‘Aman Ki Asha’ bags two top global awards


‘Aman Ki Asha’ bags two top global awards
Times of India CEO Ravi Dhariwal and Shahrukh Hasan, Group Managing Editor Jang Group, with outgoing INMA President Michael Phelps, the CEO of the Washington Examiner.

 NEW YORK: Aman ki Asha, the joint peace initiative of the Jang Group and The Times of India received two top awards at the prestigious annual awards ceremony of the International Newsmedia Marketing Association, the world’s largest news media organisation recognising global best practices, ideas and campaigns.

Aman ki Asha received the Best in ‘Brand Awareness Across Platforms’ award in over 300,000 circulation category, and the coveted ‘Best of Show’ award for being the best campaign in all categories.

Judges hailed Aman ki Asha as a ‘game-changer’ in India-Pakistan relations, as a corporate social responsibility campaign looking beyond the contentious 60-year-old political border between the two countries to find common ground via a cultural exchange, conflict resolution, and commerce opportunities.

Group Managing Editor Jang Group Shahrukh Hasan and CEO Times of India Group Ravi Dhariwal accepted the awards on behalf of their companies. Mr Dhariwal also has the additional honour of just being elected as the new President of INMA.

The 76-year-old INMA Awards competition generated 550 entries from 143 market-leading newspapers in 30 countries, judged by an international panel of industry experts involved with media companies, advertising agencies, trade magazines, and more. Judges came from Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Canada, India, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, United States, and the United Kingdom. Judging was based on concept, creativity, copy/graphic design, production, effectiveness, and results. Entries were judged in comparison to other entries.

‘This is the greatest initiative and most powerful campaign I have ever seen in my years of being with INMA,’ said former INMA president Eivind Thomsen, a Senior Vice President of Schibsted, Norway, which received the third place in ‘Best of Show’ awards. ‘I found it very moving, beyond politics,’ he added.

Second place in ‘Best of Show’ went to The Gazette, Montreal for its long-term ‘Words Matter’ campaign showing its reverence for words. The awards were presented at the conclusion of the 81st Annual INMA World Congress at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers in New York at a dinner attended by more than 200 top media executives from around the world.

In total, INMA unveiled 91 first place, second place, and third place recipients of the prestigious INMA Awards across 10 categories and three circulation groups. Award recipients came from 72 newspapers in 21 countries. INMA President Michael Phelps, CEO of the Washington Examiner presented the awards.

‘Competition was particularly fierce for the Best of Show awards this year,’ said Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of INMA. ‘Yet these three top campaigns were really breakthrough in impact and creativity. What they all have in common is a determined focus on brand, often a key differentiator in today’s crowded marketplace.




Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *