PMG Wins Shorty Award for Best Use of Meme

FORT WORTH — PMG announced that they have won for the Best Use of Meme in the 8th Annual Shorty Awards. The winners were announced via Snapchat this morning.

The digital agency was recognized for its work in Beats by Dre’s Straight Outta Somewhere campaign, which promoted the release of last summer’s blockbuster film, Straight Outta Compton. The campaign centered on a meme generator that allowed people to rep their own city by uploading their photo and sharing it to their social networks. The film set multiple box office records, and the 8.7 million memes created included those from celebrities, brands, and even the White House.

“The campaign was hugely successful, and we’re honored that the social media industry recognized the amazing results our team delivered for the client,” said George Popstefanov, founder and CEO of PMG. “The #StraightOutta campaign helped a hip-hop biopic create a truly global cultural movement.”

The campaign was so successful in permeating culture that it became the #1 trending topic on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at the same time – something that no other brand has ever accomplished before. The mainstream press also covered the campaign in over 100 stories, with a reach of 1.2 billion people worldwide. More information about the campaign can be found on the #StraightOutta entry page.

PMG also won Bronze Distinction for the same campaign in the Consumer Brand category. Other winners in the Brands & Orgs competition included R/GA, CP+B, Volvo, Hotels.com, and iHeartRadio.

Now in its eighth year, The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media, recognizing the influencers, brands, and organizations producing content on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Instagram, Vine, and the rest of the social web.

Finalists were selected by members of the Real Time Academy of Short Form Arts & Sciences, comprised of luminaries from advertising, media, entertainment and technology. The group includes Apple co-founder Steve “The Woz” Wozniak, CMO of Virgin America Luanne Calvert, Instagram Co-Founder Mike Krieger, actress and philanthropist Alyssa Milano, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Huffington Post Arianna Huffington and more.

ABOUT PMG

PMG is an independent, full-funnel digital agency that drives results for global brands across 50+ countries worldwide. Ranked by Deloitte as one of the fastest growing companies in its Technology Fast 500, PMG has rapidly carved out a unique space through both the breadth and depth of its audience marketing expertise. PMG first planted roots in Fort Worth, Texas in 2010, and today has spread across the U.S., with locations in New York and Los Angeles.

ABOUT THE SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards are produced by Sawhorse Media, a New York-based technology startup. Sawhorse also created and runs Muck Rack, the leading network to connect with journalists on social media.