Stomp wins Gold for Best Social Media Engagement at Asian Digital Media Awards 2017

Singapore Press Holdings' (SPH) Stomp cemented its place as a website of choice by clinching the Gold Award for Best in Social Media Engagement and Bronze for Best News Website at the 8th Asian Digital Media Awards (ADMA) on Wednesday (Nov 1).

The Straits Times, SPH's flagship paper, bagged eight awards including for best online video, best news mobile service and best innovation while the media company's Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao won a silver award for Best in Social Media Engagement

Jointly presented by World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and Google, the ADMA 2017 recognises publishers who have adopted digital media and mobile strategies as part of their total product offering to meet the major changes in how people consume news and information today.

Stomp's top prize for Best in Social Media Engagement can be attributed to its continuous effort in reaching out to readers through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp.

The website's award-winning approach to social media can be summed up in these five strategies of engagement:

1. Breaking news: Obtaining information when we want it, in real time 

2. Activating readers: Stomp connects directly with readers to get information, photos and videos

3. Getting things done: Readers help us to answer public appeals for help

4. On-the-ground reporting: Through the use of live videos, Stomp provides readers with news as they happen

5. Promoting civic-mindedness: Using social media to encourage positive behaviour

For the Best in Social Media Engagement category, Singapore Press Holdings' Lianhe Zaobao bagged the Silver Award while Indonesia's PT Kompas Media Nusantara took home Bronze. A total of 18 entries were received and reviewed by the judging panel.

Stomp's Award for Best News Website comes after a revamp in June.

The new and improved site provides better user experience with bigger visuals and a wider layout to take advantage of the modern wide monitor.

Stories on the website's homepage are now organised neatly in 'containers'. This clean, modular design allows for streamlined navigation through the many stories on Stomp.

Over the past year, Stomp has also gone beyond reporting on numerous occasions by leveraging on the strength of its community to reunite loved ones with family members as well as lost items with their owners.

For the Best News Website category that saw 29 entries, the South China Morning Post clinched both Gold and Silver.

This is the third year in a row that Stomp has received awards at the ADMA.

Last year, the website won Silver and Bronze for Best News Mobile Service and Best Reader Engagement respectively.

Stomp's interactive iPad app won Gold in the Best New Product category at the 6th ADMA in 2015.