Company: Amazon Web Services
Company Description: Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud, offering over 200 fully featured services from data centers globally. Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—are using AWS to lower costs, become more agile, and innovate faster.
Nomination Category: Communications & Marketing Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Digital Media Relations
 Nomination Title: Amplifying stories to uplift AWS Partners
- Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
This social media campaign was launched on April 1, 2022, and is still ongoing. This campaign was planned, initiated, and executed by me, Morana Song. I am a Korean woman who began my career at the United Nations before transitioning to Amazon Web Services to continue fast-paced, innovative work in the technology field.
- Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 237 words used.
My objective was to amplify the impactful work of AWS Partners. Given the vast number of partners we have—over 100,000—I recognized the need for agility in developing communications assets. The traditional process of drafting content, obtaining stakeholder approvals, and posting through AWS official channels took weeks. I devised a solution: creating content for a "spokesperson" representing our partners—the Vice President of AWS Public Sector Partners. This approach offered several benefits:
- Speed to Posting: By delivering content for the VP, we could see our messaging posted in as little as one day.
- Visible Leadership Support: Highlighting our partners through the VP's voice demonstrated strong leadership support for AWS Partners.
- Easy Reposting: Content shared by the VP became readily available for reposting through AWS official channels, maximizing visibility.
While ensuring alignment with AWS branding guidelines, I designed assets in various formats and with a video for every social media posting for visibility. This approach allowed us to provide depth of information and capture the attention of our target audience effectively. I crafted blogs, podcasts, and LinkedIn extended articles, offering users the opportunity to learn more about the postings.
In addition, I seized the opportunity to leverage AWS's high-profile events, such as summits and re:Invent, to showcase our partners through digital assets. When our senior leaders presented success stories of AWS Partners, I promptly captured these moments and transformed them into social media postings attributed to our VP.
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 55 words used.
Sample social
Sample social 2
Sample social 3
Sample social 4
YouTube series ("In the Cloud with AWS Partners"): I launched this YouTube video series to highlight our partners work. In this video, you'll notice we don't talk about AWS and the interviewer's role is limited to asking questions to bring out the partner's work.
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the nominated campaign or program - its genesis,development, planning, commission, and performance to date - OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions, provide them in the appropriate spaces below:
No video.
- Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
In the corporate communications world, we are accustomed to witnessing a lot of self-promotion. LinkedIn brims with "humble bragging," and Twitter features individuals mocking others to demonstrate superiority. The abundance of boastful language on social media has caused palpable fatigue. At Amazon Web Services (AWS), where I lead external communications in the Worldwide Public Sector Partners organization, I sought to take a different approach.
I joined AWS in March 2022, stepping into a new position with the privilege of establishing net-new external communications mechanisms. Although new to AWS and corporate communications, I brought with me extensive experience in strategic communications. Prior to AWS, I spent 14 years in the United Nations (UN), communicating about some of the world's most significant challenges, such as climate change, human rights, and ethical artificial intelligence for children.
My tenure at the UN taught me the power of uplifting others through communications. Large corporations do not always need to center their communications around themselves. Instead, they can leverage their influence to empower others through their messaging.
With this belief in mind, I launched the "Partner Amplification" project. In this one-person shop, I aimed to be nimble, relying on digital communications and social media. In my content, I made a conscious decision not to solely promote AWS. Instead, I focused 100% on showcasing the remarkable work of our partners across the globe and the solutions they were delivering. With over 100,000 partners globally, I needed to scale rapidly by creating an amplification mechanism.
- Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of July 2021. Even if your initiative started before July 2021, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of July 2021 only (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
Over the course of one year (April 2022 – April 2023), I developed a pipeline of 302 digital assets, surpassing the goal by 170%. This collection included social media postings with videos, YouTube videos, blogs, podcasts, etc. These assets were strategically hosted on the LinkedIn and Twitter profiles of our VP, who played a crucial role as the spokesperson for AWS Partners.
[REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION]
During re:Invent 2022, AWS's largest tech event, I devised a strategy to designate three senior leaders as spokespeople and present a united front in showcasing our partners' accomplishments on social media. I developed compelling content for 10 postings for these leaders, and it resulted in over 100,000 impressions, creating an impact that extended beyond the capabilities of a single person.
The success of this initiative has made our VP’s social media a sought-after platform for AWS Partners seeking promotion. I now receive numerous amplification requests from our partners worldwide. By sharing digital stories of AWS Partners, we have solidified their reputation as experts in digital transformation, earning the trust and reliance of our current and potential customers.
Throughout this journey, my content standard has remained steadfast—uplift others, and you'll be uplifted.
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