THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!

Industry

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Auto See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Beauty See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Business to Business See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Consumer Brand See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Education See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Entertainment See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Financial Services See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Fitness, Health, & Wellness
<br>See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Food & Beverage
See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Gaming See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Government & Politics See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Hospitality See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Insurance See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Live Events See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> News & Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Non-Profit See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Pets & Animals See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Pharma & Healthcare See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Real Estate See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Restaurants See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Retail & E-Commerce See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Social Activism See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Sports See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Technology See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Television See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Travel & Tourism See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Wine, Beer & Spirits

Strategy & Engagement

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Brand Partnership See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Call to Action See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Community Management See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Creative Use of Technology See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> CTV/OTT See previous winners and honorees for Insights and Trends here.</a> <a href=https://shortyawards.com/17th/"https://shortyawards.com/category/16th/data-visualization">See previous winners and honorees for Data Visualization here.</a>"> Data & Insights See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Earned Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Event & Experiential See previous winners and honorees here.</a>""> Gamification See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Humor See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Innovative Media Buying Strategy See previous winners and honorees here.</a>""> Integration with Traditional Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Internal Communications See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> LGBTQ Community Engagement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Micro-Influencer Strategy See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Multicultural Community Engagement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Music & Dance See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> On a Shoestring See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Organic Promotion See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Paid & Amplification See previous winner and honorees here.</a>"> Physical and Digital Convergence See previous winner and honorees here.</a>"> Public Service Announcement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Real Time Response See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> SEO & SEM See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Social Commerce See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Storytelling

SpongeBob 25th

Finalist in TikTok Presence

Objective

Every four seconds, someone mentions SpongeBob SquarePants on social media. For SpongeBob’s 25th anniversary, our goal was to transform this constant chatter into an epic, year-long celebration. We set out to amplify SpongeBob’s iconic charm and positivity on TikTok by launching a dedicated account and utilizing TikTok’s Spotlight feature to engage fans. Through dynamic content and fan-first activations, we aimed to inspire users to share their favorite SpongeBob moments, fostering a sense of community while introducing new audiences to the joy of living “like a Sponge.”

Strategy

Our strategy harnessed SpongeBob’s timeless appeal to spread positivity and engagement across TikTok. We kicked things off with a bang, teasing the TikTok account launch with an 8-hour livestream featuring 25 years of SpongeBob’s iconic moments. The event culminated in the announcement of the @SpongeBob TikTok account and debuted with a nostalgic video, inviting fans to join the celebration.
The campaign’s centerpiece was TikTok’s Spotlight activation during the Kids’ Choice Awards and SpongeBob’s birthday. This hub encouraged users to create SpongeBob-inspired posts, driving virality and community participation. We amplified the campaign further with exclusive content featuring SpongeBob’s voice talent, influencer collaborations for the Krabby Patty Kollab, and standout moments like SpongeBob's Super Bowl integration and Kids’ Choice Awards coverage.

Results

The SpongeBob 25th campaign delivered record-breaking results:

- TikTok Launch: 260,000 followers, 5.75 million views, and 780,800 engagements in the first week alone, growing to over 2 million followers during the campaign.
- Livestream: The 8-hour teaser captured 2.2 million likes and 16,600 comments.
- Spotlight Activation: Over 1.8 billion views and 400,000+ participant-created posts.

This year-long effort cemented SpongeBob’s status as a pop culture icon while introducing his timeless charm to new audiences. The campaign not only celebrated a milestone anniversary but also set a benchmark for innovative fan engagement on TikTok.

Media

Entrant Company / Organization Name

Nickelodeon

Link

Entry Credits