THE Daily Echo’s publisher Newsquest Media Group has won the award for the Best use of Data for Commercial Gain at the 2016 Online Media Awards.

Newsquest was shortlisted alongside the Economist and Financial Time.

Its award reflects the innovative and successful approach Newsquest has taken in developing category-specific display advertising products for its 50,000 local advertisers.

The new suite of products delivers highly targeted advertising packages for specific client categories. They have simplified the sales process for Newsquest’s local sales teams, improved campaign performance for advertisers and simultaneously increased yields, average campaign values and sales volume.

The award was presented at the Drum Online Media Awards, now in their fifth year, at a ceremony in London.

Speaking after receiving the award, Newsquest’s digital display director, Simon Sarahs, said: “Becoming a more client-centric organisation has been critical to our success. By putting our clients’ needs at the heart of everything we do we’ve been able to develop a credible digital product proposition for our local advertisers – ensuring their ads are being served to the right people, at the right time, and in the right environment.”

Newsquest digital director Mark Smith said: “It’s a fitting reward for the digital display team and the smart thinking and effort that they’ve put in to what they’ve produced for our local sales teams. To have been shortlisted alongside the Financial Times and the Economist and won is no small feat and they deserve the recognition.“

Having already won Most Innovative Digital Publisher of the Year at the Drum’s Digital Trading Awards in May, the award reflects the continued effort to drive digital innovation throughout the Newsquest business.

David McMurtrie, Google’s head of publishers, UK and Ireland, said: “Newsquest’s use of Google products from both a technical and strategic perspective has seen them drive revenue and efficiency across their portfolio.”

Daily Echo advertisement director Tracy Hayden said: “Ad Products have transformed the way customers are able to buy digital advertising through these innovative ‘off the shelf’ products.

“The sales collateral has been simplified with content focusing on how to reach the right audience, making the buying process clearer for customers who may not be experienced in advertising online. 

“It has also transformed the way our salesforce present digital advertising through easy to use sales material and prompts.”

Newsquest has more than 165 local news brands across the UK, publishing online and in print. Its digital only businesses include s1 and Exchange & Mart. It reaches 28 million visitors a month online and 6.5 million readers a week in print. Newsquest is part of Gannett, a next generation media company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Drum is one of the UK’s leading media and marketing publishers, which runs a series of media awards for agencies, publishers and brands across the UK.