About the The Drum Social Buzz Awards

Background to the Social Buzz Awards

The Drum Social Buzz Awards have been running for nine years and have built up a very special reputation in terms of its prestige and positioning in the market.

Everyone claims to ‘do social media’ but the experts know that it takes so much more in the way of creativity, innovation and smart planning, to get results. These awards were created to celebrate those who were pushing boundaries and cleverly using social as part of the overall marketing mix.

The international competition is open to anyone who can demonstrate that they are producing innovative, creative and most importantly, effective events. The categories are vast and include Best Use of Video, Largest ROI, User-Generated Content, as well as sector categories such as FMCG, Charity, etc – check them out as there is bound to be one that suits you.

Momentum is riding high for this event and we are fortunate enough to attract lots of attention. So, to capitalise on this, we are making a pledge to make our nominees even more famous than before by publishing shortlisted case studies, with the entrants’ permission, to our global audience. We will be using thedrum.com and our social assets.

For the cost of one entry price, you could secure global amplification and profile.

What is The Drum?

The Drum is Europe’s largest media and marketing website and the fastest growing in the US and APAC. Each month we attract over 1.4 million unique users and have over 200,000 social followers.

Our role is to help our readers to make informed decisions and by showcasing effective digital executions, we can promote the people and businesses behind the best work. We want to get you noticed by potential partners.

Our global positioning means that we are constantly being approached to media partner major events and we work with the likes of Cannes, SXSW, DMexco, CES, New York Festivals, Advertising Week, Clio Awards, etc.

Key dates

Put these dates in your calendar right away...

Early bird deadline: 28 August 2019
Official entry deadline: 11 Sept 2019
Extended deadline: with late fee, on request

Nominations announced – 23 October 2019
Awards ceremony – 27 November 2019

Why enter?

Motivation

Picking up an award proves that all the hard work was worth it. It gives your team the energy to keep pushing boundaries and polishing the pixels for another year.

Client relationship

It's good to remind your clients why they work with you from time to time. Having the work you've done for them recognised by the industry is powerful stuff. Even more so if you bring them along to the awards night to pick up the trophy with you.

Recruitment

If your agency is picking up awards, It also picks up the interest of new talent. You can expect smart people to be knocking at your door to see if you have a desk for them.

New business

Good clients who are after good work keep an eye out for the good agencies who are winning awards. A few extra trophies can give you a real advantage when you're hunting for new business.

PR

There's no better way of getting publicity than for being excellent. The Drum covers the winners of the awards online and in print. With over 1 million unique visitors and over 200,000 social followers, that’s no small deal. And we recommend that you use an award win for further PR opportunities too. If you achieve something this special, you really should make a noise about it.

Knees up

Then, of course, there's the awards show. And our awards shows are legendary. They're a great opportunity to reward your staff, pamper your clients and let your hair down.

Who can enter?

Anyone can enter, whether you are an individual, agency, brand or organisation producing effective social media campaigns. The awards are global, so there really are no barriers to entry.

Entry tips

Give each entry a unique title to grab the judges' interest - try to avoid generic names.

• When writing your report, don’t assume the judges have seen the work or campaign. Give clear concise answers on the brief, objectives and results. Figures should include the starting point and any increases in numeric terms, not just in percentages.

• Only use additional password protection if it’s absolutely necessary.

• Please include usernames and passwords, if required, for the judging; i.e. a private YouTube video and make sure the links work.

Entry Rules

Entries must be received no later than the published deadline date.
All submissions must be made online.
Entries must have been live to market at some point between September 2018 and September 2019. Entries do not have to be created within this timescale.
Do not include password protection or if essential, include passwords for judges to access.
All entries must be supplied and conform to the category rules/submission formats.
Work entered into more than one category must be treated as a completely separate entry. Multiple entries can be made but separate payment must be made for each. Please note: you will ONLY receive the 2nd entry rate if you enter all your submissions at the same time. Leave your entries in your basket until you are sure they are complete. Refunds will not be given.
The judging panel will only read and use the entries/reports for the purposes of the judging and are required to sign NDAs.
The judges reserve the right to re-allocate entries that in their view are entered in an incorrect category. The judges also reserve the right to remove categories where entries do not meet the standard for nomination. These entries will not be refunded as they will have been judged accordingly.
The judges’ decision is final.
Due to the number of entries received, the awards cannot give feedback on individual entries.
By entering these awards, you give the organisers the right to publish/exhibit screen grabs and/or submitted report. If you wish to upload a modified /less commercially sensitive version for publishing purposes, please do so on the entry upload form.
The organisers reserve the right to verify that all entries have been commercially produced for a commercial client where relevant.
All entries submitted must be legal. Any entries containing offensive material will be disqualified. Any entry that has a complaint upheld against it by the Advertising Standards Authority will be disqualified.

Writing your entry report

Your full report should be no more than 1500 words. 250 words must be used for an Executive Summary. The purpose of this is to excite the judges and ensure that they go on and read your full report.

Please download and use the templates provided:

Entry Template - Community Manager of the Year
Entry Template - In House Client Team
Entry Template - Social Media Agency Team of the Year
Entry Template - Rising Star
Entry Template for All Other Categories

You must use this entry template for all categories except for the following categories which have specific templates.

Community Manager of the Year
In-House Client Team
Social Media Agency / Team of the Year
Rising Star

Your report must cover all the points below. If you exclude these points, you reduce your chance of being nominated.

Executive Summary: Summarise the key points of your report.
Background To Project/Campaign: Provide a brief description of project/campaign.
Budget: Provide details of the campaign/strategy’s budget.
Client Objectives: Include your brief and objectives, including any targets set (e.g. cost-saving, income generation, increasing brand awareness).
Your Strategy: Describe the strategy for achieving the above objectives (including details of marketing, PR etc).
Results: Provide quantitive results including evidence of effectiveness prior and post-campaign, increase in sales/revenue/ traffic/awareness etc. Please provide comparable before and after figures. Use exact figures rather than %.
Client Testimonials: Include client testimonials to back up your results.

How will my entry be judged?

Regardless of budget, size of the project or scale of the resource, entries will be judged objectively in their own merit. It's a fair playing field for the large and small projects.

After the entry deadline, the judging panel will firstly be asked to sign an NDA, then will be given access to read your submission and view your images, videos and links. The jury will be looking for evidence of:

• Clear strategic thinking

• Creativity and Innovation

• Tangible results and outcomes

After the panel have carried out their pre-judging, the judges will meet to discuss the entries and decide on the finalists, commendations and award winners.

How much does it cost to enter?

Early bird - First entry - £157.50 + VAT

Early bird - Additional entries - £130.50 + VAT

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Standard - First entry - £175 + VAT

Standard - Additional entries - £145 + VAT

You may enter as many categories as you like, however each entry must be treated as a separate entry and payment made for each.
In order to get the discounted rate for any additional entries, please ensure you enter them all at once.
If you are a member of The Drum Network, you will receive 10% off your entries, and if you are a charity you will receive 40% off your entries.

Awards ceremony

Event Details

Date: Wednesday 27 November 2019

Venue: Marriott Hotel, Grovesnor Square, London

Time: 6.45 - 7.15pm - 1am

Dress code: Dress to impress and ready to party!

Ticket Prices

Single Seat: £320

Table of 10: £2950

Table of 12: £3500

Elite Table of 10: £3500

Elite Table of 12: £4150

*Tickets will be on sale soon*

Sections