Categories

The Bees Awards invite you to Submit Your Entries and get recognition for your work! For detailed information on how to participate, please read our Rules and Criteria.

Deadline of Entry: April 15, 2011 - MIDNIGHT in San Francisco Time Zone.

The Bees Awards will grant recognition to work in 23 different categories:

1. Best 140 Characters Message (SMS, Tweet)
2. Best Use of Micro-Blogging Platform (Ex: Twitter, Sina, etc.)
3. Best Use of Social Media Platform (Ex: Facebook, YouTube, Orkut, etc.)
4. Best Use of Mobile
5. Best Relationship with Blogs
6. Best Crisis Management (NEW!)
7. Best Reputation Management (NEW!)
8. Best Engagement with Customers (NEW!)
9. Best Use of Alternative Tools
10. Best Use of Media Press Room
11. Best Social CRM
12. Best Marketing Within Social Games (NEW!)
13. Best Branded Viral Video (NEW!)
14. Best Student Work
15. Best Student Brief (NEW!)
16. Best Social Media Marketing Theory (NEW!)
17. Best Use of Analytic Tools (NEW!)
18. Best Innovation
19. Best Copywriting
20. Best Art Direction
21. Best Campaign
22. Agency of the Year
23. Client of the Year

1. Best 140 Characters Message (SMS, Tweet)

Demonstrates a clear goal, a creative approach to fulfill the goal and concrete results by acquisition, forward, publication or traffic. Innovation, effectiveness and quality of writing should be highly valued by the jury.

The Best 140 Characters Message should serve as a model of quality or inspiration for all social media professionals for the next year. Note: SMS and micro-messages are eligible to this category. Links within messages should be considered. Jury members will need to evaluate content after the link as part of the message.

2. Best Use of Micro-Blogging Platform

Twitter, Sina or other micro-blogging platforms are still under experimentation by social media professionals.

Here the Jury will have to judge the relevancy of the use of Micro-Blogging Platform(s) to answer the specific client challenge.

The winning entry should clearly demonstrate the best use of the strength of micro-messaging platforms and show clear results of the interest generated by the messages.

3. Best Use of Social Media Platform

Facebook, Bebo, RenRen, Vkontakte, QQ, Mixi and so on, are all Social Media Platforms.

The winning entry of this category must demonstrate the best use of the strengths of these platforms in a relevant way to answer the client challenge.  The winning entry should clearly demonstrate the best use of social media platforms and show clear results of the interest generated by the followers inside and outside the platform.

4. Best Use of Mobile

Mobile includes PDAs, cellphones and portable gaming devices.

The winning entry of this category must demonstrate the best use of the strengths of mobile platforms in a relevant way to answer the client challenge. The winning entry should clearly demonstrate the best use of the strength of mobile device in a social media context and show clear results of the interest generated by the approach taken.

5. Best Relationship with Blogs

A relationship is a long term dynamic. It is something that individuals cultivate between one and other. Bloggers have become increasingly influential and, in this category, a client challenge must be solved through communication with bloggers.

The winning entry of this category must demonstrate the best use of the strengths of a relationship with bloggers to answer the client challenge. The winning entry should clearly demonstrate the best use of the strength of blogs and show clear results of the interest generated by the readers inside and outside blogs. It must remain ethical where the promotional content doesn’t ruin the editorial content and the personal voice of the blogger.

6. Best Crisis Management (NEW!)

It happens. It lasts only few days or months, but the company’s name is under threat. Some are better to manage it than others. Some are well prepared to face a crisis and execute a plan well when it comes.

The winning entry of this category must demonstrate the best use of the strengths of social media in a relevant way to answer the client challenge.  The winning entry should clearly explain the complexity of the crisis, the strategy adopted and how social media has played a role in the results. It must also show clear results after the crisis has past.

7. Best Reputation Management (NEW!)

Reputation management is not the management of a crisis. It is a continuous process. It is a commitment to the company’s brands and employees. It is well prepare and has dedicated resources involved.

The winning entry of this category must demonstrate the best use of social media in a relevant way to answer the client’s reputation long term challenge.  The winning entry should clearly and simply explain the nature of the reputation, the strategy adopted to maintain that reputation, the role social media tools play in the execution of that strategy and provide an example where social media has been put into action and show clear results.

8. Best Engagement with Customers (NEW!)

Involving Consumers is the new and powerful reality of digital media. A message gains effectiveness when customers are engaged and active in it. 

The winning entry of this category must demonstrate customers’ participation in a message in a relevant way to answer the client challenge. The engagement must be meaningful for the customers and for the brand.  The winning entry should clearly demonstrate the best use of the strength of social media platforms and show clear results of the interest generated.

9. Best Use of Alternative Tools

If it doesn’t fit in any other category, chances are that your entry fits here. Alternative tools include: applications, interactive installations, custom plug-ins, or and Web platform that is uncommon.

The winning entry of this category must clearly show that it stands out of the normal practices and demonstrate the best use of the strengths of social media to answer the client challenge. The winning entry must show clear results and interest generated by the customers.

10. Best Use of Media Press Room

Social Media Press rooms have become an essential tool for corporate communications. It creates a bond between a company and the public sphere.

The winning entry of this category should clearly demonstrate the best use of the strengths of a social media press room to answer the client challenge and show clear results of engagement with media, blogs and consumers.

11. Best Social CRM

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) isn’t new. But managing the relationships from a customer’s database in a public environment (social media) is new.

The winning entry of this category should clearly demonstrate the best use of the strengths of knowledge of the customers and the intelligence of database.

The winning entry of this category should also clearly demonstrate the best use of the strengths of bringing relevant knowledge to the public sphere, engage the customer to answer the client challenge, and show clear results of engagement with media, blogs and consumers.

12. Best Marketing Within Social Games (NEW!)

Social games are invading the social media platforms, mobile devices and game consoles. Some Brands are keener and more innovative than others to take advantage of this new reality.

The winning entry of this category must demonstrate the best use of the strengths of social games in a relevant way to answer the client challenge.  It must serve the gaming experience as well as the client need. The winning entry should clearly demonstrate innovation and show clear results of the interest.

13. Best Branded Viral Video (NEW!)

Viral videos are everywhere. Some brands take advantage of this new reality.

The winning entry of this category must demonstrate the best use of the strengths of the video platforms (such as: YouTube, Vimeo, YouKu) in a relevant way to answer the client challenge. The winning entry should clearly demonstrate quality content, interest generated in by consumers, and show how it served the client’s challenge. It must be about marketing, not just entertainment, and show clear results.

14. Best Student Work

Student work is done in the context of a legitimate class in a legitimate education institution.

The student work has no real boundaries and should be evaluated as such: “What if we had no limits or restrictions?” Students should be evaluated more on ambition, passion, and innovation than commercial entries. The role of the student is to push the limits of what is acceptable and possible in the professional world. Execution should not be judged entirely as one would judge a professional’s work, as the idea may be more important than its execution.

The winning entry of this category should clearly demonstrate the best use of the strengths of social media principles to answer the client challenge.

15. Best Student Brief (NEW!)

Students of the world, come at the starting line. One Brand will provide you with a real brief.

The winning entry should clearly demonstrate understanding of the challenge, elaborate a clear winning strategy and deliver quality execution. It must show how it served the client’s challenge.

The student work has no real boundaries and should be evaluated as such: “What if we had no limits or restrictions?” Students should be evaluated more on ambition, passion, and innovation than commercial entries. The role of the student is to push the limits of what is acceptable or possible in the professional world. A reasonable respect of budget constraints will be considered. Executions will not be judged entirely as one would judge a professional’s work, as the idea may be more important than its execution.

16. Best Social Media Marketing Theory (NEW!)

Social Media changed the game for marketing and communication professionals. It is not a revolution but an evolution of the tools and practices. Humans remain mostly the same.

Everybody has had visions and theories of how to face tomorrow’s reality, changes, and the way to practice. The Bees Awards want to learn from you and promote your ideas.

We invite you to share with our jury a text, a blog post or a paper that shed s a new light on our marketing profession. It doesn’t have to be perfect or scientific (you may see an example from our co-founder here), we simply want to be inspired.

The winning entry of this category must demonstrate the best use of the strengths of these platforms in a relevant way to answer the client challenge.  The winning entry should clearly demonstrate the best use of the strength of social media platforms and show clear results of the interest generated by the followers inside and outside the platform.

17. Best Use of Analytic Tools (NEW!)

There are many social media analytic tools on the market: Google Analytics, Radian6, Scout Labs. The list goes on. The Bees Awards do not evaluate technologies. Judges will evaluate the USE of the technologies: the way they helped to elevate the understanding of the consumers’ reality or behavior and the way they have helped to provides greater results for the agency’s client.

The winning entry of this category must demonstrate how analytics were key in the decision making and the success of a campaign in a relevant way to answer the client challenge. In summary, the winning entry should show the importance of analytics in providing clear results.

18. Best Innovation

Innovation is progress. It brings change and novelty to increase efficiency or quality in communication. It is something that has never been done before.  It pushes the limits of tools efficiency, of message efficiency and/or of the consumer’s experience.

Innovation, at the Bees Awards, is not about technology. Should an entry involve technological innovation, only the communication aspect should be evaluated.

The winning entry of this category should clearly demonstrate the novelty factor, clearly state the challenge it solves, how it helps the best social media practices, and show clear results of engagement with media, blogs and consumers.

19. Best Copywriting

What ever the tool or platform; what ever the results are, the best writing should clearly demonstrate abilities and inspire others by the quality and elegance of the words used and the relevance of the message for the target audience and the client challenge.

The winning entry of this category should clearly demonstrate the best use of the local language to answer the client challenge and adapt to the target audience. (Other languages that English ARE accepted, as long as a translation is provided).

20. Best Art Direction

Art direction is the complete visual integration of images, videos and the website interface design.

What ever the tool or platform and whatever the results, the best art direction should clearly demonstrate visual abilities and inspire others by the quality and elegance of the visuals used and its relevance to the target audience and the client challenge.

21. Best Campaign

A social media campaign must involve more than one platform or one tool. The campaign efficiency comes from the positive dynamics working between these tools, more than the singular efficiency of each individual tool involved.

The winning entry of this category should clearly demonstrate the best use of the strengths of a social media campaign to answer the client challenge and show clear results.  The use of different tools and how they worked together on a common purpose must clearly be stated.

22. Agency of the Year

An agency is a company, a group of freelancers or a single individual.

The winning entry of this category should clearly demonstrate the best use of the strengths of social media in its portfolio. The Agency of The Year should clearly demonstrate a dedication and expertise to social media. It must help the development of the social media industry, have convinced new clients, or have provided leadership and innovation in social media marketing techniques.

23. Client of the Year

A Client is a company, a group of individuals or a single individual that have paid for the services of an Agency.

The winning entry of this category should clearly demonstrate the best use of the strengths of social media in its overall activities. The Client of The Year must have clearly committed a significant part of its marketing strategy and budget to social media within the current year.  Social media must be a central solution on one or many of its challenges. Client’s social media activities and executions should push the limits of the standard practices in a responsible way for the profession and the industry.