NEWSQUEST has been shortlisted for a top award alongside national titles.

The company is the leading local multi-media group in the UK and publishes titles throughout Hampshire including the The Gazette, Andover Advertiser, Southern Daily Echo, the Hampshire Chronicle and the Romsey Advertiser.

Newsquest Media Group has been shortlisted alongside the Economist and Financial Times for a top award at the 2016 Online Media Awards.

The nomination comes in the Best Use of Data for Commercial Gain category for Newsquest’s range of category-specific display advertising.

This has significantly improved the accessibility and performance of the media group’s online display campaigns for its 50,000 plus local SME advertisers.

Newsquest Digital Director Mark Smith said: “Our Ad Product development team have put a lot of time, thought and effort into what they’ve produced for our local sales team so it’s particularly gratifying to be recognized on a shortlist of 3 alongside major global brands like The Economist and the FT.”

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 has already won the Most Innovative Digital Publisher of the Year award at the Drum’s Digital Trading Awards in May and the company continues to drive digital innovation throughout the 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.”

The new range of products was developed by Newsquest’s central digital display team who created highly targeted advertising packages for specific client categories which were then rolled out across the group.

This simplified the sales process for Newsquest’s more than 800 sales executives and improved campaign performance for advertisers while also improving yields, average campaign values and sales volume for the company.

The eventual winners will be announced at the Drum’s Online Media Awards on June 7 in London.