Who are South Africa’s top youth influencers? Guests at the 2016 Youth Influencer Awards found out at a well-attended bash last week as #YIA2016 trended well into the early hours of the morning.
Candidates had to be under 25, and the focus was on youngsters creating their own success through influencer marketing, without the support of fame.
“Heading into the awards, we found that celebrities have been brands’ go to source for achieving scale and reach; however influencer marketing in South Africa is still in its infancy compared to other countries,” said Marc Kornberger, director and co-founder at Student Village.
Kornberger said Student Village wanted these awards to provide a platform for authentic young influencers to be recognised and give brands a better view of what influencer marketing really is and has the potential to become.
Since influencer marketing is already changing the way brands market to the masses, Student Village also put brands in the spotlight with a Best Brand Influencer Marketing category, which was won by Adidas, with other nominees in the category including Sunglasshut, Superbalist, Levis and Standard Bank.
“The influencers and brands nominated have set the bar for winners to come and we look forward to see how the influencer game evolves until we host our next Youth Influencer Awards,” said Kornberger.
YIA 2016 awarded the following categories and winners:
Best Male Lifestyle Influencer – Trevor Stuurman
Best Female Lifestyle Influencer – Tsepang Modisane
Best Social Media Influencer – Tshepi Vundla
Best Campus Brand Ambassador – Isaac Mnguni
Most Influential Visual Artist – Themba Mbuyisa
Most Influential Vlogger – Moshe Ndiki
The Socialite – Tshepi Vundla
The Game Changer – Pap Culture
Best Brand Influencer Marketing – Adidas
The judging panel comprised Musa Kalenga (client partner, Facebook Africa), Thithi Nteta (influencer; author of Teeteeiswithme.com) and Asanda Sizani (fashion editor and style curator) reviewed various social authority criteria of each nominee. This included measures like reach, social authority, social affluence, positive impact and conversion. Kornberger these particular measures’ importance during an influencer marketing insights presentation delivered at the awards.
