New international custom publishing awards launched

Interesting factoid: 15% of the work done in U.K. custom publishing is online. This tidbit was buried in a press release that says the Association of Publishing Agencies (APA), the trade body for the customer publishing industry, is launching the International Customer Publishing Awards under the theme "do you love editorial?".

For the first time, the APA is inviting entries from abroad and entrants can do so online. Of the 25 awards available, four are online related (Best digital solution of the year (B2B/internal), Best digital communication of the year (consumer),Best digital solution of the year (charity, not for profit, public sector), Best integrated marketing solution of the year).

"The buoyancy of the industry, the rise of digital and the increased interest from international organisations all led to the birth of these new awards, combined with the fact we believe every editorialised content provider should be eligible for entry to continue to raise the bar of customer publishing," [said Julie Hutchison, chief operating offers of a APA]

The inaugural awards will take place at London's Old Billingsgate on November 25.

This new international focus may put these awards in competition with other custom publishing awards that have attracted the often-multinational custom publishing firms -- such as the (U.S.) Custom Publishing Council's Pearl awards and the Magnum Opus Awards