2012-02-13 06:42:33 - 21 International Professionals Will Judge Excellence in the Fast Growing Social Media Marketing Industry

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, February 13, 2012 – Today, The Bees Awards, the first international social media marketing awards for communication professionals, unveiled their impressive 2012 jury. The event resturns to celebrate its consecutive 3rd edition and will once again award winners in over 26 specialized social media marketing categories worldwide. Winners will be announced on May 24, 2012.

One-fifth of the planet is using social media platforms. That new reality calls for a new expertise: “Social Media Marketing is not a matter of one country, one language or few companies. It is happening everywhere on the planet, in every language,” states Cara Drolshagen, Co-Founder and Vice-President of The Bees Awards. “Last year, The Bees Awards received entries from 33 countries across

5 continents. 74% of these entries came from large brands such as Ford, Ikea, Disney, Pepsi and Toyota. Social Media Marketing is a serious business, and it is one that is gaining more momentum and power each day.”


The 2012 Jury announced today is composed by the following well renowned professionals from 15 different countries:

Claire Adams Head of Social Media EURO/RSCG London (UK)
José Azanza Arias Director General Creativo Wunderman (Argentina)
Brandon Cheung Regional Digital Strategy Director Tribal DDB (Hong Kong)
Bruno Clement Head of Strategic, Creative Public Systeme Hopscotch (France)
and Digital Planning
Thomas Crampton Asia-Pacific Director, Social Media Ogilvy & Mather (China)
Martin Drust Managing Partner Kempertrautmann GmbH (Germany)
John Gagne SVP, Executive Creative Director Proximity (Canada)
Stephen Goldblatt Executive Creative Director Evolution Bureau (United States)
Attila Lonkay Executive Creative Director Saatchi & Saatchi (Hungary)
Tor Lowkrantz Digital Advisor Wenderfalck (Sweden)
James McKay Managing Director Quirk Cape Town (South Africa)
Mike McKay Chief Creative Officer/Partner Eleven San Francisco (United States)
Cortlan McManus Social Media Director Havas Digital Middle East (UAE)
Jonas Klit Nielsen CEO & Founder Mindjumpers (Denmark)
Nir Refuah VP Creative McCann Digital (Israel)
Mark Ringer Executive Creative Director TBWATEQUILA (Hong Kong)
Bill Roden Creative Director Saatchi & Saatchi LA (United States)
Phillip Rubel CEO & Representative Director Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon (Japan)
Raphael Vasconcellos Executive Creative VP AgenciaClick Isobar (Brasil)
Jiravara Virayavardhana Managing Director Ogilvy PR Worldwide (Thailand)
Ben Winkler Chief Digital Officer OMD (United States)

Details at: www.beesawards.com/2012/jury

The jury selection was based on, each professionals recognized expertise, the references received from their peers, their passion for social media, and their geographic location. Together, they will honor the best social media marketing practices, define standard practices, and establish the standard of ethics that will foster the long term growth of the profession.

The 5 new categories are:
- Best Use of Ad Banners on Social Media Platform (NEW!)
- Best Convergence SEO/SEM with Social Media (NEW!)
- Best use of Geo-Location for Social Media Marketing (NEW!)
- Best use of App for Social Media Marketing (NEW!)
- Best Tool or Technology for Social Media Marketing (NEW!)

Social Media Marketing is not revolutionary. It is evolutionary.” says Co-Founder & President, Mr. Bastien Beauchamp. “It remains faithful to the principals of the founders of our industry: Albert Lasker, David Ogilvy, and Bill Bernback. These founders felt strongly that a company should always care about its brand and its reputation, always try to build a brand that is truthful to its product, understand its consumers, and communicate with personality. These marketing fundaments don’t change and The Bees Awards 2012 Jury reflects the fact that large marketing agencies not only evolve in their practices but will also be challenged every day by small specialized social media agencies.”


Important Dates:

February 13 Call for entry: Social media, public relations, advertising agencies, brands and
consultants from around the world can submit their entry at www.beesawards.com
April 4 Deadline to submit entries
May 24 Nominees and winners will be announced


About the Bees Awards:

Name The Bees Awards Inc.
Description The first international social media marketing awards for communication professionals.
Mission Honoring the best social media marketing executions of the year in order to promote expertise and ethics for a sustainable industry.
Location San Francisco, California
Founded January 2009
Principals Bastien Beauchamp, Co-Founder & President
Cara Drolshagen, Co-Founder & Vice-President


General information:

Website: www.beesawards.com
2012 Jury: beesawards.com/bees/2012/jury
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-bees-awards
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BeesAwards
Twitter: twitter.com/BeesAwards

Media Room: www.beesawards.com/bees/2012/bloggers-media

Contact: media@beesawards.com