Two of TV5’s new media projects won the prestigious Boomerang Award by the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP). TV5 received the bronze boomerang for the #AskMsWorldPH campaign, while lifestyle website, Kristn.com, also won a bronze boomerang, and was the sole awardee for publishing and media.

The awards ceremony was held last August 30 at the Manansala in Rockwell. IMMAP is recognized as the leading recognition for digital marketing work in the Philippines. “The wins are a testament to the talent in a young new media group that has been around for two years,” says TV5 New Media Vice President, Sheila Paul. Both projects have also merged social media and television successfully.

It was the second award that the #AskMsWorldPH campaign has won, says Paul. The strategy was entered for effectivity and engagement. “It was the first time that we crowd sourced questions from the audience for the question and answer portion [of the 2012 Ms. World Pageant),” she says. “People submitted their questions via Twitter, and the winning entries won accommodations from Agoda.com. Their questions also of course were asked from the Ms. World contestants.” Since Filipinos have active social media usage and a collective interest in beauty pageants, the #askMsWorldPH aimed to engage Filipinos in the actual pageant, and translate this engagement to viewership for the pageant telecast.

Kristn.com, on the other hand, also won a bronze boomerang. Aside from numerous page views, the site also has allowed users to participate, by letting them give their own reviews, says Paul. The lifestyle site, according to Editor in Chief, Trixie Reyna, was built for convergence for the network. It is also the one-stop-shop for various lifestyle sections, including food and dining, fashion and beauty, movies, travel, tech and gaming, and men’s corner.

Reyna says that the help of the station’s celebrities in promoting the site has been especially helpful, especially its ambassadors, Derek Ramsay and Sophie Albert. “Kristn has showed how online and TV have gone together.” The experience of the site’s users being able to do everything needed with just a visit to the portal, is one of the main features of Kristn that sets it apart. Users can browse the products, view the recommendations by users and experts, and then make a purchase afterward, together with Kristn’s partner site. The site is currently partnered with leading hotel booking site, Agoda.com, and is currently negotiating with other purchase sites as well. Expect various themes to come out in its editorial line-up before the year ends, including food, barkadas, holiday gift guides, and more.