Annual Tecla Awards nominations kick off with new categories, voting process

Miami (HISPANICIZE WIRE). – Hispanicize 2016 and DiMe Mediaannounced today that nominations are officially open through March 7th for the2nd Annual Tecla Awards. Presented in partnership with Telemundo, the 2ndAnnual Tecla Awards (www.TeclaAwards.com) will be streamed live online forviewers worldwide on Thursday, April 7th, 2016 from downtown Miami.

Honoring excellence in U.S. Latino online video, blogging,media, marketing and those who create it, the 2nd Annual Tecla Awards willreflect the growing state of original Latino programming native to YouTube,Facebook, Vine, Instagram, live broadcasting, blogging and virtually all typesof social media platforms.

To ensure the broadest participation by the online Latinocontent producing community, the official entry process has been streamlined.

Nominations are open and can be made athttp://www.TeclaAwards.com and close 11:59 pm PT on Monday, March 7, 2016. Thepublic is invited to nominate their favorite creators- including themselves-for any of the more than 20 themed categories.

“This is the Golden Age for Latino creators as brands,agencies and media companies themselves recognize that all traditional mediaparadigms are shifting to online,” said Manny Ruiz, founder and creativedirector of Hispanicize and the Tecla Awards. “The 2016 Tecla Awards capturesthis evolution and will raise the bar for the creators, media and marketingindustries that comprise the U.S. Hispanic online community.”

“We are incredibly proud to be presenting the coveted ‘2ndAnnual Tecla Awards’,” said Borja Perez, senior vice president of digital andsocial media for NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. “In partnership withHispanicize, we are looking forward to recognizing this year’s biggest andbrightest creators.”

“When it comes to the digital space Latinos are creativeand dynamic while producing content in English, Spanish as well asbilingually," said Cristy Clavijo-Kish, Co-CEO of DiMe Media and managingpartner for the 2016 Tecla Awards. "Our awards program produced inconjunction with our Official Media Partner, Telemundo Networks, will be thestandard by which awards are measured and will be the hottest, moststar-studded and engaging ticket of ALL Hispanicize 2016.”

New Tecla Awards categories include:

— All-new awards including Best Latin Artist using SocialMedia and Most Admired Latino Celebrity on Social Media.

— Three awards devoted to short-form video: Vine, SnapchatStory Teller and Instagram

— A television award recognizing the Best Broadcast orCable Network Doing Social TV

— A “Creator of the Year” award that will be voted on bythe public starting on March 7th.

— Telemundo will be presenting for the first time ever,the Social Innovation Award at the Tecla Awards. This award honors anindividual innovator whose work has explored new trends, showcased pioneeringspirit and greatly impacted society

The finalists are determined by a tally of the nominationsthat were submitted by the Teclas Nominations Academy and the publicnominations process running through March 7th. The winners of the 2016 TeclaAwards will be determined by the Tecla Judges Academy comprised of a selectgroup of leaders shaping the future of Latino social media, entertainment andmarketing. They include creators, executives, network leaders and other expertsin the online content development industry.

The full list of categories for the 2nd Annual Tecla Awardsinclude:

SUBJECT AWARDS – Top Creators Developing Content About:

— Beauty

— Fashion

— Food

— Comedy

— Technology

— Health and Wellness

— Kids and Family

— Lifestyle

— Latino News and Culture

MUSIC AWARDS

— Best Music Artist Using Social Media

— Cover Songs Performer

BEST SHORT FORM VIDEO AWARDS

— Instagram

— Snapchat Storyteller

— Viner

GENERAL SOCIAL MEDIA

— Best Spanish-Language Creator

— Most Influential Latino on Twitter

— Best Latino Facebook Page

— Most Admired Latino Celebrity on Social Media

— Best Latino Pinner on Pinterest

CAMPAIGN, MEDIA AND MARKETING AWARDS

— Best Use of Integrated Social Media and Digital AdvertisingBuy

— Best Sponsored Blog Post

— Best Sponsored Video

— Best Social Good or Cause-Related Campaign

— Best Agency Doing Hispanic Social Media

— Best Broadcast or Cable Network Doing Social TV

— Best Content Marketing Video

Recognizing the important role that audiences play in theonline community, the Teclas are putting fan participation at the heart ofselecting the winner of a Latino Creator of the Year Award. Fans are allowed topublicly nominate their favorite creators or programs across official TeclaAward categories (with the exception of the marketing and media-relatedcategories) at www.TeclaAwards.com.

The inaugural 2015 Tecla Awards garnered millions ofimpressions and was a trending topic on Twitter. The two-hour live showfeatured some of the biggest names of multicultural YouTube and social mediaand included a musical performance by Chino y Nacho. The 2016 Tecla Awards willfeature top online and broadcast talent to present awards including confirmedtalents of popular Viner Lele Pons, YouTube Fashionistas La Clika and AlejandraRodriguez of Styled by Ale, and Latino comedians Los Pichy Boys and DavidLopez, and a performance from a top musical group to be announced next week.

Tecla Award Sponsors

Sponsorships for the Tecla Awards are still available bycontacting TeclaAwards@hispanicize.com. To date Tecla Award sponsors includeToyota, Prudential Financial, Telemundo and Raydr.

Other overall sponsors of Hispanicize 2016 also include QueRica Vida, General Mills, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Wells Fargo, State Farm,Dominican Republic Tourism, Kelley Blue Book, Savings.com, Comcast, MSNBC, NBCNews, Pinterest, Visit Philly, Alma, República, Sensis, BTL Network, IZEA, PacoCollective, BodenPR, Newlink Americas, Pinta, Diario Las Americas and MiamiHerald Media Company.

About the Tecla Awards

Named after the Spanish-language word for an individual keyon a keyboard, the Tecla Awards honor excellence in U.S. Latino online video,blogging, media, marketing and those who create it.

The 2nd Annual Tecla Awards reflect the growing state oforiginal programming native to YouTube, Facebook, Vine, Instagram, livebroadcasting, blogging and virtually all types of social media platforms.

The 2nd Annual Tecla Awards will be held on Thursday, April7, 2016 at Hispanicize 2016 Week in Miami, Florida and are held annually atHispanicize, the largest U.S. Hispanic social media, marketing, media andentertainment industries event in the nation.

The awards are a co-production of the Hispanicize event andthe DiMe Media network. The Tecla Awards are being conducted in alliance withTelemundo, the official and exclusive media partner of the awards.

About Hispanicize

Now in its seventh year, Hispanicize 2016 Week(www.HispanicizeEvent.com) (#Hispz16) is the iconic, largest annual event forLatino trendsetters and newsmakers in digital content creation, journalism,marketing, entertainment and tech entrepreneurship. Hispanicize 2016 isexpected to gather more than 3,000 of the nation’s most influential Latinoprofessionals from the industries of digital content creation, journalism,music, marketing, film and business over five days. The event will take placein downtown Miami’s InterContinental hotel, April 4-8, 2016.

The Hispanicize event is a launch pad for creativeendeavors, new products, technologies, marketing campaigns, films, books andmore targeting Latinos in the U.S. and/or Puerto Rico.