What This Year's Best Streamed Brand Campaign Got Right

Find out why this internet star took home the 2016 Streamys award for Best Brand Campaign.

learn more about Rose Leadem

By Rose Leadem

Daniel Zuchnik | Getty Images

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Tuesday night marked an exciting moment for online video talent. Bringing together 2016's biggest internet stars, the 6th Annual Streamy Awards honored the best of the web's video content creators.

Among the event's 44 award categories was Best Brand Campaign, and this year's winner is a familiar face: YouTuber, podcaster, writer and actor Grace Helbig.

It's been a big year for Helbig -- she starred in a movie, Dirty 30, published her second book and launched an app. Now she has another milestone: the YouTube star, also the author of two New York Times bestselling books, was awarded for her miniseries "Writing With Grace" for AT&T's Hello Lab.

Related: 5 Lessons From the Breakout Creators at This Year's Streamy Awards

So how did Helbig manage to beat Vine star Cameron Dallas' Calvin Klein campaign or YouTuber Dominic "D-Trix" Sandoval's "Now Add a Dancer" campaign with Mountain Dew?

Simple: Helbig engaged her audience and encouraged them to participate.

"Writing With Grace" was an eight-week long writing project where Helbig asked fans to help finish her upcoming novella, Freak Week. Throughout the eight-week series, Helbig sent out weekly prompts to fans, who would later submit their own chapters. Every week, Helbig would choose her favorite submissions and add them to the short novel.

By motivating her fans to get involved in the series through recognition and reward, Helbig launched one of the most successful brand campaigns of the year. Engagement, competition and recognition made her campaign stand out from the rest.

Rose Leadem
Rose Leadem is a freelance writer for Entrepreneur.com. 

Related Topics

Editor's Pick

Everyone Wants to Get Close to Their Favorite Artist. Here's the Technology Making It a Reality — But Better.
The Highest-Paid, Highest-Profile People in Every Field Know This Communication Strategy
After Early Rejection From Publishers, This Author Self-Published Her Book and Sold More Than 500,000 Copies. Here's How She Did It.
Having Trouble Speaking Up in Meetings? Try This Strategy.
He Names Brands for Amazon, Meta and Forever 21, and Says This Is the Big Blank Space in the Naming Game
Business News

These Are the Most and Least Affordable Places to Retire in The U.S.

The Northeast and West Coast are the least affordable, while areas in the Mountain State region tend to be ideal for retirees on a budget.

Leadership

Are You Being Too Soft as a Leader? You Might Need to Try a Different Approach

At the core of leadership, we must provide purpose, direction and motivation to our employees — but not everyone is using the right leadership style to offer these things. Here's why you might need to consider a more rigid approach.

Starting a Business

Shopify's President Breaks Down the Best Ways to Grow Your Ecommerce Business

Entrepreneur magazine Editor in Chief Jason Feifer and Shopify President Harley Finkelstein discuss the best strategies to grow an ecommerce business.

Business News

I Live on a Cruise Ship for Half of the Year. Look Inside My 336-Square-Foot Cabin with Wraparound Balcony.

I live on a cruise ship with my husband, who works on it, for six months out of the year. Life at "home" can be tight. Here's what it's really like living on a cruise ship.

Business News

American Airlines Sued After Teen Dies of Heart Attack Onboard Flight to Miami

Kevin Greenridge was traveling from Honduras to Miami on June 4, 2022, on AA Flight 614 when he went into cardiac arrest and became unconscious mid-flight.