PR Newswire Launches Social Media Awards Program

Today, PR Newswire announced The Ernies, a community-chosen award program that will honor excellence in earned media achieved through the use of social media. Oh joy. Yet another set of awards agencies can clamor over and point to during new business pitches.

The Earnies are open to individual practitioners as well as brands and organizations and will focus on approach and strategy used to implement a campaign. Hosted on the AGILITY@work web site, all submissions will be reviewed by an independent panel of social media gurus...uh...thought leaders. Currently on the panel are David Armano, EVP of Global Innovation and Integration of Edelman Digital; Matt Johnston, CMO of uTest; Tim Moore, SVP/Social Business Architect of Maximum and CEO of CrushIQ; Liz Strauss, co-founder of SOBCon and owner of Successful-Blog.com and Deirdre Breakenridge, CEO of Pure Performance Communications. From a shortlist of finalists selected by the panel, final winners will be determined by community voting through social media.

Award categories include: Best Use of Video in Social Media; Best Connection to Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook Audience; Best Case of "Lemons-to-Lemonade"; We Can't Believe That Worked!; Best Outcome Based on Listening/Monitoring/Measurement; and The Earnies Grand Prix.

Of the awards, PR Newswire marketing and Communications VP Rachel Meranus said, "Social media and owned media have completely redefined earned media and forced PR and marketing professionals to strategically rethink the old model, embrace the new opportunities, leverage all influential channels and consistently engage with audiences through social conversations that are ongoing. The Earnies will recognize how communicators are doing so innovatively and successfully."