Entries are officially open for the 11th Annual Shorty Impact Awards. We're raising the question that metrics forgot, and introducing three new categories for work that meets this moment.
Dear Architects of Mattering,
For marketers, metrics arrived first as tools, then as goals, and now as gods. Somewhere along the way, many of us lost track of what we set out to do.
As we launch the 11th Annual Shorty Impact Awards today, we’re asking something simpler and harder: What Matters?
Not just what trended, what converted, or what vibed. Ask this: What urgently needs to exist or change, for a community, a cause, a campaign, or simply a conversation worth having?
In a world where AI tools and agents promise ever faster, cheaper, more measurable output, it is our input that makes all the difference.
Impact in 2026 requires honesty, conviction, and the courage to do the work that doesn’t always fit neatly in a dashboard, but is infinitely meaningful.
New Categories Reflect Where Impact Is Happening
This year, we’re expanding the awards to better reflect how and where meaningful work shows up today:
Vertical Video
Short-form content continues to shape culture and attention. This category recognizes work designed for how people actually consume content now: fast, mobile and highly contextual.
Employee Engagement
Impact doesn’t just happen externally. This category highlights organizations creating meaningful change within, through culture, communication and initiatives that engage and support their people.
Civic Engagement
From local communities to global movements, this category honors work that drives participation, awareness, and action in civic life.
Tell the World What Matters to You
The Shorty Impact Awards have always existed to surface the campaigns and creators doing something genuinely important. Eleven years in, that mission feels more urgent, not less.
You’ve done the work. You’ve taken the risk. You’ve chosen conviction over convenience, and honesty over hype. Now it’s time to show it.
Entries are now open. Download the Entry Kit and Submit the Work to show the world what matters to you.
Let’s make the 11th year the most meaningful one yet.
