Animal Planet named Scottish Magazine of the Year

A CHILDREN’S magazine about pets and animals has been named Scottish Magazine of the Year.

Animal Planet emerged victorious following three wins earlier in the evening by its publisher, DC Thomson, which took the Brand Extension prize (for The Official Jacqueline Wilson Mag), along with the Sales Initiative and Best Magazine Design (Consumer) ones – for The Beano and Animal Planet, respectively.

The magazine is the first one launched by editor, Anna Kennedy, who has been with the company for six years and is a graduate from Edinburgh Napier University’s journalism course, the university having a presence at the awards ceremony, with Pamela Jane Morris named Magazine Publishing Graduate of the Year, following a tie-up between the university’s publishing course and the award organisers, the Professional Publishers Association.

It was a good night too for design and publishing agency, CMYK Design, which took a trio of titles also: Best Magazine Design (Business and Professional), Member Magazine of the Year and Customer Magazine of the Year.

The Big Issue Scotland was also a big winner, taking the Best Magazine Cover, the Editor of the Year (Consumer) and the Feature Writer of the Year (Business and Professional) titles.

The Lifetime Achievement award – aka the Murray Cochran Award – was made to Gordon Young, founder of The Drum media and marketing magazine and website.

The awards were held last night in Edinburgh, with the Chairman’s Award going to John Ross Scott, who had been nominated in the Consumer Magazine Editor category, for his editorship of Living Orkney.

The judges said of Gillian Macdonald, winner of the Business and Professional Magazine Editor prize: “The winning editor has a clear, positive and sometimes controversial approach to content, as well as a total commitment to change that has driven up sales and circulation.”

They said of Paul McNamee, winner of the Consumer Magazine Editor prize: “The winner is someone at the helm of a great magazine which delivers impact, interest and superb writing.”

Kennedy told allmediascotland.com: “I am absolutely thrilled. It was a bit of a surprise because the title only launched in February. The whole team are absolutely delighted. We worked extremely hard on the magazine since it launched. We have gone for a really different feel for the target market. We have been going for seven-to-ten year-olds, girls and boys. We went for the educational content, strong imagery and fantastic design and I think it’s a bit different in the market.”

The Drum has recently expanded its editorial – and associated activities – to across the UK.

Young told allmediascotland.com: “If this is a Lifetime Achievement Award, I feel I haven’t really achieved anywhere near where I want to. As we’ve seen the London market open up, I almost get the sense that, for the last 25 years, what we have been doing is test-marketing The Drum and shaping the proposition and now I think we are in a really good place to launch it properly. Mainly because our other competitors have had to stand back slightly. I think there is everything to play for. Hopefully, in many years’ time, I’ll be invited back to the PPA to get the award, because then I might feel I deserve it.”

The full list of winners reads:

Best magazine cover (new category)

Winner: The Big Issue / The Big Issue Scotland

Nominated: Animal Planet / DC Thomson

No.1 / PSP Publishing

Scottish Field / Wyvex Media

Spirited / Redhouse Lane Communications

The Beano / DC Thomson

The List / The List

Times Educational Supplement Scotland / TSL Education

Trend / Trend Productions

Brand extension

Winner: The Official Jacqueline Wilson Mag / DC Thomson

Nominated: Dumfries & Galloway Life / CN Group Magazines

Scottish Wedding Directory / Scottish Wedding Directory

The List / The List

The Scottish Farmer / Newsquest (Herald & Times)

Business and professional magazine

Winner: ENT & Audiology News / Pinpoint Scotland

Nominated: Focus Scotland / West Dunbartonshire CVS

Holyrood / Holyrood Communications

The Biologist / Think

The Journal (Law Society of Scotland) / Connect Communications

The Scottish Farmer / Newsquest (Herald & Times)

Times Educational Supplement Scotland / TSL Education

Business and professional magazine design

Winner: FYi / CMYK Design

Nominated: Boots & Spurs / MB Design

Focus Scotland / West Dunbartonshire CVS

Holyrood / Holyrood Communications

Surgeons’ News / CMYK Design

Business and professional magazine editor

Winner: Gillian Macdonald, Times Educational Supplement Scotland / TSL Education

Nominated: Alasdair Fletcher, The Scottish Farmer / Newsquest (Herald & Times)

Peter Nicholson, The Journal (Law Society of Scotland) / Connect Communications

Mandy Rhodes, Holyrood / Holyrood Communications

Business and professional magazine feature writer

Winner: Ross Reid, Holyrood / Holyrood Communications

Nominated: Douglas Blane, Times Educational Supplement Scotland / TSL Education

Henry Hepburn, Times Educational Supplement Scotland / TSL Education

Katie Macintosh, Holyrood / Holyrood Communications

Mandy Rhodes, Holyrood / Holyrood Communications

Consumer magazine

Winner: Dumfries & Galloway Life / CN Group Magazines

Nominated: Living Orkney / Orkney Media Group

No.1 / PSP Publishing

Scottish Field / Wyvex Media

The List / The List

The Official Jacqueline Wilson Mag / DC Thomson

Consumer magazine design

Winner: Animal Planet / DC Thomson

Nominated: Gutter / Freight Design

The Banter / West Dunbartonshire CVS

The Big Issue / The Big Issue Scotland

The Dandy / DC Thomson

The List / The List

Consumer magazine editor

Winner: Paul McNamee, The Big Issue / The Big Issue Scotland

Nominated: Richard Bath, Scottish Field / Wyvex Media

Jonny Ensall, The List / The List

Nadine Hawkins, No.1 / PSP Publishing

John Ross Scott, Living Orkney / Orkney Media Group

Andrea Thompson, Dumfries & Galloway Life / CN Group Magazines

Consumer magazine feature writer

Winner: Adam Forrest, The Big Issue / The Big Issue Scotland

Nominated: Anne Armstrong, Dumfries & Galloway Life / CN Group Magazines

Lindsay Cochrane, Enable / DC Publishing

Malcolm Jack, The List / The List

Claire Sawers, The List / The List

Customer magazine

Winner: Aurora / CMYK Design

Nominated: Discover NLS / Think

Edit / White Light Media

Escape / Think

Glasgow / Glasgow City Council

The Key / Connect Communications

Digital magazine (new category)

Winner: Life / White Light Media

Nominated: Choice / Redhouse Lane Communications

Conference Call / White Light Media

Strathclyde People / White Light Media

Digital strategy (new category)

Winner: The List / The List

Nominated: Menopause Matters / Menopause Matters

Perspectives on the Future / RBS Business Services, Strategy & Architecture

Scottish Wedding Directory / Scottish Wedding Directory

Member magazine

Winner: Surgeons’ News / CMYK Design

Nominated: Boots & Spurs / MB Design

Historic Scotland / Think

Life & Work / Church of Scotland

Off the Run / Strathclyde Fire & Rescue

Scotland in Trust / CMYK Design

Unfiltered / Connect Communications

Friends / Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Publisher

Winner: Paul Grant / PSP Publishing

Nominated: Darren Bruce / Newsquest (Herald & Times)

Denise Connelly / DC Publishing

John Innes / Think

Ritchie Marshall / West Dunbartonshire CVS

Sales initiative

Winner: The Beano / DC Thomson

Nominated: Animals and You / DC Thomson

Dumfries & Galloway Life / CN Group Magazines

Scottish Wedding Directory / Scottish Wedding Directory

The List / The List

Staff magazine

Winner: The Exova Magazine / White Light Media

Nominated: Choice / Redhouse Lane Communications

Our People / CMYK Design

Re:Fresh / Heineken UK

Sláinte / Western Isles NHS

Spirited / Redhouse Lane Communications