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How Do You Host an Entire Award Show on Social Media?

The Shorty Awards ditched the old-school format and designed a virtual experience spread across different social media platforms.

This year's award program kicked off on April 26 with the introduction of the “Feed of Fame,” which highlights the most impactful, innovative and creative campaigns of the year.
This year's award program kicked off on April 26 with the introduction of the “Feed of Fame,” which highlights the most impactful, innovative and creative campaigns of the year.
Screenshot: Courtesy of @shortyawards

Started in 2008 (back when MySpace and Friendster were still a thing), the Shorty Awards is an annual award show that recognizes the best content creators in social media, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Twitch. But, up until this year, the event was very much analog.

“Like many award shows, the Shorty Awards produced a lavish experience modeled after Hollywood’s most famous red-carpet moments,” explained Karl Vontz, managing director of the awards. Held IRL each spring at the PlayStation Theater in New York, much in the vein of other televised award shows, “The Shorty Awards had it all: red carpet, step-and-repeat, paparazzi, celebrities and 1,000 attendees,” Vontz mused. The show was also livestreamed on YouTube—before it was de rigueur to do so.

It makes sense then that, for 2021, the 13th annual Shorty Awards would ditch an in-person venue for social media—hosting the entire event over the course of three weeks on different platforms including Instagram and Clubhouse. Even the nominations were conducted via social, with organizers sliding into the DMs of the finalists with customized memes.

Even the nominations were conducted via social, with organizers sliding into the DMs of the finalists with customized memes.Even the nominations were conducted via social, with organizers sliding into the DMs of the finalists with customized memes.Photo: Courtesy of the Shorty Awards“This was not a typical digital pivot where we simply streamed our award show and invited a virtual audience. Our brand is social,” Vontz said. “Our challenge was to reinvent the typical award show to be native to social media. We saw it as an opportunity to showcase the amazing work produced by our finalists and winners on the same social media channels where they originally appeared.”

The award program kicked off April 26 with the introduction of the “Feed of Fame,” which highlights the most impactful, innovative and creative campaigns of the year. Taking place on the @shortyawards Instagram account, the “feed” showcases some of the finalists’ work through images, short-form video content and in-depth descriptions. Plus, during the three-week award show, discussions moderated by social media thought leaders and covering topics like influencer marketing and activism took place on audio chat platform Clubhouse.

During the three-week award show, discussions moderated by social media thought leaders and covering topics like influencer marketing and activism took place on audio chat platform Clubhouse.During the three-week award show, discussions moderated by social media thought leaders and covering topics like influencer marketing and activism took place on audio chat platform Clubhouse.Photo: Courtesy of the Shorty AwardsAs for the actual awards, from now until May 14, the winners are being announced on Instagram Live and Stories. Ten winners are announced every hour on the hour, from 1 to 4 p.m. ET, until all the winners have been announced. Throughout the programming, “commercials” highlighting sponsors are airing, as well as behind-the-scenes footage from agencies and brands. Winners are also receiving access to a personalized augmented-reality filter that includes a trophy and confetti.

Hosting a four-day “Winners Drop,” as it’s dubbed, instead of a one-time ceremony was inspired by the way we use these platforms. “Social media is consumed in small bites—when and where users want. Rather than the traditional experience where everyone tunes into the same one-way broadcast, we wanted to make an experience that was interactive and native to social,” Vontz explained. “This format puts the winning work front and center.”

Like many event producers during this past year, Vontz and his team rethought their strategy, which includes this social-first approach to the award show that will most likely continue going forward, as well as a new tagline: The best of social, on social, for social.

“As we pivot out of this pandemic, understanding your customer is critical to success. The pandemic has changed the way people consume content and make buying decisions. Social media has become a bigger part of the media mix and brands are relying upon it to keep their fingers on the pulse of consumers,” Vontz said. “For the Shorty Awards, it was easy to realize that we can better reach our audience and better honor our winners on the medium where our customers live and play—on social media.”

Some of the finalists’ work is showcased on the @shortyawards Instagram account through images, short-form video content and in-depth descriptions.Some of the finalists’ work is showcased on the @shortyawards Instagram account through images, short-form video content and in-depth descriptions.Photo: Courtesy of the Shorty Awards

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