GMA New Media Inc. (GMA NMI), a wholly owned subsidiary of GMA Network Inc., was announced the Bronze winner in Best App – Community Service at the fifth edition of Mob-Ex Awards at Shangri-La Hotel Singapore.
The win is for the GMA News Online Eleksyon 2016 mobile application that GMA NMI developed in close collaboration with GMA News and Public Affairs. “We wanted to provide the public with news and information they can trust, in a manner that’s accessible to them,” said Marissa Flores, senior vice president, GMA News and Public Affairs. “It was all in the name of Serbisyong Totoo (genuine service) delivered to them at a crucial time in the country’s history.”
In an extremely competitive media, the success of a broadcast/multimedia company rests on who publishes the election results first and accurately. GMA Network prides itself as having successfully published accurate poll results first across all media: television, radio, and mobile devices through the website and social media platforms.
According to Google Analytics, mobile app screen views reached almost 9,000,000 during the month of the elections.
The number of users increased by 300 percent on election week (May 9-15) with 113,378 users, compared to the average weekly users from Jan-Apr 2016 of 27,823 users. Total screen views increased by 970 percent on election week (May 9-15) with 5,807,026 screen views, compared to the average weekly screen views from Jan-Apr 2016 of 541,002.
Mobile app ranking on the App Store rose from no. 13 to no. 2 ranking within two days. This proves that a lot of users turned to the GMA News Online Mobile App for invaluable information before, during and after the elections.
GMA NMI prides itself in consistently elevating technology to a level where it is interactive, informative, and entertaining all at the same time. This recent award is but further proof of a winning tradition that has spanned more than a decade. Of the recognition, GMA NMI President and COO Judd Gallares said, “NMI has been in the business for almost 17 years, and we’ve always pushed for excellence in all that we set out to achieve. This is our first time to enter the Mob-Ex Awards and we are truly honored to have won. It is recognition of the team’s dedication, hard work and the expertise that we’ve painstakingly honed through the years.”
As the future-proofing agent of GMA Network, GMA NMI takes the lead to ensure that the Network is at the forefront of the latest in new media technology. Among its more recent pioneering works are the deployment of the 360 Video Livestreaming, the first ever 360-degree live stream in the Philippines launched during the general elections held in 2016, and launching a proprietary search engine in the Eleksyon 2013 and 2016 microsites called “Smart Search,” the only local website with the unique search capability that was pivotal to the record pageviews for the site in the 2013 and 2016 polls. NMI also developed a proprietary ad server to accommodate the ad serving needs of GMA Network’s online assets.
Organized by Marketing magazine, Mob-Ex Awards is a regional awards show dedicated to rewarding leading organizations that have pushed their limits and achieved success on mobile platforms, through sound and innovative mobile marketing strategies.
A jury made up of senior digital marketing experts from brands across the region chose the champions for this year.