ACM and Opry Nominated For Social Media Icon Awards

The Academy of Country Music and the Grand Ole Opry are nominated for Social Media Icon Awards presented by PR News. Honors will be presented April 17 in New York City.

The Opry’s nomination recognizes a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #Love4Loretta during Lynn’s 50th Opry member anniversary celebration. Components of the digital campaign included a Lynn take-over of the Opry’s YouTube channel; opry.com editorial features, playlists, and sweepstakes; digital streaming of Lynn’s 50th anniversary press conference featuring the Opry legend as well as Crystal Gayle, Pistol Annies, and Lee Ann Womack; and Twitter messaging from dozens of notable artists and organizations, including The Band Perry, Miranda Lambert, Bret Michaels, and Carrie Underwood. Campaign results included eight million Twitter impressions via #Love4Loretta as well as a 334% increase in Opry app listenership for the Opry performance featuring Lynn and guests.

“We are so pleased that the Opry, which utilized the cutting-edge technology of the day to first hit the airwaves in 1925, is being recognized more than 85 years later for continuing to excel in sharing its music and its message, now to an entirely new audience using all-new technology,” said Pete Fisher, Opry vice president and general manager.

The Academy of Country Music is recognized in the Twitter: PR Campaign category for work on the 2012 ACM Awards. The Academy of Country Music was nominated based on the success of its first-ever digital press conference to announce nominees, tune-in initiatives with GetGlue, involvement within community chats on Twitter, on -site Twitter contesting from Las Vegas, the ACM Social Splash webpage, telecast integration with dick clark productions and the CBS Television Network, and more.

Brooke Primero, Senior Vice President, PR & Marketing at the Academy of Country Music, said, “Over the past year, we’ve taken the Academy’s media channels and fan engagement to a new level, and this award is just proof of that.”

“We focus on the creative as much as possible to bring rich, funny and appealing content to the table consistently,” added Lisa Lee, Senior Vice President, Creative, PR & Production.

Nominees in select categories

Twitter: Best Use of Hashtags
Grand Ole Opry – #Love4Loretta
Guthy-Renker – #ProactivWorks
Neiman  – #Tweettoshoot
SAP – #SAPChat

Twitter: PR Campaign
Academy of Country Music – 2012 ACM Awards
Cathay Pacific Airways – Cathay Pacific Klout Campaign
Dixon Schwabl – RBC Heritage
Littelfuse – Littelfuse Speed2Design
National Safe Boating Council – NSBC and Paul Werth Associates – 2012 ‘Wear It!’ Campaign Increases Awareness of Boating Safety
Smithsonian National Zoological Park – #PandaAI
Weber Shandwick + MilkPEP – The Breakfast Project

See the complete list of nominations.