General Motors, One97 and ICICI Lombard win in first IAMAI India Digital awards

RedBus.in and Apalya Technologies were awarded Best Internet and Mobile Start-Up of the Year.

Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) announced the winners of the first India Digital Awards 2010 during its fifth India Digital Summit held in New Delhi on Wednesday, December 8.

India Digital Awards included five categories - Best Digital (Internet and Mobile) Start-Up of the Year, Best Digital Socio-Economic Initiative, Best Digital Innovation, Best Internet Marketing Campaign and Best Mobile Marketing Campaign. IAMAI received 300 entries, of which 27 were shortlisted in the mentioned categories.

Internet and Mobile Start-Up of the Year awards were given to RedBus.in and Apalya Technologies respectively for the business concept and the technological advantages offered by the product/service.

RedBus.in is an online bus ticket booking site started by three Bengaluru based engineers in 2006. Currently, it has tie ups with more than 700 bus operators and offers ticketing facilities for 15 states in India.

Apalya Technologies is a Hyderabad based mobile media solution provider which has developed mobile TV platforms of various media companies such as STAR News and Discovery Channel. It has partnerships with more than 10 mobile telephony firms in the country. Apalya Technologies also powered the broadcast of IPL3 on mobile phones.

The Best Digital Socio-Economic Initiative of the Year award went to Eko India Financial Services. The company is involved in building low cost financial services infrastructure to increase the reach of financial institutions to the un-banked in urban as well as rural areas. It has a tie up with State Bank of India and ICICI Bank, through which it enabled un-banked people to start their bank accounts and transact easily via mobile. Malayala Manorama was the runner-up in this category.

The Best Internet Marketing Campaign of the Year award went to General Motors India for its 'Drive your Beat' contest campaign, which was carried out before the launch of the Beat in 2010. The campaign was awarded for the most effective and innovative use of websites and associated tools for marketing purposes.

The agency created a website, Driveyourbeat.com, and asked users to create their profiles on the site and select options to convey 'what their heart beats for'. Users could convey their beats by naming the places, events, people and issues that made their heart beat.

One97 Communications bagged the award in the Best Digital Innovation category for its 'TalktoMe' product (associated with Airtel), which enables Airtel mobile subscribers to talk live with Bollywood actors.

The award for the Best Mobile Marketing Campaign went to ICICI Lombard General Insurance for the most effective use of mobile technology for marketing or brand awareness. Nokia India was the runner-up in both Internet and Mobile Marketing categories.

IAMAI also recognised a few individuals for their notable work in the digital media space. Anil Sardana, managing director, Tata Teleservices was adjudged the 'Mobile Person of the Year'; Deep Kalra, founder and chief executive officer, Makemytrip.com was named as 'Internet Person of the Year'. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder, One97 Communications, was named as 'Mobile VAS Person of the Year'.