Aspect scoops Consumer Magazine of the Year

Robust return on investment coupled with great production values and design enabled Close Up to beat runners up Shortlist and The Oldie in 2008’s IPAC awards and scoop the coveted Consumer Magazine of the Year 2008 title.

The judges of the PPA’s Independent Publishers’ Advisory Council also recognised that, following one of Aspect’s essential USPs, Close Up recruits the finest sports and betting journalists to maintain “a high standard of editorial without over branding”.

The high quality sports magazine for Ladbroke’s ‘elite’ customers was judged to be “clearly effective and conecting with the audience”. As a result, regular readers of Close Up continue increase their betting acitvity, on average by 14%. The control group of customers not receiving the magazine recorded an incremental loss.

Summing up, the judges said: “It [Close Up] does everything a customer magazine should, giving the client a clear ROI.”

Commenting on the win, Aspect’s CEO, Roger Wilsher, said: “This shows that magazines that Aspect produces on behalf of its many clients are of such quality and appeal they are bursting out of the customer publishing fold and winning in the more competitive consumer environment. It’s a great testament to the strength and ability of the people we employ.”

Other highlights of the Magazines 2008 week included Close Up beating off strong competition to be highly acclaimed in the PPA Magazine Oscars for Customer Magazine of the Year.

To achieve the accolade the Aspect team saw off competition from:

33 Thoughts – BDO Stoy Hayward – John Brown
About the House – Royal Opera House – BBC Customer Publishing
Camouflage – British Army – Haymarket Network
OneLife – Land Rover – Redwood
Sky Sports – Sky – Haymarket Network
Waitrose Food Illustrated – Waitrose – John Brown
Your M&S – Marks & Spencer – Redwood

Wilsher added: “This just shows that customer magazines are no longer just about looking good and appearing to be like good, quality titles. They have to work extremely hard to attain the recognition the brands that pay for them not only expect, but deserve. I’m just glad the team we have works for us.”

On 23 May the Aspect team will be travelling to Brighton for the Communicators in Business Awards 2008, where the hope is to pick up the Class Winning Award for Magazine/News Magazine.

Art Director Joel O’Connor, who was also highly commended for his work in the IPAC Designer of the Year award, has already been given the Award for Excellence in the CiB awards for his work on Close Up. The judge said that what struck him about Close Up was that “there’s nothing to criticise”. He summed up saying: “In a class where the standard is extremely high, Close Up takes on all comers with total confidence.”