The SMART Awards

Welcome to the SMART Awards: Where Speed Meets Social Media Savvy! 

Do you have what it takes to dazzle the judges with your social media campaign or research project in just 180 seconds? If you're a student at Utah State University, get ready to unleash your inner social media wizard at the Social Media Analytics & Research Technologies (SMART) Awards! 

Here's the deal: You have three minutes, yes, just three!, to present your brilliant social media research or project in a way that even a non-specialist audience would understand. Compete against your fellow Aggies for cash prizes and the chance to collaborate with the fabulous faculty affiliated with the SMART Lab to bring your ideas to life.

This isn't just any competition. It's a whirlwind of creativity, storytelling, and academic prowess. You'll hone your presentation skills, sharpen your research acumen, and become a master at communicating complex ideas to a non-specialist audience. Think of it as a USU student’s TED Talk. 

So, are you ready to take the stage and show us what you've got? The clock is ticking, and the spotlight is waiting. Let's make some social media magic happen! 

Join the SMART Awards and let your social media genius shine! 

SMART Awards Submission

Competitors to present on their social media research project (not a proposal, but with complete findings and recommendations) or social media campaign (that addresses a social issue/problem or that markets a product).

Selection of Winners

First-place and second-place winners to be selected by a panel made up of faculty affiliated to the SMART Lab. Participating students shall have their entries uploaded to the SMART Lab YouTube channel, and the entry with the most views and comments will win the People’s Choice Award. 

The Prizes

The cash prizes for the competition are as follows:

Rules

• Presentations are limited to three minutes maximum and competitors exceeding three minutes are disqualified.
• Presentations are to commence from the stage or virtually as instructed
• Presentations are considered to have commenced when presenters start their presentation through movement or speech.
• The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.

Judging Criteria

Each of the judging criteria below has equal weight.

Comprehension and Content

• Did the presentation provide a clear background and significance to the research question or campaign/marketing objective?
• Did the presentation clearly describe the social media research/campaign strategy/design of the social media research/campaign?
• Did the presentation clearly describe the conclusions, outcomes, and impact of the social media research or campaign?

Engagement and Communication

• Was the oration delivered clearly, and in language appropriate for a non-specialist audience?
• Use of multimedia tools used and did it enhance the presentation?
• Did the presenter convey enthusiasm for their social media research/campaign, and capture and maintain the audience’s attention?

Online Audience Engagement

• Did the participant develop not more than 3 minutes video presentation that they shared with the online audience by tagging SBCC, CHaSS, JCOM, and USU social media channels and #SmartAwards?
• Did the participant solicit and got the highest online vote through SMART Lab YouTube social media polling?