NEW ORLEANS (press release) – The Spears Group, a full-service marketing agency with offices in New Orleans and Houston, has been named a finalist amongst the list of honorees for the 18th Annual Shorty Awards, an international competition recognizing the most outstanding and culture-defining work across digital and social media. The firm was recognized on behalf of the 2025 National Fried Chicken Festival, which was named one of the top three standouts in the Campaign by Diverse-Owned Businesses category, showcasing the agency’s creativity, innovation, and effectiveness in strategic digital marketing
Conceived, produced and marketed by the Spears Group since 2016, the National Fried Chicken Festival (FCF) presented by Raising Cane’s attracted nearly 90,000 guests from across the U.S. to the New Orleans Lakefront last fall, surpassing projected attendance goals despite inclement weather throughout the weekend. Spears Group utilized its arsenal of in-house marketing, public relations, and event production experience to grow and expand the event in 2025, both demographically and geographically, through emerging communications tactics and the launch of new on-site experiences, such as the first-ever Fried Chicken Festival 5K Run/Walk–which made history as the largest inaugural 5K race in Louisiana in over a decade.
“The National Fried Chicken Festival is the perfect culmination of everything we do here at the Spears Group–taking bold ideas from ideation to execution with real results,” said Cleveland Spears III, CEO of Spears Group and founder of the National Fried Chicken Festival. “The event provides us with a platform to showcase the incredible talent and capabilities of our agency team, from branding and design to public relations, advertising, social media, and everything in between. Whether it’s one of our events like Fried Chicken Fest, or the work we lead every day on behalf of our clients, we are uniquely positioned to deliver impact-driven campaigns that move audiences and brands forward, and this Shorty Awards recognition is a testament to that.”
“In our 18th year, ‘Claim Your Era’ is more than a theme, it’s a declaration of adulthood, a reflective question and a call to action to digital storytellers,” says Junmian Sun, managing director of Shorty Awards. “This season’s finalists moved past the ‘rented attention’ and algorithmic chasing. They claimed the era of creativity with gravity, by building community, investing in their craft, and entering conversations that people actively choose to return to rather than scrolling by.”
The Shorty Awards are selected by the Real Time Academy, including industry leaders from notable brands and organizations like Walt Disney Company, NFL, Digitas, Meta, Amazon, Google, Apple, Netflix, PETA, Bobbie, and more.
As one of this year’s chosen finalists, Spears Group’s National Fried Chicken Festival campaign is up for the Audience Honor, which is voted on and decided by the public in advance of the upcoming awards gala on May 19 in New York City. Votes may be cast once per day using this link now through Wednesday, April 8.
For more information on Spears Group, visit thespearsgroup.com.
To learn more about the Shorty Awards, visit theshortyawards.com.
