11th Annual Shorty Awards
Celebrating its 11th anniversary, the Shorty Awards continueto honor the best influencers, celebrities, brands and agencies on socialmedia, across Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and other platforms. Theshow returned to PlayStation Theater in the heart of Times Square in New YorkCity for the ceremony on May 5.
Over 800 influencers, brands, agencies and guests packed thetheater for the ceremony, which featured a hot pink carpet, cocktail reception,seated dinner and an after party at the W Times Square hotel. The staged eventstreamed live on YouTube and Twitter to over 211,000 (and counting!) viewersinternationally, as fans all over the globe tuned in to watch their favoritesocial media stars.
Comedian and actress Kathy Griffin hosted the show and keptthe audience entertained with her trademark comedy from both the stage and theaudience during a crowd interaction bit.
Helping keep the show lively throughout, well-knownpresenters included Jay Shetty, Shangela, Mamrie Hart, Denzel Dion, EvaGutowski, and Sean Evans.
This was the most competitive show to date, as over 7million votes poured in from fans all over the world, a record forparticipation. Winners of the signature Whale-Tail Trophy included ShantellMartin, March for Our Lives, Ryland Adams, Shane Dawson, and Shorty’s very ownhost, Kathy Griffin.
Recognized this year for their contributions to the world, PhenomAward recipients included Kevin Love (Athlete), Marsai Martin (Entertainment),March for our Lives (Changemakers), and Terry Crews (Activism).
New Orleans-based band and 2017 NPR Tiny Desk Contestwinners Tank and the Bangas brought down the house performing four hits from their new album Green Balloon, including "Nice Things" and "Ants" to finish out the night.
Empire is proud to partner with The Shorty Awards for our fifthyear and we congratulate all the 2019 winners, as well as an even largercongratulations to eleven successful years of the Shorty Awards!
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
