TheBusinessDesk.com wins Best Media Website
THEBUSINESSDESK.COM last night won its first award, with recognition from industry peers for having the Best Media Website at the annual How-Do Awards.
The awards, which recognise the cream of the North West’s media and marketing scene, were attended by more than 500 people at the Palace Hotel in Manchester last night.
Competition within the category came from the Manchester Evening News, Crain’s, the Lancashire Telegraph, Salford Online, The Bolton News, and Blackpool Gazette.
Judges commended the site for its rapid growth since launch and its reputation for breaking news stories.
TheBusinessDesk.com was first launched in Yorkshire in late 2007, and was so successful it was rolled out to the North West around 10 months later.
It has been an exciting year for the team, with the launch of a sister site in the West Midlands just three months ago, a free iPhone application for its subscribers and an ever growing subscriber base, which currently stands at more than 16,000 in the North West alone.
Chris Barry, North West editor, said: “The team is delighted that the How Do judges have recognised the progress TheBusinessDesk.com has made in the North West market.
“We strive to be first with major news from around the region and to really engage with the business community here.
“We’re always looking at ways to improve what we do and serve our market better. To win this award, after only 18 months in business, is fantastic.”
Robert Shrimsley, managing editor of the FT.com, was the guest speaker at the event. He talked about the challenges traditional print media faced in monetising their online offering, as print advertising revenues continue to shrink.
The FT is seen as one of the few traditional print publications to have successfully made the leap to charging for its online news product and Mr Shrimsley told the audience a few of its key ingredients for success.
He said: “There are many smaller businesses with smaller teams doing excellent work and offering their product for free because they only need a relatively small amount of revenue to cover their costs.”
He added: “But equal to our content is the data we get. Almost more important than subscriptions is the data we get requiring people to register. If we know who our readers are we can target them in so many ways that are helpful to revenue.
Mr Shrimsley went on to talk about leveraging the FT brand through conferences, events, micro sites, and specialist services to help market its core site.
“We don’t chase numbers. Of course we want to be on Google, but we are not chasing every anonymous hit. We are chasing people who want to read the FT and to develop a particular audience,” he said.
Other winners at the event were:
Personality of the Year – Richard Frediani, head of news at ITV Granada
Radio programme – Gay Life After Saddam by Made in Manchester
TV programme – Prank Patrol by Bakermedia
Radio station – Rock FM
PR agency – Brazen
Media agency – Mediaedge:cia Manchester
Media sales house/division – News International Manchester
Magazine – Lancashire Life
Independent TV/ radio production company – All Out Productions
Digital agency – Code Computerlove
Design consultancy/agency – Clock Creative Communications
Newspaper – joint winners: Crain’s and The Westmorland Gazette
Advertising/media agency – Driven
