), Dr. René Grossenbacher, Managing Director of Publicom (Kilchberg), Josefa Haas, Head of the Media Institute of the Swiss Media Association, Karl Lüönd, publicist and author (Elsau), Urs Schneider, owner of the media agency Mediaschneider (Zurich) and Jürg Siegrist, Managing Director of SWA (Zurich).
