MUMBAI: At the prestigious WAN-IFRA World Digital Media Awards announced at Glasgow, Arré struck Gold in the Best in Lifestyle, Sports, Entertainment Website or Mobile Services category. Praise came in from the judges who noted, “This entry stands out for its distinctive commitment to video entertainment. The clean, impactful design is the icing on the cake. Beautiful product.” 

The Arré website and app is now in the august company of established international heavyweights like the New York Times, the Guardian, and the Washington Post. In fact, the other finalists that Arré bested in the same category included The Lily, a website by the Washington Post, USA; Do Outro Lado, UOL from Brazil; and Hia Magazine from the UAE. Arré is also the only Indian website out of eight winners honoured at the 2019 edition of the awards. 

Magdoom Mohamed, Managing Director-South Asia-WAN IFRA said “This is the third time Arré has won a WAN-IFRA award – the first time at a global level (and only the second time for an Indian brand). It’s truly promising to see such a young brand doing well, and we wish them more success.”

B. Saikumar, Founder, Arré, “We are honoured and humbled to receive such a reputed international award. When we started in April 2016, we had no idea that we’d find ourselves in the company of publishing giants like the Guardian, New York Times, and Washington Post, so soon after. No matter which medium we choose to tell stories in – long-form web shows, fiction or non-fiction video, audio, or text – it has been our constant endeavour to distinguish ourselves, and yet remain faithful to the voice we have so diligently carved in a crowded media landscape. We’re particularly thankful to our collaborators, contributors, partners, and advertisers. May great storytelling continue!”

WAN-IFRA is a distinguished global association of newspapers and news publishers, working with a network of 3,000 news publishing companies and technology entrepreneurs, as well as 80 member publisher associations representing 18,000 publications across 120 countries. The awards were presented during a ceremony held at the conclusion of the World News Media Congress at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, UK. In 2017 and 2018, Arré had won the South Asian Digital Media Award in the same category, also organised by WAN-IFRA. 

This is Arré’s 11th international win. In 2016, the web show A.I.SHA My Virtual Girlfriend raked up a number of wins at the LA Web Festival, including Best Series – Drama, as well as editing, direction, and acting credits. That same year, the show gathered Best Overall Series and Best Suspense Thriller wins at the South Florida Web Festival, followed by the CMO Asia Branding Excellence Award, and an Asia Web Award in 2017. At the 21st Annual Webby Awards in 2016, Arré’s web show Official Chukyagiri bagged an Official Honoree credit in the Film Series Category and Video Long Form or Series Category. In 2018, WRPN.TV’s Tight and Loose Global Film Festival Competition awarded the Arré-Teeli short film, Matched!, an Indo-Pakistan collaboration, with a Special Outstanding Excellence credit. 

The other winners at the WAN-IFRA awards include the Guardian, that won the Best News Website and Best Data Visualisation; The New York Times, that won for Best Use for Online Video; and Jota, Brazil, that won Best Digital News Start-up, among others. Other awardees included the LA Times podcast, Dirty John, and AJ+ Español.