- Music
- 03 Dec 10
Hot Press lifted the coveted title of Consumer Magazine of the Year last night at the Irish Magazine Awards.
Hot Press lifted the coveted title of Consumer Magazine of the Year last night at the Irish Magazine Awards.
The competition in what is regarded as the blue riband of the event was tough, with the RTÉ Guide, Image, Irish Tatler and House and Home also nominated.
The magazine was singled out by the judges for its "excellent features and news stories, built on an outstanding editorial and design."
"Of all the awards, this is the one that gives most satisfaction," Hot Press editor Niall Stokes said. "Winning it is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the Hot Press team across all areas of the magazine. To create a great magazine you need a superb editorial crew and brilliant writers, designers and photographers, doing their utmost to produce the best possible publication every time you hit the news stands – and we have all of those elements in Hot Press.
"But you also have to have all of the other components. For example, hotpress.com has been an outstanding success and has contributed hugely to the strength of the magazine. We're in the middle of a redesign at the moment, so we have lots of new things planned in that area.
"You also need the guys in sales, in marketing, in promotion and in accounts to perform at the same level. One of our great successes of the past two years has been The Music Show, which is the perfect extension of what we do in Hot Press, but that's only been possible because there's such a great attitude among the staff overall. And it is also only possible because Hot Press is Ireland's most internationally recognised and respected magazine, getting the word out there across the globe for Irish music and Irish musicians.
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"You don't become Magazine of the Year without a concerted team effort," Hot Press publishing director Duan Stokes added. "In the modern era, a magazine is not a simple stand-alone 'newstand' artefact: at its best it can be a champion of causes, it can pursue ideals and create influential relationships, working within the wider community for the greater good. It is by recognising that a magazine has the capacity to deliver all this and more – to it's readers and to the community of interest – which has been key to the success of Hot Press. So for 2011, it's onwards and upwards."
The judges also praised the fact that, in spite of challenging market conditions, Hot Press has successfully used non-traditional routes to exploit key commercial partnerships.
"The Music Show is just one example of that," Hot Press Marketing Manager Mark Hogan commented. "Events like The Jagermeister Freezer Sessions, the Hot Press Signing Tent at Oxegen, the Hot Press Chat Room at Electric Picnic and the work we've done with Red Bull on the Red Bull Bedroom Jam and the Red Bull Music Academy are all part of the bigger picture we've been painting successfully. We were also heavily involved with Guinness in the Our Thursdays project – so there's never a dull moment!"
Among the other major winners on the night were Image Publications, who won Publishing Company of the Year, Confetti Magazine – which won three awards including Consumer Magazine of the Year (circulation under 15,000) – Food and Wine, which won the award for Front Cover of the Year, IMJ which won Business to Business Magazine of the Year and Shelflife, which won two awards in the business categories. Brenda Power won the Journalist of the Year Award for her work with Image magazine.