NEW YORK (September 8, 2017) Pets+, a brand-new publication for American pet business owners from SmartWork Media, was one of the surprise standouts when FOLIO Magazine announced finalists for its upcoming Eddie & Ozzie Awards, whose winners will be revealed on October 11 in New York City.
Despite having only published its first edition in January 2017, Pets+ was named a finalist in three key categories:
• Best Design of a New B2B Magazine
• Best Full Issue, B2B Overall (for the May-June 2017 edition)
• Best B2B Newsletter
SmartWork Media’s properties for jewelry store owners (INSTORE) and eyecare business owners (INVISION) were also honored as FOLIO finalists.
In print, INSTORE made the finals for Best Full Issue, B2B Retail, while INSTORE managing editor Eileen McClelland earned a finalist nod in the category of Best Single Article, B2B Retail for her story “13 Sales Secrets to Spark Business”.
Digital finalists included INVISION for Best B2B Healthcare website, INSTORE for Best B2B Retail website, and INSTORE for Best B2B newsletter.
The FOLIO Awards received more than 2,800 entries from consumer and B2B media businesses all around the world.
The strong showing of Pets+ was especially notable considering the youth of the magazine. The Pets+ team includes publisher Craig Rexford, a pet industry veteran, plus editor-in-chief Ralf Kircher and senior editor Pamela Mitchell, formerly of Dogster.
“We’re incredibly proud of how Pets+ has taken off,” said SmartWork Media CEO Matthijs Braakman. “We’ve got an amazing team in Craig, Ralf and Pam and the magazine has gotten a phenomenal response from readers since we started. ”
“The most exciting thing about being with Pets+ is how passionate readers already are about the publication,” said Rexford. “We’re confident that we’re bringing something really new — and genuinely valued — to the pet market.”
After a successful first year, Pets+ is moving from a 6x publishing schedule in 2017 to a 10x publishing schedule in 2018. Email bulletins will also move from a 3x weekly schedule to a 5x weekly schedule.
SmartWork Media’s media products have earned 102 awards since 2004. In July, SmartWork Media received a major honor when INVISION took home the competition’s most prestigious award, Best Single Issue, at the Trade Association Business Press International (TABPI) Awards. (See the company’s full list of awards.)
