THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!

Industry

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Auto See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Beauty See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Business to Business See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Consumer Brand See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Education See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Entertainment See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Financial Services See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Fitness, Health, & Wellness
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See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Gaming See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Government & Politics See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Hospitality See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Insurance See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Live Events See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> News & Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Non-Profit See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Pets & Animals See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Pharma & Healthcare See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Real Estate See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Restaurants See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Retail & E-Commerce See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Social Activism See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Sports See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Technology See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Television See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Travel & Tourism See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Wine, Beer & Spirits

Strategy & Engagement

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Brand Partnership See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Call to Action See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Community Management See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Creative Use of Technology See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> CTV/OTT See previous winners and honorees for Insights and Trends here.</a> <a href=https://shortyawards.com/17th/"https://shortyawards.com/category/16th/data-visualization">See previous winners and honorees for Data Visualization here.</a>"> Data & Insights See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Earned Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Event & Experiential See previous winners and honorees here.</a>""> Gamification See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Humor See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Innovative Media Buying Strategy See previous winners and honorees here.</a>""> Integration with Traditional Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Internal Communications See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> LGBTQ Community Engagement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Micro-Influencer Strategy See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Multicultural Community Engagement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Music & Dance See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> On a Shoestring See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Organic Promotion See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Paid & Amplification See previous winner and honorees here.</a>"> Physical and Digital Convergence See previous winner and honorees here.</a>"> Public Service Announcement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Real Time Response See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> SEO & SEM See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Social Commerce See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Storytelling

Freightliner Gen 5 Cascadia Launch

Entered in Auto, Launch Campaign

Objective

The Fifth Generation Freightliner Cascadia social media campaign aimed to position Daimler Truck North America’s latest innovation as a leader in the competitive truck manufacturing industry. Our goal was to showcase the Cascadia’s advancements in aerodynamics, fuel efficiency, and safety while maintaining a strong connection to its predecessors.

By crafting a strategic and engaging campaign, we sought to generate excitement among the trucking community, increase brand awareness, and drive measurable engagement across social platforms. The campaign needed to balance technical excellence with accessibility, ensuring that Freightliner’s diverse audience—from fleet owners to independent drivers—felt informed and inspired by the Gen 5 Cascadia’s capabilities.

Strategy

To bring the Gen 5 Cascadia campaign to life, we executed a multi-phase social media strategy, beginning with a carefully planned teaser campaign and culminating in a full-scale product launch. Our approach prioritized dynamic content that would engage Freightliner’s audience while reinforcing the brand’s reputation for excellence.

1. Teaser Phase:

We generated anticipation by strategically releasing glimpses of the new Cascadia across Meta and LinkedIn. These teasers built intrigue and laid the groundwork for the full reveal, earning 1.1 million impressions on Meta and 152,000 impressions on LinkedIn.

2. Launch Phase:

During the official product launch, we leveraged a combination of video content, high-quality static posts, and paid media to ensure maximum reach. Meta ads alone delivered 2.5 million impressions, while our Facebook launch video achieved a remarkable 5.6% engagement rate—well above platform benchmarks.

3. Post-Launch Engagement:

Following the initial excitement, we continued to drive engagement with awareness ads and community-focused content. Freightliner’s post-launch awareness ads exceeded projections by 3.1 million impressions, while Instagram Reels played a key role in audience interaction, with one reel achieving an outstanding 12.6% engagement rate.

Challenges & Unique Aspects:

One of our biggest challenges was ensuring the new Cascadia’s advancements were highlighted without overshadowing previous models. We addressed this by crafting messaging that celebrated the Gen 5 as part of Freightliner’s legacy of excellence rather than a standalone innovation.

Additionally, creating content that resonated across Freightliner’s diverse audience was crucial. Our team captured on-site content specifically designed for social media platforms, ensuring that messaging was both visually compelling and informative.

Results

The Fifth Generation Cascadia campaign exceeded all expectations, demonstrating the power of a strategic and engaging social media presence.

Our paid media efforts generated over 7.8 million impressions, surpassing projections by 45%, and drove 11,931 link clicks, exceeding estimations by 21%. Video content proved to be a significant engagement driver, with an Instagram reel achieving a 12.6% engagement rate and the Facebook launch video garnering 5.6% engagement, far above Freightliner’s typical performance on the platform.

The teaser campaign effectively set the stage with 1.1 million impressions on Meta and 152K impressions on LinkedIn, while launch-phase Meta ads delivered an additional 2.5 million impressions. Post-launch, Freightliner’s awareness ads outperformed expectations by 3.1 million impressions, further reinforcing brand visibility and customer engagement.

Beyond the numbers, the campaign was praised by the client, with feedback stating: “The social and the digital hit perfectly.” This response, combined with our exceptional metrics, affirmed that our strategy successfully positioned the Gen 5 Cascadia as an industry benchmark while deepening Freightliner’s connection with its audience.

Media

Entrant Company / Organization Name

Ignite Social Media, Freightliner

Link

Entry Credits