Categories | 7th Hashtag Sports Awards

Best Action Sports Partnership

This award recognizes a partnership that increased the visibility of action sports, enhanced the fan experience, built deeper relationships with fans, or created new fans and audiences. Entries may include brand sponsorships, strategic partnerships, or athlete partnerships.

Best Brand Experience or Activation

This award recognizes an innovative and engaging activation, stunt, experience produced by a brand or agency designed to help turn fans into consumers. Entries may involve live events, immersive experiences, or digital/social media.

Best Brand Sponsorship

This award recognizes a brand whose relationship with a sports or esports property, publisher, or network demonstrates the power of partnership. Judges will look for entries that exceeded marketing objectives, drove business and revenue results, uniquely engaged fans, and built loyalty.

Best College Sports Partnership

This award recognizes a partnership that champions collegiate athletics or student athletes. Entries may include athletic department or university sponsorships, team sponsorships, or NIL sponsorships and programs including collectives.

Best Gaming or Esports Partnership

This award recognizes a partnership that enhanced the fan experience, built deeper relationships with the gaming community, increased the visibility of esports, and/or reached new fans and gamers. Entries may include brand sponsorships, strategic partnerships, or athlete partnerships.

Best Women’s Sports Partnership

This award recognizes a partnership that increased the visibility and/or accessibility of women’s sports, enhanced the fan experience, built deeper relationships with fans, and created new audiences. Entries may include brand sponsorships, strategic partnerships, or athlete partnerships.

Most Creative Partnership

This award recognizes fan engagement excellence resulting from collaboration between two or more organizations in or around sports. Partnership need not be a sponsorship but may exist between any combination of brands, technology companies, publishers, sports properties or other organizations.

Most Creative Partnership With an Athlete or Influencer

This award recognizes fan engagement excellence from a brand, property, or publisher for collaboration with or integration of an athlete, creator, or social influencer into content, campaigns, or activations. Judges will look at how the talent helped the organization better resonate with fans and deliver mutual & measurable impact.

Best Communications Strategy

This award recognizes the most engaging and effective public relations or communications strategy used to tell the story of a partnership, brand/product launch, or other announcement. Entries may be part of an integrated campaign but will be judged on engagement derived through earned media.

Best Event or Experiential Campaign

This award recognizes the most engaging and effective marketing campaign that connected fans through innovative live, hybrid, or virtual experiences to create unique and memorable moments. Entries may include celebrity, athlete, and influencer partnerships.

Best Global Campaign

This award recognizes the most engaging and effective global marketing campaign. Entries should describe how the campaign reached an international audience and adapted to various markets while maintaining a consistent message that drove results.

Best Integrated Campaign

This award recognizes campaigns that meld new media and traditional channels (out-of-home, PR, print, etc.) to create a unified and engaging message. The mix of marketing channels, strategy showcasing how content was enhanced across each platform, and engagement that drove measurable results are key factors judges will assess.

Best Launch Campaign

This award recognizes the most engaging and effective launch campaign. Entry should describe how a brand, product, or service was propelled into a marketplace, to the relevant target audience, at the right place and time, and how digital & social media was utilized to reach fans and consumers.

Best Social Media Campaign

This award recognizes a marketing campaign that involved the use of one or more social media platforms. Judges will be looking for viral or coordinated campaigns that generated fan/consumer conversation, connection, and results. Entries may be part of a multi-platform or integrated campaign but will be judged on engagement derived through social media.

Best Athlete Storytelling

This award recognizes exceptional efforts in telling stories through the lens of an athlete or multiple athletes. Judges will look for entries that resonate with fans by sharing the personal stories and passions of an athlete or multiple athletes from unique vantage points and/or perspectives.

Best Branded Content

This award recognizes content that is sponsored by or fused with a marketer’s product, brand, or message. Judges will be looking for any form of content, media, or combination of mediums that offer entertainment or educational value to fans and effectively amplify both the brand sponsor and publisher’s core message.

Best Life or Legacy Tribute

This award recognizes exceptional storytelling about the life or legacy of an athlete, coach, sports celebrity, executive, entertainer, or other influential personality. The tribute may be posthumous or spotlight someone still living, such as a retirement, retrospective, comeback story, etc.

Best Sports Betting Content

This award recognizes the most engaging and effective use of sports betting to build deeper relationships with fans through media, including original content, digital video or audio, studio shows, podcasts, dedicated social media accounts, influencers, and more.

Best Use of Culture, Music or Entertainment

This award recognizes the most creative integration of popular culture into sports content, campaigns, or activations. Entries may utilize music, comedy, celebrities, film, fashion, culinary or other verticals to highlight the increasing convergence of sports with popular culture and entertainment.

Best Women’s Sports Content

This award recognizes exceptional efforts to fuel momentum and fandom of women’s sports leagues, teams and female athletes. Entries may include all forms of content, marketing campaigns, and/or other story-driven work.

Best Art Direction

This award recognizes the most engaging and effective art direction. Work that is either standalone or utilized in a campaign is eligible. Creative integrity, strategic integration, vision, cohesiveness, novelty, and effectiveness will be considered.

Best Graphic Art or Design

This award recognizes the most creative use of graphics or design work to effectively engage fans. Work that is either standalone or part of a greater campaign is eligible. Creative integrity, cohesiveness, novelty, shareability, and effectiveness will be considered.

Best Photography

This award recognizes photography that is not only an encapsulation of a moment or a series of moments but also does so in a way that demonstrates an outstanding level of visual perception, situational awareness, and/or creativity. Entries may include a singular photo, photo series, or portfolio of work.

Best Use of Animation or Motion Graphics

This award recognizes the most effective use of animated content including motion graphics to engage and entertain fans. Work that is either standalone or utilized in a campaign is eligible. Creative integrity, novelty, shareability, and effectiveness will be considered.

Best Use of Visual Storytelling

This award recognizes the most effective use of visual storytelling through photography and visual media to build compelling narratives and brand identities that engage fans and build emotional connection. Work that is either standalone or utilized in a campaign is eligible.

Best App or Mobile Experience

This award recognizes a mobile application or experience that offers innovative design, personalization, and useful functionality that makes sports content and entertainment more accessible and fun to engage.

Best Gaming or Esports Experience

This award recognizes the most effective use of esports or video gaming to engage with sports fans and audiences. Entries may include partnerships, events, tournaments, teams/leagues, content, or other forms of engagement.

Best New Fan Experience

This award recognizes a new type of experience for fans that demonstrates a breakthrough innovation, technology, or approach to fan engagement including social media, video, or audio. Entries may be digital, hybrid, or in-person.

Best TV or Streaming Experience NEW!

This award recognizes the most engaging live sports, show, or sports entertainment. Entries may include, but are not limited to, innovative partnerships, broadcast technology, production, studios, talent, and/or social media.

Best Use of Gamification

This award recognizes the most effective use of a game or game-like qualities embedded within a sports experience, broadcast, or other activity to increase interaction and keep fans engaged. Entries may include, but are not limited to, examples of free-to-play games, DFS, sports betting, rewards programs, online/mobile games or competitions and more.

Best Use of Metaverse

This award recognizes the engaging and effective use of extended reality as a part of a marketing campaign, project, or event. Eligible entries may include augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, and artificial intelligence.

Best Use of Technology

This award recognizes an innovative approach to leveraging technology and/or data to build deeper relationships with fans or create personalized experiences to engage fans and audiences.

Best Website

This award recognizes an online destination that puts the fan at the heart of the experience. Judges will look for a website that is uniquely well-designed or plays a critical role in driving results for the organization across sales, marketing, and engagement.

Best Engagement for Good

This award recognizes work to engage fans that has a positive impact on individuals or society. Judges will examine how resources were deployed across content, campaigns, or experiences to create long-lasting results. Entries may relate to social activism, CSR, community work, charitable efforts and more.

Best Employee Engagement

This award recognizes the work of an organization to build passion, commitment and positive working culture. Judges will look for organizations that demonstrate a people-first approach, prioritize diversity & inclusion, and feature specific examples of ways employees are committed to the cause.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

This award recognizes content, campaigns, or organizational initiatives that champion diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in sports and entertainment—whether in the boardroom, on the court/field, on the production set, or in the studio—and promotes equal opportunities for all.

Excellence in Black Storytelling

This award recognizes content, campaigns, or other forms of storytelling and media that empower Black voices, history, culture, and stories through the lens of sports and entertainment.

Excellence in Latinx & Hispanic Storytelling NEW!

This award recognizes content, campaigns, or other forms of storytelling and media that empower Hispanic and Latinx voices, history, culture, and stories through the lens of sports and entertainment.

Excellence in Multicultural Storytelling

This award recognizes content, campaigns or other forms of storytelling and media that share the perspectives of and resonate with ethnicities, cultures, and communities that are underrepresented and marginalized.

Best Athlete Podcast

This award recognizes the most engaging podcast across all formats and lengths that is hosted by an athlete and/or athletes. Judges will look for podcasts that set the industry standard for conversation, storytelling, format, talent, and/or marketing.

Best Betting or Fantasy Podcast

This award recognizes the most engaging podcast across all formats and lengths that is topically focused on sports betting and/or fantasy sports. Judges will look for podcasts that set the industry standard for conversation, storytelling, format, talent, and/or marketing.

Best Documentary Podcast NEW!

This award recognizes the most engaging podcast that examines sports related documentary content in narrative form, interviews, and conversation.

Best New Podcast NEW!

This award recognizes the most engaging new podcast of the year across all formats and lengths. Judges will look for podcasts that set the industry standard for conversation, storytelling, format, talent, and/or marketing.

Best Podcast

This award recognizes the most engaging podcast across all formats and lengths. Judges will look for podcasts that set the industry standard for conversation, storytelling, format, talent, and/or marketing.

Best Podcast Episode NEW!

This award recognizes the most engaging and memorable, informative, or entertaining single podcast episode of the year.

Best Women’s Sports Podcast

This award recognizes the most engaging podcast across all formats and lengths that is topically focused on women’s sports leagues, teams, and/or female athletes. Judges will look for podcasts that set the industry standard for conversation, storytelling, format, talent, and/or marketing.

Best Instagram Presence

This award recognizes the most engaging and creative presence on Instagram. Judges will evaluate how the entry used the platform's native tools to establish unique brand voice, foster community, and drive engagement.

Best TikTok Presence

This award recognizes the most engaging and creative presence on TikTok. Judges will evaluate how the entry used the platform's native tools to establish unique brand voice, foster community, and drive engagement.

Best X Presence

This award recognizes the most engaging and creative presence on X. Judges will evaluate how the entry used the platform's native tools to establish unique brand voice, foster community, and drive engagement.

Best YouTube Presence

This award recognizes the most engaging and creative presence on YouTube. Judges will evaluate how the entry used the platform's native tools to establish unique brand voice, foster community, and drive engagement.

Best Use of Multi-Platform

This award recognizes the most engaging and creative presence that took place on multiple social media platforms. Judges will evaluate how the entry used each platform's native tools to establish consistent brand voice, foster community, drive engagement, and meet objectives.

Best Advertisement: 60 Sec and Under

This award recognizes an ad 60 seconds or less in length that demonstrates excellence in storytelling, emotionally engages fans, drives business outcomes, and exhibits elements of exceptional film craft.

Best Advertisement: 61 Sec and Over

This award recognizes an ad more than one minute in length (over 61 seconds) that demonstrates excellence in storytelling, emotionally engages fans, drives business outcomes, and exhibits elements of exceptional film craft.

Best Documentary: Short-Form

This award recognizes a documentary (less than 10 mins in length) that demonstrates excellence in storytelling, emotionally engages fans, and exhibits elements of exceptional film craft. Entries may be a single film or docuseries.

Best Documentary: Long-Form

This award recognizes a documentary (more than 10 mins in length) that demonstrates excellence in storytelling, emotionally engages fans, and exhibits elements of exceptional film craft. Entries may be a single film or docuseries.

Best Original Film or Series: Short-Form

This award recognizes an exceptional original short-form (less than 10 mins) show or film released on digital, social, or linear TV that demonstrates excellence in storytelling, emotionally engages fans, and exhibits elements of exceptional film craft. Entries may be scripted or unscripted.

Best Original Film or Series: Long-Form

This award recognizes an exceptional original long-form (more than 10 mins) show or film released on digital, social, or linear TV that demonstrates excellence in storytelling, emotionally engages fans, and exhibits elements of exceptional film craft. Entries may be scripted or unscripted.

Best Short-Form Video

This award recognizes short-form content made strategically for the platform on which it lives. Entries may be standalone videos (e.g. game day hype videos) or part of a marketing campaign or series.

Best Use of Live Video

This award recognizes the most engaging and effective use of live streamed video on one or more social or streaming platforms. Entries may feature a single stream or series and may promote concerts, festivals, tours, and other events related to a sports venue or competition.

Best Feature Film NEW!

This award recognizes an exceptional feature film (more than 40 mins) that demonstrates excellence in storytelling, emotionally engages fans, and exhibits elements of exceptional film craft. Entries may be scripted or unscripted in any style and genre that is sports related.

Engagement Executive of the Year

This prestigious award honors an executive who is shaping the future of sports media, content, and fan experiences—raising the standard of excellence for engagement not only for their organization but the industry at-large.

Evolution Award

This prestigious award honors a professional athlete whose post-athletic career contributions in business, media, and/or entertainment is raising the standard of excellence for engagement and shaping the future of fan experiences.

Lifetime Achievement Award

This prestigious award honors an individual who has played an integral role over time shaping the fan experience and furthering the creative, technical, or professional progress of sports and entertainment.

Next Up Award

This prestigious award honors an individual under 35 years of age for their contributions to sports entertainment, content, and fan experiences—who is digitally savvy and an agent of change.

Broadcast Team of the Year

This prestigious honor recognizes a team of individuals who collectively contributed to delivering broadcast production to the highest technical standard—conveying the broadcast (on-premise and/or cloud) in unique ways, accompanied by stunning on-screen graphics, multiple viewpoints of the action and analysis, rich visuals, music, and immersive sound that all combine to seamlessly transport the viewing audience into the midst of the broadcast storylines.

Creative Team of the Year

This prestigious honor recognizes a team of individuals who collectively produced an exceptional brand identity through consistent and cohesive art direction, creative integrity, and strategic integration across digital, social media, broadcast, and traditional channels (as applicable) to create a unified and engaging message that sets an industry standard of excellence for sports entertainment and fan engagement.

Digital Media Team of the Year

This prestigious honor recognizes a team of individuals who have produced exceptional digital-first features, docs, shows, podcasts, and/or originals that creatively engage fans, captivate audiences, and set an industry standard of excellence for sports entertainment and fan engagement.

Social Media Team of the Year

This prestigious honor recognizes a team of individuals who contributed to creating an industry-best presence on social media on behalf of their organization through unique voices, varied content formats, types, and lengths, innovation on platforms, and cultural relevance that put the fan first.

Organizations with the most honors within their peer group during the awards season are considered for the "Of The Year" Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Overall Engagement.

Previous winners include: NBA (3x), Jung von Matt SPORTS (3x), Bleacher Report, FCB New York, Michelob Ultra, BMW, Omaha Productions, Brooklyn Nets, and Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE).

Small Agency of the Year

This honor recognizes engagement excellence for the small agency with the most wins and distinctions received across all categories.

Large Agency of the Year

This honor recognizes engagement excellence for the large agency with the most wins and distinctions received across all categories.

Small Brand of the Year

This honor recognizes engagement excellence for the small brand with the most wins and distinctions received across all categories.

Large Brand of the Year

This honor recognizes engagement excellence for the large brand with the most wins and distinctions received across all categories.

League or Property of the Year

This honor recognizes engagement excellence for the league or property with the most wins and distinctions received across all categories.

League or Property of the Year (Under 30)

This honor recognizes engagement excellence for the league or property in existence for less than 30 years with the most wins and distinctions received across all categories.

Podcast Company of the Year

This honor recognizes engagement excellence in audio and honors the company with the most acclaimed podcasts across all categories.

Production Company of the Year

This honor recognizes engagement excellence in video and honors the company with the most acclaimed films and/or series across all categories.

Sports & Entertainment Company of the Year

This honor recognizes engagement excellence for the sports & entertainment company with the most wins and distinctions received across all categories.

Sports Team of the Year

This honor recognizes engagement excellence for the sports team with the most wins and distinctions received across all categories.

Award Categories

Brand & Partnership

Campaign & Marketing

Content

Design & Creative

Fan Experience

Impact

Podcast

Social Media

Video

Special Achievement