• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, June 1, 2009

For the third annual Best Cover Competition, the American Society of Magazine Editors is trying something new: a partnership with Amazon.com that will allow consumers to choose their favorite magazine covers by voting online.

By inviting readers to vote on their favorite covers, ASME recognizes the importance of popular opinion at the newsstand; it also raises the profile of the awards and all the competing magazines. At a time when many big titles are suffering from recessionary trends, it's a canny strategy.

Capitalizing on the appeal of interactive media -- especially when it solicits a personal opinion -- ASME and Amazon.com are asking visitors to the popular retail site starting June 1 to vote on magazine covers in 10 categories, with candidates chosen from issues that appeared July 2008-June 2009.

The categories include Best Obama cover (a genre unto itself over the last year), Best News & Business, Best Entertainment & Celebrity, Best Sports & Fitness, Best Fashion & Beauty, Best Science, Technology & Nature, Best House & Home, Best Lifestyle, Most Delicious, and Sexiest. The deadline for submissions is June 12.

In each category, six candidates will be chosen from among the nominees by a panel of magazine editors, design directors, art directors and photo directors. The final candidates will be posted on Amazon.com, where visitors will be allowed to vote for one cover in each category.

Next, Amazon.com will showcase the winners in each category, and visitors will again be invited to vote, this time to choose the "Cover of the Year."

Sid Holt, ASME's CEO, observed that Amazon's "customers clearly enjoy the medium of print, and the magazine industry is thrilled to have an opportunity to develop a more interactive and meaningful relationship with Amazon's users." Peter Larsen, Amazon's director for magazines, added: "Amazon customers are never shy about voicing their opinions."

The partnership with Amazon takes the Best Cover Awards in a somewhat more populist direction. Previously, judging was restricted to a smaller circle of media professionals, giving the contest a clubby, insider-only feel. Of course, the Amazon voting is also a marketing tactic; in addition to voting on their favorite covers, participants will have numerous opportunities to subscribe to the magazines under consideration.