PEOPLE OF THE YEAR

The People of the Year category is about celebrating visionary, creative, and innovative individuals for their work showcased at the Shorty Awards and Shorty Impact Awards.

Nomination is free and open between May 13 to September 4, 2025. You may nominate yourself or a colleague, client, or partner - up to one person per category and a maximum of three categories.

Nominations are now closed. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive updates

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CATEGORIES

Brand Marketer
This award honors in-house marketers who excel at shaping and elevating brand identities, creating strong consumer connections, and driving business success through innovative marketing strategies.
Changemaker
This award celebrates leaders who identify critical challenges, advocate for innovative solutions, and drive impactful transformation through their vision, actions, and leadership to create a better world.
Community Builder
This award honors leaders who foster vibrant communities through vision, engagement, collaboration, and cultivating meaningful connections.
Creative
This award honors individuals who excelled in ideating and creating visionary creative executions including copy, visuals, sound, etc.
Creator
This award honors digital content creators whose imaginative talent and artistic expression bring compelling stories, art, and ideas to life, educate, entertain and inspire the audience they serve.
Innovator
This award honors visionary thinkers whose groundbreaking ideas, bold creativity, and willingness to challenge the status quo redefine industries and push the boundaries of what’s possible.
Media Planner
This award recognizes media planning and buying professionals who design and execute effective media strategies that reach and resonate with target audiences to drive meaningful impact.
Non-profit Marketer
This award highlights non-profit marketers who craft impactful campaigns that inspire action and drive positive change, advancing causes with creativity and purpose.
Producer
This award recognizes digital content producers who captivate and engage audiences through innovative storytelling that is both compelling and thought-provoking.
Strategist
This award honors professionals who lead strategic initiatives that guide brands, organizations, or campaigns toward achieving specific, measurable business objectives.

Eligibility

Eligible participants must have played a critical role and credited in the entries of the current calendar year of the two awards programs. For this new category, nominees must be credited in at least three entries/categories in 2024 (the 16th Annual Shorty Awards OR the 9th Annual Shorty Impact Awards) to qualify.

Judging Criteria

  • Credited in the most distinguished work voted by the Real Time Academy, including as winner, gold, silver, or bronze honoree.
  • Played a critical role and demonstrated mastery of the respective craft they were nominated for in the winning work.
  • Proven track record in both objective professional achievements and driving positive impact (this can include extracurricular activities such as offering mentorship, participating in pro bono work, serving on ERGs, giving back to their communities, etc).

Let's celebrate!

THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!