Hinge Inquirer Publications (HIP), the magazine arm of the Inquirer Group, has won an award of excellence for innovative business models at the Asian Publishing Awards.
The award, given at a gala dinner on Friday in Bangkok during the Asian Publishing Convention, was for HIP’s targeted multimedia platform (TMP) model.
“HIP’s targeted multimedia platform has shown the international print publishing industry how one can effectively merge print and digital media to deliver new, unparalleled value to a diverse community of readers and advertisers,” Poch Bermudez, president and publisher of Hinge Inquirer, said in a statement.
“It wouldn’t have been possible without the full trust and support and critical collaboration of the Inquirer Group’s affiliate companies and directors in making this business model work.”
Sandy Prieto Romualdez, president and CEO of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, praised the achievement of Hinge Inquirer.
“This award represents the spirit of innovation and intrapreneurship that runs deep within the Inquirer Group of Companies,” Romualdez said. “It’s nice to know that people have taken notice of the work of Hinge Inquirer Publications despite its young age.”
Responding to reality
The award comes as the traditional business model for print media has come under increasing threat from a growing and changing digital media landscape that has increased print’s reach but not added much revenue.
“Print is not dead but the old business model for print publishers is being threatened by rapid developments and dramatic trends in Internet and mobile technologies, more specifically the steady rise of social media and the growing ubiquity of smart phones and tablet devices,” Bermudez said.
He said the TMP was the Inquirer Group’s response to this reality.
Free magazines
“Its inclusive approach to all these developments continues to make the print medium central in winning the battle to engage readers and deliver high response rates to advertisers in a multimedia landscape,” Bermudez said.
HIP’s business model is centered around the strategic distribution of free print magazines as the nucleus for highly engaged communities, according to Bermudez.
“Why be content with just surviving, when one can still thrive in print publishing?” he said.
The Asian Publishing Awards also honored several Philippine organizations: Adobo Magazine for effective digital publishing; ABS-CBN Publishing for the iPad edition of Metro Magazine for best use of screen tablet platform; and Manila Water Co., Inc., for “The Path of Pat Tubig: Water and Wastewater Trail Program” in the innovative corporate communications in a multimedia world category.