Alister Cameron // Blogologist

Today I’m excited to announce that I’m a member of the jury for the 1st International Social Media Marketing Awards — the Bees Awards. I must say that I feel very humbled to be in such esteemed company, with some real social media gurus to rub shoulders with, including my wonderful friend-in-blogging and mentor Liz Strauss, whom many of you will know and love.

I’m including most of the official press release below, and encourage you to have a good look at it. If you’re a professional social media marketer, especially an Aussie (who I represent on the jury), then do please consider being a part of it. The Bees crew have done a huge job to set this all up, and they’ve kept the cost of entries very low, given the kind of PR the winners and finalists are likely to get.

So I’m here to encourage you to cast your eyes back over your recent achievements, and consider preparing a submission. What have you got to lose? Certainly much to gain in terms of international recognition and appreciation from your peers in Social Media Marketing from around the world.

As a jury member, I’m really excited at the prospect of reviewing some really impressive work. And take a moment to look at the categories… they’re both broad and comprehensive… your work has gotta fit in there somewhere!

So here’s the press release from Bastien Beauchamp, the creative spark behind the Bees Awards.

The First International Social Media Award Show For Communication And Marketing Professionals To Be Hosted In San Francisco On November 9, 2010

Social Media Experts Worldwide Compete For First Time With The Bees Awards

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, June 2, 2010 – The Bees Awards – The first international social media award competition for communications and marketing professionals.

One-fifth of the planet’s population is active on social media platforms. The Bees Awards will showcase how companies make the best use of new communication tools. This prestigious event will be held in San Francisco on November 9, 2010.

“Social media is a growing phenomenon that calls for new communication and marketing expertise,” said Bastien Beauchamp, Founder of The Bees Awards. “Contrary to advertising, social media is “real” – it involves real people, real conversations, real products, real companies and real brands. Marketing legends David Ogilvy and Bill Bernbach advocated the necessity of being in constant contact with the consumer’s reality. The Bees Awards will recognize those who have most expertly married this original spirit with today’s technology to create social media that transcends all marketing that’s come before it. ”  

The Bees Awards Jury is composed of leading social media experts from around the world:

• Liz Strauss – Chicago, USA (@lizstrauss)
• Gary Goldhammer – Los Angeles, USA (@g24khamr)
• Paul Hoffman – Woodstock NY, USA (@hoffmanpaul)
• Mitch Joel – Montreal, Canada (@mitchjoel)
• Helder Araujo – Sao Paolo, Brazil (@haraujo)
• Jesus Hoyos – Mexico City, Mexico (@Jesus_Hoyos)
• Ralf Rottmann – Dortmund, Germany (@24z)
• Matt Rhodes – London, UK (@mattrhodes)
• Johan Ronnestam – Stockholm, Sweden (@ronnestam)
• Eric Maillard – Paris, France (@PRland)
• Gaurav Mishra – New Delhi, India (@Gauravonomics)
• Rajiv Dingra – Mumbai, India (@rajivdingra)
• Andre L. Pan – Shanghai, China (@popoever)
• Isaac Mao – Boston, USA/Shanghai, China (@isaac)
• Li Ang Wang – Shanghai, China (@WebLeOn)
• Gao Ming – Shanghai, China (@gaoming)
• Toru Saito – Tokyo, Japan (@toru_saito)
• Alister Cameron – Melbourne, Australia (@alicam)
• Dave Duarte – Cape Town, South Africa (@DaveDuarte)

The Bees Awards will also define, for the first time, the specialized Categories in social media marketing. The Judged Categories will include:

• Best 140 Characters (SMS, Tweet)
• Best Use of a Micro-Blogging Platform 
• Best Use of a Social Media Platform 
• Best Use of mobile
• Best Relationship With Bloggers
• Best Conversation with Customers
• Best Use of Alternative Tool(s)
• Best Use of Media Press Room
• Best Writing
• Best Art Direction
• Best Social CRM
• Best Student Work
• Best Innovation
• Best Campaign
• Agency of the Year
• Client of the Year 

The Deadline for Entry Submissions is October 1st, 2010. Nominees will be announced October 21st, 2010 at 7pm PST on the Bees Awards website at http://www.beesawards.com and via Twitter (@beesawards  #beesawards). The Awards Gala will take place in San Francisco on November 9, 2010. It will be streamed live at http://www.beesawards.com and via Twitter (@beesawards #beesawards).

The Bees Awards seek to  fill the gap in current marketing awards competitions by focusing solely on recognizing excellence in social media across multiple platforms. The Bees Awards team has established three key criteria:

1. The Bees Awards are for communications and marketing professionals including: public relations and advertising agencies, advertisers, consultants, freelancers, students, business managers, and entrepreneurs.  People who pay or are paid to leverage social media tools to accomplish a corporate purpose may enter. No other social media awards exist for social media marketing practitioners.
2. The Bees Awards are  the first social media award show with representation from an international jury panel. Social media has no boundaries, but every country has its own expertise and practices.  The Bees Awards goal is to incorporate this ever-changing global knowledge base in its selection/judging process.
3. The Bees Awards will be awarded for delivering excellence in the various categories as judged by a jury of expert practitioners. It is not about being famous; it’s about executing impressive communications that are recognized by the jury to stimulate and challenge the industry. The jury has the responsibility to be the guardians of emerging media brilliance  and to help give  direction to the industry.  

I will have more to say (blog) about the Bees Awards — and social media marketing in general — in the next few weeks and months… so stay tuned!

Meanwhile you can/should:

1. Follow: @Beesawards
2. Fan/Like/Share: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Bees-Awards/117984228228052
3. Tweet: using this link and hashtag – bit.ly/a14Ea6 #beesawards
4. Give yourself a pat on the back coz if you’ve done all that you’re totally AWESOME!

And if you submit an (Aussie) entry, let me know and I’ll blog about it. I’m here to help!

 

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