View to a Quill

With real lives, real stories and real people for inspiration, PeopleAsia “went for the Quill” — and won three trophies — during the recently concluded Philippine Quill 2014 Awards at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria in Mandaluyong City. Dubbed as the country’s most prestigious and comprehensive awards in business communication, the Quills were given by the International Association of Business Communicators in the Philippines.   

Overjoyed by their recent victory, PeopleAsia editor-in-chief and general manager Joanne Rae Ramirez said, “We will remain hungry and as a member of our team said, ‘we will always go for the Quill’.”

The awards reaffirm the magazine’s firm, no-nonsense standing in the world of glossies. PeopleAsia is the only glossy to take home three of these professional merit awards in the Communication Division — one each for its most memorable issues from 2014. (The Philippine STAR, mother company of PeopleAsia, is the only newspaper to win this year’s Quill Award of Excellence in Communications Management for its highly successful CSR campaign titled #28StoriesOfGiving.)

Joanne received the award on behalf of PeopleAsia with managing editor Jose Paolo Dela Cruz and art director Chino Corrales. The three went up the stage with palpable joy, each holding a trophy, a haul for a well-deserved recognition.

On top of PeopleAsia’s haul was its special issue titled Five Years Later: Remembering Cory, a commemorative issue on the fifth death anniversary of the beloved icon of democracy and late former President Corazon C. Aquino. The issue, which chronicled the life of Cory as a woman, mother, wife and President, is a treasure trove of rare, powerful photos and moving stories.

Joining Remembering Cory as a winner in the Publication category is another critically acclaimed issue. Also known as the “People of the Year” issue, PeopleAsia’s December 2013-January 2014 edition emerged as a victor. On the cover is the first Filipina Miss World, Megan Young, who led a pack of “People of the Year” awardees in the magazine’s thickest issue of the year.

The magazine’s “People of the Year” issue is PeopleAsia’s annual take to honor world-class Filipinos who have done the Philippines proud with their extraordinary talents and contributions to society. The prestigious award is a badge of honor, a seal of distinction, a mark of excellence that further highlights the life and works of the awardees.

Last but not the least, PeopleAsia completed its trifecta of excellence with the stunning visuals of its “Women of Style and Substance” issue, released in August 2014. A winner in the publication design category, this issue wowed the jury with its consistent and powerful use of images that depict the modern woman at her most powerful, stylish and meaningful state.

This year’s competition was no walk in the park, what with a 59 percent spike in entries for the Professional divisions, and a 31 percent increase in the volume of entries for the Student divisions. Top corporations, some armed with more than dozens of entries, also vied for recognition, during The Hunger Games-themed ceremonies.

In the end, only a handful of recipients went home with the much-coveted Quills at hand — emerging as winners in this arena of creativity and strategic communication.

The Awards Night, which saw the ballrooms of the Crowne Plaza full to the rafters, was decked like the fictional capitol of Panem in The Hunger Games for the show. And while some guests attended in more playful costumes in true Capitol fashion, receiving the accolade was serious business — and honor — for all.

As Belle Tiongco, the chair of this year’s Philippine Quill Awards Committee, said, “More than a competition, the Quill Awards is an opportunity for companies to come together and celebrate our shared successes in the field of business communication. We have prepared a nice gathering and we hope more organizations join us next year.”

PeopleAsia magazine emerges as the only glossy magazine to win three awards of merit during the prestigious Philippine Quill Awards 2014. Receiving the awards were PeopleAsia art director Chino Lester Corrales, managing editor Jose Paolo Dela Cruz and editor-in-chief Joanne Rae Ramirez.Photo by Melo Balingit

 

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