On 23rd May 2017, Grupa Onet – RAS Polska received the INMA Global Media Award from the International News Media Association. It is the first Polish media company in history to receive this prestigious award.
Mobile app Onet 4.0 was recognized in the Best Use of Mobile he for the innovative text-to-speech technology implemented by the engineers of DreamLab. This technology allows users to activate the news app with a “Onet, read!” command. After the activation, users can access an audio version of the Onet24 news service, listening to all articles rather than reading them. The news service is updated several times a day, providing all users with up-to-date information about current domestic and foreign affairs.
“The app had to meet user needs and expectations: breaking news, quality content, fast loading and videos. In the course of doing research on user behavior, we realized that one of the key issues was to deliver news to people on the go, whether they are commuting by public transport or in their own cars,” explained Bartłomiej Pucek, head of mobile and digital projects at Grupa Onet-RAS Polska. “Since news consumption has to be automatic in such circumstances, we decided that our ‘wow’ moment would be voice commands and audio delivery of news stories.”
The first edition of the INMA Global Media Awards was held in 1937. Since then, the International News Media Association has become one of the most prestigious awards in the media sector. It honors the most innovative solutions in 20 different categories. This year, 196 companies from 36 countries submitted their solutions to the competition.
Out of 655 entries, the jury selected 115 finalists, scoping from newspaper media, magazine media, digital media, and television media, to radio media. During the 87th INMA World Congress in New York City, forty winners were selected from among two groups: global and local brands.
“I feel a deep sense of pride at the achievements of our Polish team. Grupa Onet-RAS Polska is the first Polish publisher in history to receive such a prestigious international award for a mobile application. The Onet App is an achievement which demonstrates our strength to be creative and innovate, and confirms our position as one of the leading digital publishers in this part of the world,” said Mark Dekan, CEO Ringier Axel Springer Media AG and CEO of Grupa Onet-RAS Polska.
Apart from the INMA Global Award 2017, Onet 4.0 app was also recognized as the best mobile app in the Polish Mobile Trends Awards competition. It has also received an award in the Innovative Media category by the Association of Advertising Agencies.
“The Onet app strengthens our brand promise, which is to be highly innovative and offer our users access to news and entertainment in the most user-friendly way,” said Aleksander Kutela, CEO of Onet.pl. “Onet is already the most popular Polish web service available on mobile devices and I believe that the success of our app will only reinforce this position.”
