Morning Studio – The South China Morning Post’s dedicated creative content arm for brands – was among the winners at the 2020 The Drum Online Media Awards, which recognises original, dynamic, thought-provoking worldwide content and commercial solutions.

It claimed the top award in the Native Advertising Campaign of the Year category for its seven-part Hello Hainan campaign, produced in partnership with China’s Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports of Hainan Province.

The province dubbed “China's Hawaii”, which has granted visa-free access to 59 countries,  was keen to promote itself as a leisure and business travel destination for Hongkongers and other holidaymakers.

Morning Studio’s campaign, focused on the “experiential travel” offerings found in and around its main cities, included stories with headlines such as “5 off-the-beaten-track experiences for Hainan first-timers”, “Why visitors don’t want to leave holiday haven” and “Insiders guide to delights of historic Haikou“.

Judges described the campaign as “useful, informative and interesting” and praised its “excellent balance of serving the user and the advertiser” and “great design and native content you would want to consume”. Learn more about the campaign. 

The series used a social-first approach through the creation of a range of engaging and dynamic viral content, which targeted a variety of different audiences, including families, business and leisure travellers, and the influential, social-media-savvy demographic known as Generation Z. 

All of the content was housed in one content hub, where users were able to explore the highlighted activities available in Hainan.

Three other Morning Studio campaigns – Racing through Singapore,  in partnership with Singapore Grand Prix, Flying High, Linking Lives, for Qantas Airways and Uncover Art Macao, for Macao Government Tourism Office – were also finalists in the same category.

This year’s winners of The Drum Online Media Awards, which also included Sky News, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Channel 4 News and Al Jazeera, were chosen from a shortlist of nominees selected by a panel of judges from across the industry and announced online on May 13. 

The annual awards gala, normally held in London, was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

To see all of the award winners and further information about the Drum Online Media Awards, visit here.

About The Drum

The Drum is Europe's largest media and marketing website and the fastest growing in the US and APAC. The Drum Online Media Awards identify the cleverest, boldest and most original purveyors of news and views from around the world.  From politics to sport, finance to film, the aim is to find the best application of talent and technology online. Large and small. Corporations and individuals.