The winners of the VAVA Awards are...

The inaugural VAVA Awards has honoured and celebrated the most prolific content creators within Northern Ireland.

Co-ordinated by VAVA Influence, Northern Ireland’s first exclusive influencer marketing agency, this year’s awards comprised of 13 categories recognising the success of influencers in local industries.

The overall award winner of the night was Newry native Emma Kearney who, over lockdown, garnered a huge social media following by sharing her make up skills, alongside her very distinctive laugh! A senior Ulster rugby player in her spare time, Emma currently entertains over 700k on TikTok and almost 150k on Instagram.

Recognition was also given to the most effective influencer accounts with a following of under 10k and under 50k, won by Cool FM Host Evanna Maxted and Dublin based content creator and actor Dev Skehan respectively.

The rising star award was allocated to content creator and disability rights activist India Sasha whose quest to change how the world perceives disabilities has attracted over half a million followers on Tik Tok.

Co-Founder of VAVA Influence Francesca Morelli, said: “The night truly was a milestone in both the continuing development and increasing respect for the field of Influencer Marketing. Influencers throughout the north and south of Ireland do amazing work in promoting local businesses, creating engaging and high-quality content, and supporting one another in their careers and aspirations.”

Chloe Henning, co-founder of VAVA Influence, added: “In our work in the industry, we have engaged with some incredible creators that go above and beyond to exceed expectations for our clients. These Awards were our way of demonstrating an appreciation for their efforts and celebrating their achievements. A huge thank you to everyone who entered each of the categories as well as to the category sponsors for their unwavering support.”

The VAVA awards is the second high profile initiative coordinated by the VAVA Influence agency. In March this year they were responsible for the launch of Northern Ireland’s first TikTok House, where a partnership with Hagan Homes saw the property developer host a selection of popular influencers, tasked with living together across two of their properties for one week and creating content for their accounts.