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Expanded Categories for the 6th Annual Anthem Awards

From short-form video to apps, podcasts, and beyond, our expanded categories recognize impact in every form.

The definition of “good” is evolving. As resources tighten and expectations rise, leading organizations are moving beyond intention, building solutions that last, centering communities from the start, and measuring what actually matters.

The 6th Annual Anthem Awards reflects this shift. This season’s expanded categories capture the full spectrum of purpose-driven work shaping what impact looks like today and opens the door for more organizations, disciplines, and forms of impact to be recognized.

You can set the new standard for good across eight category types: Campaign, Content & Media, Community Engagement, Corporate Social Responsibility, Fundraising & Resource Development, Individual Recognition, Product Innovation or Service, and Industry Specific Programs.

You can learn more about our cause areas here and see all of this year’s categories here.

NEW! Industry Specific Program Categories

For the first time ever, we’ve added a new slate of categories for organizations and work making a significant impact within a specific field, sector, or niche, recognizing the specialized expertise, innovation, and leadership required to drive meaningful change from within an industry.

We are offering 80 new program categories including: 

  • Biodiversity & Ecosystem Restoration
  • Cultural Celebration & Heritage Preservation
  • Ethical AI & Algorithm Design
  • Food Banks & Hunger Relief
  • Healthcare Access & Equity
  • K-12 Education Innovation

If your organization is doing specialized work within a specific field, there’s now a category built for exactly what you do.

 

New Categories Across the Competition

Beyond Industry Specific Programs, Season 6 introduces new opportunities to enter across six existing category types, giving more organizations a home for their work, no matter the medium or approach.

Campaign: From broad-reach awareness efforts to targeted fundraising drives, campaigns are where purpose-driven work meets the public. New this season:

  • Social Campaign
  • Video Campaign or Series
  • Community Engagement Campaign
  • Fundraising Campaign
  • Product or Service Campaign

 

Content & Media: The ways organizations tell their story keep evolving. Season 6 creates space for more of that work to be recognized:

  • Creator Advocacy
  • Email & Newsletter
  • General Social
  • Podcast Episode
  • Podcast Limited Series
  • Podcast Show
  • Social Content Series
  • Thought Leadership Content or Series
  • Web Design & UX

 

Corporate Social Responsibility: Purpose-driven work inside organizations deserves recognition too. New honors for the teams holding the line:

  • Purpose-Driven Program or Initiative
  • Event
  • Nonprofit or Community Partnership

 

Fundraising & Resource Development: As funding landscapes shift, creative approaches to resource development deserve their own moment:

  • Grantmaking Impact

 

Product Innovation or Service: Technology built for good — now with dedicated recognition for digital products making a difference:

  • App Excellence

 

Individual Recognition: Behind every impactful organization is a person doing the work. New categories honor the individuals leading the charge:

  • Community Leader
  • Fundraising Leader

 

See all categories across all of these media types and Community Engagement here.

Set The New Standard for Good

If you’re creating campaigns, initiatives, and programs in these areas, here’s how you can find the right category for your work. Enter your projects before the Early Entry Deadline on Friday, May 22, for preferred pricing.

Patagonia – Don’t Buy This Jacket

Patagonia has put social impact at the core of their brand mission and values from the start, and their iconic Don’t Buy This Jacket campaign demonstrates how brands can use their platform to make an impact — or better yet, to help reduce our impact. This 2011 ad ran in the New York Times on Black Friday, making a lasting impression for its bold message addressing the issue of consumerism head on and asking readers to take the Common Threads Initiative pledge to reduce, repair, reuse, recycle, and reimagine a world where we take only what nature can replace.

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NEWS & ANNONCEMENTS

Ad Council’s Love Has No Labels Movement

Love Has No Labels is a movement by The Ad Council to promote diversity, equity and inclusion of all people across race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age and ability.

Read our Q&A with Heidi Arthur, the Ad Council’s Chief Campaign Development Officer on the team behind LHNL collaborates with partners to combat implicit bias—from crafting PSAs to driving viewers to take action, to how brands and companies should approach corporate social responsibility with authenticity.

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