Most major awards shows have been expanding and updating their categories every year to keep up with changes in advertising, design and production.
The One Show, though, is the first to recognise the role that social media influencers have come to play in advertising. Its board voted to introduce a category specifically for the discipline earlier this year. The first ever jury has just been chosen.
This jury will judge the industry’s best creative work that involves “a partnership with an established social media influencer to enhance or promote a brand with that influencer’s audience and style”.
21-year-old YouTube star, Paul Logan, and NBC weatherman and entertainer, Al Roker, are two of the members of this jury. They will join other leaders in influencer marketing including Sarah Penna, who, according to Forbes, is “one of the first people ever hired to manage a YouTube career.”
Kevin Swanepoel, chief executive officer The One Show, was the driving force behind the introduction of the new category. “Social influencers wield incredible clout, in some ways more than traditional celebrities, because of the level of accessibility and intimacy that their fans feel. That level of engagement, as well as the social and tech savvy of social influencers and their audiences, lends itself to campaigns of tremendous innovation and effectiveness.”
The Social Influencer Marketing finalists will be announced in April. Winners will be announced at The One Show during Creative Week in New York City (May 8-12).
“Kudos to The One Show and their addition of the Social Influencer Marketing Discipline,” commented Brendan Gahan, judge and founder of Epic Signal. “In adding the influencer marketing category, The One Club continues its legacy of embracing the future of advertising and continues to be ahead of the curve. I couldn’t be more excited.”
“This timely recognition of both the power of influencers and a credible new discipline is wholly in synch with the seismic changes currently sweeping through our media and the way it’s consumed. In this context, the unique power of influencers – compared to brands’ own channels or mainstream media – comes into its own,” added Jenny Tsai, judge and founder of Wearisma.
Read the bios of the social influencer jury members here.
