Linqia Kicks Off Awards Season with Multiple Nominations for Standout Creator-Led Campaigns
San Francisco, CA, April 2026. Linqia, the leading independent influencer marketing agency in the US, announced a series of prestigious industry award nominations, recognizing its innovative, creator-led campaigns across food, beverage, and retail brands.
Linqia has been nominated in three categories at the Shorty Awards, underscoring the company’s continued leadership in driving impactful, culturally relevant campaigns through creator partnerships.
The “Build Brand Love with Comic Creators” campaign, developed in partnership with International Delight (Danone), is nominated in both the Food & Beverage and Humor categories. The campaign empowered creators to lean into their distinct comedic voices while seamlessly integrating brand messaging, resulting in highly engaging and memorable content.
Additionally, Linqia’s “TikTok Ramen Hack” campaign for Noodles & Company is nominated in the Restaurants category. The campaign tapped into Gen Z “flavor chaser” creators across TikTok and Instagram to introduce the brand’s Chili Garlic Ramen as a customizable, trend-forward menu item, driving cultural relevance and consumer engagement.
Linqia has also been announced as a finalist in the Digiday Video and TV Awards for Best Social Video Campaign for its “Summer of 1999” campaign with Instacart. This nostalgic, creator-driven campaign delivered full-funnel results by combining storytelling with performance-driven media strategies across Meta, TikTok, and YouTube.
The campaign featured 76 unique content assets and collaborations with prominent creators, including @aww.sam and @aliciasicz, and achieved standout performance metrics:
- +20-point lift in unaided brand awareness
- +5.6-point lift in purchase intent
- 6.9% average Instagram Reels engagement rate
- 5.2% average YouTube Shorts engagement rate
- 129% view rate on TikTok
“This is a big moment for our team and a true reflection of what’s possible when creativity, strategy, and partnership are in alignment,” said Nader Alizadeh, Linqia’s CEO. “Ads that resonate most with people are those rooted in the human spirit. I’m proud of the diligent effort and care that our team members here at Linqia put into crafting campaigns that build genuine connections between brands and consumers.”
Winners for the Shorty Awards and Digiday Video and TV Awards will ultimately be determined by juries of seasoned marketers. Linqia’s VP, Creative & Client Strategy, Finola Austin is a jurist for the Shorty Awards, although she’s recused from categories in which Linqia is nominated. In addition, the Shorty Awards Audience Honor will be determined by public vote, open through April 8, 2026. Supporters can cast their vote once every 24 hours. We encourage you all to vote for Linqia’s campaigns here.
Linqia extends its gratitude to its brand partners and internal teams whose collaboration and creativity made these campaigns possible.
