APA calls for entries for Olive creative awards

The Association of Publishing Agencies (APA) has opened entries for its inaugural Olive Awards, which will showcase the best in customer magazine creativity and design.

The Olives will complement the annual APA Customer Publishing Awards, held in November, which recognise effectiveness in customer publishing.

The APA has introduced the new event to spotlight the fresh thinking demonstrated in the customer publishing industry, where many magazines are leading the way in design as well as in delivering robust results on marketing objectives.

The Olive winners will be announced on 5 July 2007 at an informal ceremony at the Design Museum, and are open now.

A shortlist will be announced on 21 May 2007.

Categories for the new awards include the following: Best cover, Best landing page, Best photography, Best illustration, Best use of typography, Best creative innovation in print, Best creative innovation online, Best overall creative solution - sponsored by Royal Mail.

Julia Hutchison, chief operating officer of the APA, commented: "Customer publishing is now a well-established and highly effective tool in the marketing arsenal.

"One of its biggest strengths is its ability to engage with the consumer, and creative thinking plays a big part in this success.

"As the medium matures and explores new channels to build on relationships with the reader, creative thinking becomes ever more important.

"The effectiveness awards focus more on the results customer magazines continue to deliver for brands: the Olives have been created to recognise and reward the fresh and imaginative thinking that drives the customer publishing industry forward in constantly seeking out new and better ways to engage with readers".

Emily Travis, Head of Publishing at Royal Mail, added: "For a medium that relies on effectively engaging with readers, creativity is an essential part of the customer publishing equation.

"The new awards will present a wonderful opportunity to showcase the variety and imagination prevalent in the current crop of customer titles - exactly the reason why the medium is delivering so well for brands".

The introduction of the Olive awards marks the latest in a raft of new initiatives from the APA, following the launch of research consultancy service APA Insight and new business service APA Ask, which has already led to several high-profile new magazine pitches including Bang and Olufsen and Audi.

Mintel recently estimated that the customer magazine medium will be worth over £1 billion by 2011, spend in the medium currently stands at £788m - making it the fastest-growing medium after internet advertising.

The Association of Publishing Agencies (APA) is the representative body for customer magazine publishers, under the umbrella of the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA).

Formed in 1993, the APA now has 31 members, producing publications for more than 350 leading companies in the UK and internationally.

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