Instagram announced on Monday that it will launch the awards program with 25 creators expected to receive the Gold Ring next week. The company says the new awards program recognizes creators around the world who change culture and break barriers.
The new awards program’s judges panel includes Instagram head Adam Mosseri, director Spike Lee, designer Marc Jacobs, YouTuber Marques Brownlee, actress Yara Shahidi and makeup artist Pat McGrath.
Winners will receive a physical custom ring designed by English fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner, as well as a digital golden ring around her Instagram profile. You can also design a custom “Like” button that will be displayed when you like your feed post. In particular, the winners have not received any kind of financial awards.
This move comes as Meta has been reducing its creator payments program over the past few years. Earlier this year, Meta shut down the program that it paid creators for advertisements placed in their profiles. In 2023, the company stopped offering bonuses to reel creators on Instagram and Facebook. The company also closed its affiliate marketing bonus in 2022.
A Kajabi survey also found that Creators’ brand trading fell by 52% in 2024, which also marks the launch of a new awards program. Additionally, Bank of America said last year there is competition in the space as more paid partnerships are concentrated among top creators, along with a slower sponsored partnerships.
Given these recent shifts, it’s interesting to see Instagram launch a symbolic awards program that doesn’t offer financial compensation to its recipients. Instead, it focuses on creating award programs that appear to be something like content creator Oscars (no actual ceremony).
In a blog post, the company said the award is “all about celebrating people who are not afraid to take creative opportunities and do it. People who connect people beyond creativity and deserve recognition.”
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The winners will be announced on October 16th.
