Spotlight Awards
Shining a light on the teams, creators, community managers and strategists behind your favorite brands on social.
Nominate Your Favorites See our latest winners Vote for a Finalist Check Out the FinalistsDuring our first awards season, we shined a light on the teams, creators, community managers and strategists behind your favorite brands on social.
How it works
Who’s creating social content that energizes you? Who is behind the handle for brand accounts that you look to for inspiration?
If you’ve ever felt connected to a brand, this is your opportunity to honor the people behind the work that inspires you every day.
What brand made you see social differently? What social campaign was so memorable you look to it for inspiration? What brand made the most of the challenges they faced in 2020?
- Nominate a brand or campaign that inspired you in 2020 for our Brand of the Year or Campaign of the Year awards using #SproutSpotlights.*
- Using the power of social listening, we’ll track every nomination and narrow down the top five finalists.
- Once finalists are announced, a panel of judges will vote on who walks away with our two premier awards: Campaign of the Year and Brand of the Year.
*Note: You can share nominations as many times as you’d like as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram posts. Instagram stories, Facebook stories, Retweets, shares and comments will not count as nominations.
Meet the finalists
Campaign of the Year Award
About the award
Sometimes a social campaign resonates so deeply with audiences, it keeps them coming back for more. This award goes out to the campaign that delivered a unified message that made a lasting impact, in a package fit for every platform.
Chatterkick
Campaign: Sweetgrass Trading Co. HolidayUsing killer creative, spot-on targeting and Sprout’s tools as a secret weapon, Chatterkick drove conversions and achieved 7xROAS for Sweetgrass Trading Co., a tribal-owned brand supporting authentic Native American products.
City Cancer Challenge
Campaign: City of TomorrowToday, millions lack access to the cancer care they need. But there is a place where care is not a privilege, where everyone has the same chance of survival. Welcome to the City of Tomorrow.
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
Campaign: Pluto BleuOur second collaboration with Tyler, The Creator picked up where the first left off: a surprising and unexpected flavor that tasted—and looked—like it was from another planet. The campaign focused on how the flavor made people feel (including Tyler, in behind-the-scenes content) and how people were interacting with the flavor in UGC.
McDonald’s
Campaign: Bring Back Orange Hi-COur fans were asking for Hi-C to return, so our Community Manager – the voice of the people – took it up with “the boss” on their behalf. First, they teased their pitch deck to get fans excited, and later that day announced their plan worked: Hi-C is coming back!
Peloton
Campaign: One Question InterviewAs Peloton instructors began to feel like friends to our Members in 2020, this IGTV series helps us get to know them just that little bit more. In answering one question, our instructors never fail to endear or make us smile.
Brand of the Year Award
About the award
This award celebrates a team who goes above and beyond to create a social presence marketers and consumers feel inspired by. A team consistently there to answer customer questions, connect with their audience and create content that inspires action.
LCMC Health
At LCMC Health, we're all about heart. (It's even in our logo!) Our small but mighty team strives to bring a little something extra to our patients' and employees' experiences and in a way that feels authentic and extraordinary.
Lodge Cast Iron
The Lodge social team sees every interaction as an opportunity to make an impact, whether it’s empowering new cooks, debunking cast iron myths or celebrating kitchen wins. Love for our community is at the heart of our work!
Monster
Our team believes everyone should love their job and every employer should know where to find their next great hire. Social media is one way we bring those ideas together to help candidates and employers find the right fit.
Velveeta
The Velveeta team believes in the power of creating meaningful connections, the joy in finding humor and always tries to say, “SHELL YEAH!” All typos are an artistic choice.
Want to recognize social media greatness?
Share a few reasons you think a brand’s social team deserves a moment in the spotlight.
Use #SproutSpotlights on any of these networks, as many times as you’d like!
No purchase necessary to enter or win. Must be 18+ to enter. Learn more about rules, nomination eligibility, selection criteria and more here.
Meet our finalists
Nathalie Balda
Sr. Social Marketing Manager, Amazon Prime VideoNathalie's passion for entertainment, community building and storytelling has helped her bring to life some of the most innovative, earned media and conversation driven social campaigns for some of your favorite TV shows.
Alex Bryant
Media Relations Director, The Trevor Romain CompanyAs a Media Relations Director at The Trevor Romain Company, Alex Bryant is responsible for content creation and press outreach. Alex also has social media experience at Entertainment Tonight, Dick Clark Productions and ATX TV Festival.
Adrian Molina
Sr. Brand Manager, Aviation GinWith over a decade of experience in the spirits industry touching all facets of marketing, Adrian is enthusiastically unsure how he is still employed. Ultimately, just a boy from The Bronx trying to make his mother proud.
Calum Shanlin
Digital Producer, Schitt's CreekA digital content producer originally from Scotland but now living and working in Toronto, Calum firmly believes in the value of simply being a fellow fan and the power of good engagement. And GIFs. Lots of GIFs.
Entries are closed.
Check back to see the winner announced!
Entries for the Campaign of the Year and Brand of the Year awards are closed.
Check back on March 23 to see finalists announced.
About the Always On award
About the Always On award
Awards timelines
Nominations open
Entry deadline
Nominations open
Entry deadline
Finalists announced – March 23 | Winners announced – April 15
Check back to see winners announced on April 15!
Meet the judges
Alexa Heinrich
Social Media Manager, St. Petersburg College
Alexa is the Social Media Manager for St. Petersburg College in Florida. She is passionate about accessibility for digital communications and educating others on the realities of working in social media. Outside of work, she enjoys good tacos and riding her bike along the beach.
Calum Shanlin
Senior Producer, CBC
A digital content producer originally from Scotland but now living and working in Toronto, Calum firmly believes in the value of simply being a fellow fan and the power of good engagement. And GIFs. Lots of GIFs.
Jayde Powell
Head of Social & Community, Sunwink
With over 8 years of experience building the social media presences and communities of various brands, Jayde has developed a unique approach to social marketing. Jayde is currently the Head of Social & Community at Sunwink.
Julian Gamboa
Marketing & Social Media Manager, AdWeek
Julian Gamboa is a social media and marketing manager at Adweek. In 2017, he was recognized as a LinkedIn Top Voice for Marketing and Social Media.
Mary Sutter
Director, Social Media, Acronym
Mary has extensive social marketing experience in the hospitality, transportation, auto and entertainment industries. In her free time, she's addicted to road and trail races and has completed 37 half marathons and two full marathons.
Award Winners
Latest winner
Calum Shanlin
Senior Producer, Schitt’s Creek, CBCA digital content producer originally from Scotland but now living and working in Toronto, Calum firmly believes in the value of simply being a fellow fan and the power of good engagement. And GIFs. Lots of GIFs.
Latest winners
Campaign: Pluto Bleu
Jeni’s Splendid Ice CreamsOur second collaboration with Tyler, The Creator picked up where the first left off: a surprising and unexpected flavor that tasted—and looked—like it was from another planet. The campaign focused on how the flavor made people feel (including Tyler, in behind-the-scenes content) and how people were interacting with the flavor in UGC.
LCMC Health
At LCMC Health, we're all about heart. (It's even in our logo!) Our small but mighty team strives to bring a little something extra to our patients' and employees' experiences and in a way that feels authentic and extraordinary.
Previous Winners
Best-in-Class Social Award Winner: Calum Shanlin
Senior Producer, Schitt’s Creek,CBC
Community Builder Award Winner: Jayde Powell
Head of Social & Community,Sunwink
Always On Award Winner: Alexa Heinrich
Social Media Manager,St. Petersburg College
More awards from the Spotlight Awards series
A social media professional’s curiosity is always on. These pros are constantly taking in the world around them, empathizing with their community and truly championing the power of social.
A good community manager is the humanity behind any brand. This person’s duties go beyond responding to comments, they’re the architects of your online community—supporting, shaping and building your audience every day.
Social presence is powerful. This award recognizes a person who has crafted a beloved social presence for their brand that sets the bar for all others and checks all the boxes: relevant, engaging and, most of all, authentic.
Sometimes a social campaign resonates so deeply with audiences, it keeps them coming back for more. This award goes out to the campaign that delivered a unified message that made a lasting impact, in a package fit for every platform.