The call for entries for the 2010 Mercury Awards for outstanding audio commercials was made yesterday. You will notice that I said “audio commercials.” Up until now, the Mercuries were limited to commercials aired on terracaster outlets. In a comment about this change, Jeff Haley of the RAB admitted what many of us knew all along – the platform doesn’t matter, it’s all “radio.” Here’s what he said (emphasis mine):
New to this year’s competition, all categories will now be accepting spots that were delivered via IP stream to computers, mobile applications or any other Internet device. “As our industry and business moves forward with new digital platforms, it is not only appropriate but necessary for our industry awards competition to reflect the complete sponsored audio content space,” stated Jeff Haley, President & CEO of the Radio Advertising Bureau, and Co-chair of the Radio Creative Fund.
This is a watershed moment. Here’s a link to the announcement:
2010 Radio Mercury Awards Call for Entry is Officially Open Streaming Commercials Now Eligible for Entry
Radio Evangelist 