These highly-regarded accolades are exclusively awarded to creators of exemplary content, whether you’re a professional content creator, or if you’re just a regular person who has created something so great that it’s gone viral. For this year, you need to be South African / live in South Africa for most of the year. We’ll expand into Africa in a couple of years, watch this space…
Please refer to the T&Cs for additional details.

To enter, you’ll need to register and submit your entry (or entries) here.
We’ve introduced a new entry platform called Judgify. For those of you who entered last year, unfortunately you’ll need to create a new profile, as last year’s registration details are invalid. Going forward, your user name and password can be used every year, for as long as we continue to use Judgify

Most categories are free to enter. The agency/brand categories have a nominal entry fee, with the proceeds going towards a workshop for emerging talent.

You may enter multiple categories if they’re applicable to you, but you may only enter once per category, so choose your entry wisely.

All criteria is detailed underneath the name of that particular award, you can’t miss it.

Please ensure that you’re entering into the right category though, as we can’t be held responsible for applications that are submitted incorrectly.

Anyone who has been paid to produce content, or has a page with over 2,000 followers and considerable engagement. Subject to our judges’ discretion.

You’ll need to get the consent of anyone involved in the creation of the content. For example, if you’re a brand entering the influencer category, you’ll need to get consent from the influencer to enter the content that they’re featured in. If you’re an agency that’s entering on behalf of your client, they’ll need to consent to it.

We’ll just need you to submit a signed letter from them with your entry, it’s easy!

If you’ve collaborated with someone (person/brand/agency/anyone), please agree with them first on who will be submitting the entry so that we don’t get the same entry more than once. Only the first one will be accepted if we do, and if you’re entering one of the categories that has an entry fee, fees will not be refunded on duplicate entries.  Please ensure that you’ve credited all the right people on your entry.

This year’s Emerging Content Creator Workshop was held on 8 June 2023 at Workshop17 in Sandton, and saw a remarkable turnout of a full capacity room.
As a key event on the awards’ calendar, the workshop aimed to empower creators through knowledge sharing and provide valuable insights into the world of content creation.

The event featured an impressive line-up of speakers and panels, each bringing their unique perspectives and insights.

The founder of the DStv Content Creator Awards, Manuela Dias de Deus, kicked off the workshop.

A panel discussion titled “How to Find Your Niche and Monetize Your Content” featured TikTok content creators Dez Lee, Nombulelo Fox, and Zayaan4.

Ncebekazi Manzi, Podcast Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa at Spotify, led an insightful session titled “Let’s Talk Podcasts!”

The workshop also featured a panel discussion on “The Business Side of Content Creation,” moderated by Darren Sandras, Communications Director at One-eyed Jack. Shannon Valstar, Festival Director and General Manager at Steyn Entertainment, Ongeziwe Jonas, Social Media Coordinator at YouthFluence, and content creator Omar Morto.

Gail Schimmel, CEO of the Advertising Regulatory Board, shed light on social media advertising regulations.

The power of collaborations was emphasised by Antonette Benting, Business Development Manager (Western Cape) at Workshop17.

Tebatso Maapola and Sinolwazi April, Multichoice Studio Reach Content Creators, provided top tips for emerging creators in their session.

Presenters Bolele Polisa and Msizi James from 947, the awards’ newest partner, announced their collaboration with the DStv Content Creator Awards.

The workshop included a TikTok Masterclass by Vivian Chuene, Content Partnerships Manager: Entertainment (South Africa) at TikTok.

The workshop ended with a discussion on how creators can work with brands, presented by Sol Brand Manager, Warrick Wyngaard.

Each winner receives a stunning trophy designed by Shaun Oakley (That Damn Vandal), and a prize hamper of very cool sponsored gifts.  We’ll announce the full prize list a little closer to the date of the awards.

The awards event: If you’re nominated, the night’s on us*. Prepare to be wowed!

*Travel/accommodation may be for your own account, sponsorship pending.

Link to your entry: All content will be viewed from your platform, so we’ll drive fans to your pages to grow your community.

As this is an annual event, the content needs to have been created between April 2022 and April 2023 for the categories in which a specific piece of content is being judged. In some of the categories, the entire platform or the person is judged, in which case, as long as the content is current, the timeframe is immaterial.

The founders of the awards won’t enter their campaigns, but if you’re involved in some way (an MC, a designer, an ambassador, part of the production crew, etc), you’re welcome to enter, as long as you’re not entering work that you’ve created for the awards. There will be no conflict of interest, as when it comes to the judging process, no judge will be able to vote for any category that they’re even remotely associated with.

Our judges are looking for the content that stands out the most. It could be clever, or creative, or well shot, or unique or just damn brilliant. They’ll be looking at its engagement and shares, but it doesn’t need to be the most widely shared or the most engaged with, as all entrants have a different follower base. Please refer to the judging criteria for each specific category.

Each category will be judged by the best in the business, from content creators, to marketers, to brand managers, to creative directors. Some of the judges or MCs might have entered categories themselves, but they will not be able to vote for work submitted in that particular category.

• All nominees will be selected by a panel of judges.
• The judges will score the entries and the top five entries will become the nominees in that category.
• Once the five nominees in each category have been announced, some of those categories will open to the public for voting, which will garner huge reach.
• The public will be directed to the event’s website where the nominees in each category will be listed, with a link to their entry housed on their own social media platforms.

For the bulk of the entries, you just need to submit the link to your content on your social media page.

If you’re entering the Best Brand Collaboration category, you’ll need to submit a case too. Please refer to the category criteria for further information.

No. In order to enter, you need to submit a link to the content. If your page is private, the judges won’t be able to view it to vote for it.

• You may request cancellation of your entry by sending us an email titled ‘ENTRY CANCELLATION’ before registrations close on 19 June 2023. If you had entered a category that had a fee attached to it, regrettably, no refunds will be made due to the administration and event costs.
• Should the awards disqualify an entry, it will not be refunded.