The magazine, produced for Old Mutual Corporate, also walked away with Silver in the Best Print Magazine Design (B2B) category and was selected as one of the judges’ three favourites. John Brown Media South Africa’s 'Supper Sorted' campaign for Pick n Pay scooped Gold in the Best Use of Email category for the second consecutive year.

Fresh Living magazine, also produced for Pick n Pay, received the Silver award for Best Print Magazine Editorial (B2C), and a Bronze in the Retail Print category at the ceremony held on Thursday, 7 December at Hearst Tower, New York City.

"Over and above a demand for excellence in content and design, the Pearl Awards judges require proven ROI, thus demonstrating that our work for clients leads not just to customer engagement but also to commercial success," says Justine Drake, content director for John Brown Media South Africa.

"We are enormously proud to have received three international awards and to be acknowledged by our peers on a global scale," adds Drake.

Gugu-Lisa Zwane, marketing executive at Old Mutual Corporate, adds, "Old Mutual Corporate is thrilled by the award and recognition from a prestigious organisation such as the Content Council."

"Awards like these are always won when agency and client truly become a team with a common goal and purpose. John Brown Media’s Cape Town team embraced the vision we had for MiNDSPACE and delivered something that exceeded our expectations, while always keeping the customer at the heart of the message, above all else," adds Zwane.

The Pearl Awards celebrate excellence, innovation, and effectiveness in content marketing strategies and campaigns from across the world. Professionals judged entries on overall effectiveness, creativity, and editorial excellence.

The 2017 winners were picked from 83 companies, representing nearly 170 brands from 19 different countries, making the Pearl Awards a global competition.

"Each year, we celebrate and honour excellence in content marketing across a wide variety of industry sectors and media platforms. This year’s entries were exceptional and represent the best in content marketing from around the globe," says Jacqueline Loch, chair of the Content Council.

"With marketers now spending nearly 30% of their annual marketing budgets on content marketing, content is a key part of every marketing and media strategy," adds Loch.

Having started in 2004, the Pearl Awards is the longest-running content marketing awards programme in the United States.

For more information, visit www.johnbrownmedia.co.za. You can also follow John Brown Media South Africa on Facebook or on Twitter.