Best use of Storytelling in Social Media - Shorty Awards

12th Annual Shorty Awards Categories

The final deadline to vote for your favorite nominee or to enter your brand or organization was on Thursday, February 20th, 2020.

Influencers

Honoring the most notable and viral influencers and creators from 2020. See below for official categories.

Brands & Organizations

The Shorty Awards honor the talented agencies, brands, and industry leaders behind the best and most innovative work on social media channels, campaigns, websites and applications.

From the 4th Annual Shorty Social Good Awards Best use of Storytelling

This award honors the the most compelling and shareable social good campaigns, projects and initiatives using effective storytelling to reach a certain goal or objective.

See previous winners and honorees here.

Winner

Code & Response

Natural disasters of apocalyptic proportion are occurring at a more rapid rate than ever before. More than seven trillion US dollars economic damage and eight million deaths were caused by natural disasters since the start of the 20th Century. What if we handed over our code patterns and unleashed the creativity of developers from around the wo…

Finalists

Rising, Love Has No Labels

Inspired by true events coming out of a year marred by natural disaster (hurricanes, mudslides, wildfires, etc.), Love Has No Labels launched an original short film, Rising (directed by Game of Thrones director David Nutter with screen writer Lena Waithe) to tell the story of a diverse neighborhood that comes together to survive rising flood water…

#Romanovs100 AR Family Photo Album

The Romanovs can arguably be called the world's first photo-bloggers. In the early 20th century they documented every meaningful event in their lives. #Romanovs100 is an image-first digital storytelling project built on the analysis of thousands of photos shot by Russia’s last Royal family, executed by the Bolsheviks 100 years ago. To make history…

Changing the Game

The video game industry has long ignored players with limited mobility. As a result, gamers with limited mobility would either hack together hodgepodge tools and homemade controllers or had to spend a lot of money on a custom controller just to be able to play. For most, gaming was impossible. As the brand committed to empowering everyone to achie…

Fearless with Ashley Graham

Ellen Digital Network partnered with body activist, entrepreneur, supermodel, and game changer in the body-positive movement Ashley Graham to produce “Fearless,” a six-episode original digital series where she helps empower everyday people build confidence and be unapologetically fearless. From a trans person who isn’t yet comfortable in his ow…

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention there were an estimated 1.4 Million suicide attempts in the United States in 2017. Suicide is also on the rise in the United States, which has significantly increased national media attention. The problem with this coverage is that it's often sensationalized, and as a result it's triggeri…

Nominees

Female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice that involves altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons, is internationally recognized as a human rights violation. Globally, an estimated 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of FGM. Protecting girls and women from FGM will take a significant push to accelera…

Camila and The Shadow of Dengue

2019 marked an important point in Takeda’s history as it concluded a major acquisition. Their annual Takeda Leadership Conference convened for the first time the top 400 leaders within the expanded organization to present the company’s key priorities across business units. During this crowded two-day meeting in Tokyo, our mission was to generate internal ex…

Closing the Crop Gap

Through “Closing the Crop Gap,” we set out to raise awareness about issues related to the Crop Gap, highlight the importance of closing it, create content that evokes an emotional connection with our audience with an incentive for them to help be part of the solution and increase awareness of the brands involvement with sustainable agriculture, our commitme…

Dream Big Pittsburgh

There is no more genuine source of dreams and shared possibilities in our community than our children. With their unique and imaginative perspective on the world, they can encourage us all to do better. With support from The Heinz Endowments, Fred Rogers Productions gathered a group of “real” children from a wide range of Pittsburgh neighborhoods in 2018…

Ek Nayi Muskaan

Himalaya is one of the leading brands in the lip care category. As a brand, Himalaya Lip Care understands that lips are the conduit to the expression of one’s emotions and confidence. Hence, the core objective of the brand is to ensure healthy and nourished lips for all. With this intent, in 2015, Himalaya Lip Care launched a corrective cleft lip initiat…

Feel More Like You

Glass Entertainment Group partnered with Upworthy and Walgreens to bring attention to Walgreen’s “Feel More Like You” campaign. The program provides beauty and pharmacy support for people suffering with cancer. The side effects of cancer treatments impact not only how individuals feels on the inside, but also how they see themselves in the mirror. Through t…

Relais & Châteaux, as an association of 580 of the world’s top restaurants and hotels, has been supporting and lobbying for sustainable seafood for ten years now. The objective of previous years’ campaigns as well as this year’s has always been to promote ethically sourced fish, mollusks and crustaceans while protecting marine biodiversity. Our marine resou…

Generation Lockdown

In 95% of public schools in the United States, lockdown drills are as common as math and science. Students learn terrifying lessons like how to barricade doors with tables and how to balance on toilet seats so that gunmen can’t see their feet. March For Our Lives — the student-led organization that emerged in the tragic wake of the shooting in Parkland, Flo…

Goalcast is the world’s largest, leading source of authentic storytelling. We aim to empower individuals to take ownership and action in their lives. Our mission is to change the world. We believe that change starts from within, so every day we rise to the challenge of inspiring tens of millions of people to live life with purpose. Through the powe…

Love Calls Back

Coming out to family and friends is one of the most nerve-wracking moments in the lives of LGBTQ+ people. Many LGBTQ+ youth feel safer calling. Although some of these calls go well, many people are met with rejection and it can be the last time they every speak to family. 4 out of 10 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are rejected by fami…

Shake Shack Pride 2019 Campaign

At Shake Shack, we’re committed to providing equal opportunities for success, removing obstacles and fostering a culture of diversity, inclusion and empowerment to ensure that our company continues to be a great place to work. The goal for our 2019 Pride campaign was to celebrate and show our support for the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as our team members a…

The Wage Gap: A Scary Truth

On average in the US, women earn about 80 cents for every dollar men make and women of color make even less. And while the public is increasingly aware of the wage gap between men and women, awareness alone hasn't moved the needle. To end wage inequality, The Women's Foundation works to do more than just inspire conversation. They're dedicated to creating p…

Topical Campaign Reboot: John & Jena, Jared & John and Femi & Joey

At a time when mainstream brands are beginning to pay attention to the banning of single use plastic, creative agency Alkemy X has been a force in driving conversation around the issue. Last spring, the creative brand helped to produce a powerful PSA for Sea Shepherd, an environmental non-profit organization dedicated to protecting marine …

Wishes Delivered

For UPS, the holiday season is the busiest time of the year. As shipping volumes reach their peak, so do people’s expectations. We needed a solution for managing customer demands that would help keep the conversation around the brand positive on social media. Wishes Delivered is a social campaign that is more than just simple marketing: it has become a p…

theSkimm x Shondaland: Black History Month

In celebration of Black History Month, theSkimm and Shondaland teamed up on a video series to address the history that continues to be made in our country every single day while simultaneously honoring past historical figures and moments and connecting the dots for our audiences.

About the Shorty Awards

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media.

Millions of people participate in The Shortys to recognize individuals and organizations producing great content on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitch, TikTok, and the rest of the social web.

the 12th annual shorty awards will take place on may 3rd.