13th Annual Shorty Awards Categories

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

By Campaign
By Design
By Industry
By Overall Presence
Campaign by Platform
Content and Media
Influencer & Celebrity Brand Partnership
Strategy & Engagement
Video by Platform
Video Content
Virtual
Websites & Apps

From the 8th Annual Shorty Awards Best Contest or Promotion

This award honors the most effective and innovative contest, promotion or sweepstakes. All aspects of the campaign will be considered, including content, promotion goals, reach and effectiveness.

See previous winners and honorees here.

Winner

Contest or Promotion
winner
Mr. Robot: Debt Deletion
To promote the premiere of USA Network's new show Mr. Robot, USA and ISL created a massive, first of its kind campaign. Our mission was to have our activation be the living manifestation of Mr. Robot and the fsociety hackers by highlighting one of the show's main themes — massive wealth redistribution. To do this, we built a real-world hacker lair…

Finalists

Contest or Promotion
finalist
Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Big Game
In 2013, Intuit QuickBooks designed a program to empower small businesses and fuel their success while increasing brand awareness and positive brand sentiment. We launched Small Business Big Game, where one small business earned the opportunity of a lifetime: an all-expense-paid Super Bowl commercial. By putting a small business in an arena typica…
Contest or Promotion
finalist
JetBlue's Soar With Reading
Launched in 2011, JetBlue's Soar with Reading (SWR) program is designed to encourage kids' imaginations to take flight through reading. The program's goal is to get books into the hands of kids in need. As an issue that is important to crewmembers, customers and the community, JetBlue's is working to help foster a love of reading from an early age…
Contest or Promotion
finalist
Lucy The Robot
BackgroundGlobal technology company, Double Robotics, wanted to launch into the Australian market with its Double telepresence robot. The device allows a remote user to manoeuvre the robot from the comfort of their home or office, and to interact with the world via video and audio devices.Double robotics briefed Atomic 212° to develop a strategy a…

Nominees

Contest or Promotion
#12DaysofLUV Social Contest Campaign
Increase Fan Participation & Raise Awareness of the Southwest Gift CardThe main objectives of the #12DaysofLUV social campaign and contest were to tap into the love of Southwest fans to increase UGC submissions and create positive conversation in the social space. Secondarily, we were also asked to raise awareness of the Southwest gift card to ultimately in…
Contest or Promotion
#BeTheStory
Establish NBA 2K as "THE" sports video game title and sell a crap ton of video games.
Contest or Promotion
#HAWAIISCAPE
For years, Virgin America had heard from frequent flyers that they'd love the airline to start service to Hawai'i. Well, we took notice, and once the timing was right we locked in service to the Aloha State, with the first flight landing in Honolulu, Oahu in November 2015.As an airline that is known to attract business travelers, we knew it was important an…
Contest or Promotion
#MakeAmazing
Traditional sponsorships of brand and product placements are a thing of the past. To be truly effective in engaging today's audiences with a brand, the integration needs to fit seamlessly within the storyline. And that's exactly what Air Canada's #MakeAmazing campaign set out to accomplish through it's The Amazing Race Canada partnership this past summer…
Contest or Promotion
#StandUp4
For the past 5 years, MasterCard has partnered with Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) and donated to the cause's groundbreaking research each time a card was used for dining.Since we began working with SU2C, more and more restaurant chains and charity organizations have started such initiatives. "Dine out and donate" has become its own category[1].To continue build…
Contest or Promotion
Audi Be my ValenTTine
The new Audi TT launched to the public late 2014. The TT is aimed at young audience, with a high disposable income. We wanted to find a way to really connect with this audience who spends less time paying attention to conventional advertising channels and more time using social platforms.
Contest or Promotion
Chegg Music 101: #EdOnCampus
Every school year students have the same course of events on the horizon – going to class, doing homework, and taking exams. Chegg knows the student experience is about more than what happens in the classroom, and lets face it, everyone needs a study break now and then. To ease the madness students feel throughout the semester, Chegg teamed up with pop supe…
Contest or Promotion
E Stings 2015
E Stings is a creative competition run yearly by British TV channel E4, challenging viewers to produce 10 second animations for the channel's on-screen branding idents. Using a set of brand assets provided, viewers have to use their talent, skill and creativity - the quirkier and more unique the better.For the 2015 competition E4 decided to shake things up …
Contest or Promotion
Emirates Connect 4
THE CHALLENGE Emirates Airline was adding a fourth daily flight from JFK. But with 74 international carriers operating in the metropolitan area, we couldn't just tell busy New Yorkers that Emirates offered four chances a day to connect to the world, we needed the news to stop them in their tracks. THE EVENT ACTIVATION In the middle of New York's Herald Squa…
Contest or Promotion
Girl Scout Cookie Boss Engagement: Plain Is Boring. Bling Your Booth!
To help promote participation in the Girl Scout Cookie Program, and get girls and parents excited to jump into the FUN, the social media team at Girl Scouts of the USA launched a national Bling Your Booth! Facebook contest. The contest served as a unique, creative way to highlight to girls how much fun selling Girl Scout Cookies can be, while also showing a…
Contest or Promotion
HBO NOW Saves You #68CentsaDay
The launch of HBO NOW was a disruptive change to the traditional pay TV landscape and meant that HBO can now reach younger, internet-only audience ala the cord-cutters. However, to many people, the cost of an HBO NOW subscription for $15/month seemed expensive – especially among millennials. But when you break it down, getting HBO NOW for $15/month is re…
Contest or Promotion
Happy + Healthy at DFW
Maintaining a balanced lifestyle isn't easy, especially when you're on the go. Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport recognized the importance of having healthy options available and raised the level of concessions available for everyone. The "Happy + Healthy" Campaign showcased our holistic effort to be one of the healthiest airports with concessio…
Contest or Promotion
Hillside Beach Club CIO
Our target was to find a way to engage our global base and create social media with a reasonable budget. To do that, we created a unique & an entertaining recruitment process, and carried it out on a social medium like Instagram.
Contest or Promotion
Imagine Dragons "Destination Dragons Tour" presented by Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines, which is in the business of making memories for its customers, was seeking an authentically unique way to build brand affinity and overall awareness among people 18-54. It also wanted to raise awareness of its L.A. and Atlanta routes. The team aspired to create a program that would fire people's imaginations. From a strategic standpoin…
Contest or Promotion
Impractical Jokers FAN-Tastic Countdown
Summary: A Social-led campaign that changed four seasons of viewer habits and made time-shifters watch it live. Impractical Jokers is truTV's most-watched and most time-shifted series (+80%). truTV's flagship was celebrating its 100th episode with a stunt week culminating in their first-ever live "Punishment"! Entering Season 4, truTV sought both a Top-5 r…
Contest or Promotion
JBL #CordFail Effect (Back and Bigger Than Ever)
Originally launched in 2014, this second iteration of the #CordFail campaign was designed to make an even bigger splash across multiple channels and to raise brand awareness around the new, Bluetooth-enabled JBL Everest series of five wireless headphones. The renewed JBL #CordFail campaign aimed to engage with more consumers than the year prior through trad…
Contest or Promotion
LG USA Mobile - #BestShotEver
Primary goal: Align the brand with mobile photography and double the mobile photography conversation surrounding LG Mobile. Secondary goal: Create an ownable, repeatable UGC contest to represent LG's commitment to mobile photography.Secondary goal: Create an ownable, repeatable UGC contest to represent LG's commitment to mobile photography.
Contest or Promotion
Liberty Mutual and eBay: Bid Protection
In June, Liberty Mutual Insurance and eBay teamed up to create a unique program, called Bid Protection. The campaign, created by Havas Worldwide New York, gave eBay bidders the chance to win back the item they lost in the auction.The initiative highlighted how Liberty Mutual Insurance provides protection for all areas of your life: your car, your home, and …
Contest or Promotion
Lovin' The Super Bowl
McDonald's believes a little lovin' can change a lot. Our goal for Lovin' the Super Bowl was simple: we wanted to prove the lovin' that comes from the brand through mass awareness, changing the sentiment around McDonald's, and making Twitter a more positive place for the day. This idea was based off of the simple insight from McDonald's founder Ray Kroc tha…
Contest or Promotion
MOUNTAIN DEW KICKSTART CONTEST WITH D-TRIX
Mountain Dew was looking to drive excitement for it's new Kickstart flavors among urban millennials. They tapped Epic Signal to help. Epic Signal teamed-up with D-trix, the biggest dance influencer on YouTube.
Contest or Promotion
MasterCard #PricelessPitchContest
Small Business is increasingly recognized as a large growth opportunity for MasterCard. Creating over 60% of the new jobs in the US, small businesses are a catalyst for positive social change.VaynerMedia's objective was to position MasterCard as a leader in this growing segment by developing a social media-first campaign that connected MasterCard Business t…
Contest or Promotion
Microsoft Center for Out of Office Excellence
During the recent holiday season, Microsoft asked Assembly to help them engage with their target audience in an impactful and unique way. In the middle of a noisy season, Microsoft set out to inspire creativity, spark excitement within their core demographic and build goodwill towards the brand during an extremely stressful time of year. In partnership, Ass…
Contest or Promotion
Moe’s Quesopalooza
Every year, Moe's Southwest Grill gives its fans something to celebrate by holding Free Queso Day. Throughout the years, this event has taken on a variety of cheese-inspired names, furthering the legacy of its fans' favorite side. But in 2015, Moe's decided to brand the Free Queso Day celebration as Quesopalooza. The Moe's name stands for "Musicians, Outla…
Contest or Promotion
Motor Oil Masterpiece
Let's face it: Getting a unique gift for dad is nearly impossible, especially for Father's Day. Finding an original and personal gift for the man who claims to have everything he needs in life is a massive undertaking. Obviously, themed ties are off the table. Golf accessories have reached a ridiculous level worthy of Rodney Dangerfield. And yes, one man C…
Contest or Promotion
Pepsi Max - Break the ice with Zuccarello
Pepsi Max Norway has a digital sponsorship deal with New York Rangers player Mats Zuccarello and wanted to use this to strengthen their relationship with potential and existing fans.
Contest or Promotion
Play To Stay contest at Renaissance Hotels
At Renaissance Hotels, it's business unusual. We're on a mission to defy the conventions of business travel for those who crave unexpected experiences. We host live evening events in our hotels worldwide to help guests discover emerging talent in music, food, drink, and the arts. To show our support for the music community and promote awareness of our bran…
Contest or Promotion
Pretty Little Liars - Pretty Little Campaign
The #PLLarmy is one of the most creative, loyal & engaged fan bases in the television universe. In order to keep these superfans engaged & active during the spring hiatus, we wanted to do something that no television network had ever done before to reward fan loyalty and build awareness & anticipation around our summer premiere.
Contest or Promotion
Slot Car Holiday Heats
Acura asked us to activate their "Oh What Fun It Is To Drive" Winter Sales Event by reinventing a holiday tradition.
Contest or Promotion
Taken 3 - Liam Neeson LinkedIn Contest
Fans loved the Taken franchise, but cynicism about the final installment was high. Though Taken 3 changed up the series m.o. – no one gets taken – fans needed a new reason to believe the series would deliver a worthy new chapter in Liam Neeson's canon. Plus, social buzz was trending negatively, so we needed a breakthrough way to break through fans' wearines…
Contest or Promotion
The "Dream Journey" Sweepstakes (DFW International Airport and American Airlines)
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport unveiled it's new brand to the world on October 1, 2015, setting it's stance as a premier world-class global super hub, connecting you to your journey to the world. To support this grand initiative and important day, DFW partnered with the world's largest airline and partner, American Airlines, to launch a sweepstakes…
Contest or Promotion
The Australian Crowd-Coloured Short Film
Cadbury Australia wanted to take their Marvellous Creations line to a different space from their flagship Dairy Milk range. Until then, our audience did not differentiate between the two — chocolate was just chocolate. But while the classic Dairy Milk is all about flavour and the joy of chocolate, Cadbury wanted to show that Marvellous Creations are fun blo…
Contest or Promotion
The Awesome Job You Can’t Apply For
Newly Grown Ups (NGUs) in India are high earning 25-30 year olds are fueling the rapid growth in the premium whisky market. Strict advertising regulations do little to prevent big brands from spending millions on surrogate properties like music festivals etc. and wooing them. Out-muscled, Grant's Scotch whisky had a measly awareness of < 2%, market share of…
Contest or Promotion
The Knickerbocker Hotel's 109th Anniversary Celebration
The Knickerbocker, a historic hotel first opened in 1906 by John Jacob Astor IV, was the preeminent destination for VIPs, celebrities and titans of industry in its day. In addition to hosting and housing the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Theodore Roosevelt and Enrico Caruso, the hotel was also the rumored birthplace of the martini and the originator of the …
Contest or Promotion
The Return of the America’s Better Sandwich Contest
Following the success of the first-ever America's Better Sandwich Contest, Bimbo Bakeries (parent company of Arnold®, Brownberry®, and Oroweat® brands) leaned on Coyne PR once again to make the contest's return in year two even better.In a category that has been feeling the heat of fad diet trends for years - from Atkins to gluten free - the America's Bette…
Contest or Promotion
Tradewinds Tea Sip & Sing Your Way to Paradise
In 2015, Tradewinds Tea partnered with Margaritaville and Jimmy Buffett to develop and launch five new flavors of Island Tea. The summer campaign and activation featured a Jimmy Buffett singing contest for fans hosted on the Tradewinds website titled "Sip & Sing Your Way To Paradise." The campaign was developed to support the launch of new flavors and activ…
Contest or Promotion
V.I.M. (Very Important Mom) Perks Program
"Odd Mom Out" is Bravo's new original scripted half-hour comedy that stars acclaimed author and fashionista Jill Kargman. Playing a version of herself, Jill navigates the treacherous and elite ecosystem of New York's Upper East Side, and the uber-wealthy mommy clique inhabiting this fantastically outrageous domain.Bravo's V.I.M. "Very Important Mom" Perks P…
Contest or Promotion
eBay Wish Bigger Contest
During the holiday season, consumers are inundated with choices and promotional messaging from retailers attempting to influence their holiday shopping behavior. In order to break through the clutter, eBay launched the Wish Bigger campaign, inspiring consumers to think about eBay and gifting in a whole new way. The campaign aimed to inspire users to conside…
Contest or Promotion
iHeartRadio: Perform with Muse Contest
iHeartRadio is a service for music lovers run by music lovers. We connect fans with their favorite artists like no other music platform or company. iHeartRadio gave one lucky fan the experience of a lifetime by having them sing on stage with rock band Muse at one of their tour stops.

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, Snapchat, and the rest of the social web.

shorty awards finalists will be announced in mid-march!