Sprout Social

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 Finalists

During 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?

  1. Nominate a brand or campaign that inspired you in 2020 for our Brand of the Year or Campaign of the Year awards using #SproutSpotlights.*
  2. Using the power of social listening, we’ll track every nomination and narrow down the top five finalists.
  3. 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.

Example Tweet saying: I nominate @natbalda for the Community Builder award. She understands her work so extremely well and creates a playful environment for fans to interact with their favorite show. #SproutSpotlights

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. Holiday

Using 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 Tomorrow

Today, 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.

Twitter

@CCan_org

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

Campaign: Pluto Bleu

Our 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-C

Our 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!

Twitter

@McDonalds

Peloton

Campaign: One Question Interview

As 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.

Twitter

@onepeloton

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.

Twitter

@LCMCHealth

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.

Twitter

@Monster

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 Video

Nathalie'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.

Twitter

@natbalda

Alex Bryant

Media Relations Director, The Trevor Romain Company

As 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 Gin

With 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 Creek

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.

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

Mar 2, 2021 Entry Deadline
Mar 18, 2021 Finalists Announced
Apr 8, 2021 Winner Announced

Awards timelines

Campaign of the Year
February 16

Nominations open

March 2

Entry deadline

Brand of the Year
March 9

Nominations open

March 16

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.

Headshot of Mary Sutter

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

Best-in-Class Social

Calum Shanlin

Senior Producer, Schitt’s Creek, 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.

Headshot of Calum Shanlin
Headshot of Calum Shanlin

Latest winners

Campaign: Pluto Bleu

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

Our 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

Sprout Spotlight Awards - Always On Award

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.

Sprout Spotlight Awards - Community Builder Award

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.

Sprout Spotlight Awards - Best-in-Class Social Award

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.

Sprout Spotlight Awards - Campaign of the Year 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.