The registration for the South Asian Digital Media Awards 2021 (SDMA) is now open. The registration opened on 25 August, and the last date to upload the project is 15 October. The competition is open to all news publishers in South Asia. All entries must have been published between 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021.
A fee of INR 6,500 or EUR 85 + tax / per submitted entry applies. Indian companies can make payments through PayUmoney via Credit card/Debit card/Net banking at the end of the registration. Other than that, Indian companies can make payments by bank transfer.
Dealing with uncertainty during the Coronavirus pandemic, media publishers face the need to diversify their offerings beyond news via different formats to re-purpose and re-package their content into attractive products and services. To stimulate and incentivize these efforts, the South Asian Digital Media Awards has launched two new categories this year: Best Newsletter and Best Podcast / Digital Audio Project.
South Asian Digital Media Awards categories-
Best Newsletter
This category is open to companies that have successfully included newsletters as a part of their editorial offering. The newsletter should have carefully tailored content that serves a specific purpose, a user-friendly interaction, coherent design, an original editorial angle and format, and measurable audience results in growth and engagement.
Best Podcast / Digital Audio Project
This category looks for innovative initiatives to tell the news through different audio formats: podcasts, audio notes, audio notifications or settings in smart devices or virtual assistants with AI technology (for instance, Alexa for Amazon), among others. Entries must demonstrate mastery of the chosen format(s), strong quality of execution, an added value to the listeners, and a measurable loyal audience.
Award categories
- Best News Website or Mobile Service
- Best Use of Online Video
- Best Data Visualization
- Best Newsletter – NEW
- Best Reader Revenue Initiative
- Best in Audience Engagement
- Best Brand Marketing Campaign (for News Brands)
- Best Branded/Sponsored Content Campaign
- Best Special Project for COVID19
- Best Podcast / Digital Audio Project – NEW
- Champion Publisher of the Year
The ‘Gold’ winners from each category are nominated to compete in the World Awards. Participants can send more than one entry per category. The jury evaluation will begin on 1 November. The South Asian Digital Media Awards finalists will be announced in December, while the winners will be announced in 2022.
