Churchill, Sauti Sol & Faiba Win at Inaugural Social Media (SOMA) Awards
The debut of the SOMA Awards, specifically set up to award individuals, personalities and institutions (media, business and governance) bigger than life, in the social media sphere, went down on Friday night of 9th August at the Laico Regency. Some of the biggest online names in entertainment, being feted included Juliani, Sauti Sol, Creme De La Creme, Nonini, and Muthoni Ndonga—all battling for the Artist of the Year Award, with Sauti Sol claiming the coveted title.
Prominent social media personalities were also nominated to vie for the Overall Social Media Personality of the Year. They included: Daniel Churchill Ndambuki, Dennis Itumbi, Boniface Mwangi, Crazy Nairobian and Dr. Paula Kahumbu. Daniel Churchill Ndambuki managed to trump the competitors and clinch the award. Faiba-the popular video commercial from Jamii Telcom did not disappoint. Replicating its success on TV, Faiba was voted Video Campaign of the Year in the category that included Safaricom’s Naweza, Nairobi Half Life, and Start Something New with Orange among others. Government bodies were also not left out. Kenya Vision 2030 managed to stand out in their category by beating Kenya ICT Board, Kenya Wildlife Service, and Kenya power to claim the title of Best use of Social Media by Government Bodies. President Uhuru Kenyatta was also feted with the Special Award for Social Media.
Dubbed OLX, the main sponsor of this first edition of Social Media Awards is arguably the leading free online classifieds site in Kenya. The Social Media Awards was created to appreciate and acknowledge significant contributors to the growth of Social Media and online culture in Kenya. This year’s awards featured 25 categories which bore a total of 125 contestants. Winners of certain categories even romped home with cash prizes such as the Social Media Agency of the Year (KES 250,000) and Social Media Personality of the Year (KES 100,000). Here’s one of the Faiba commercials..
For the complete list of the SOMA 2013 Award nominees, winners and categories, visit www.soma.or.ke
