Nickelodeon celebrates the new normal with Kids’ Choice Awards 2020 - Virtual Edition

As a category-first, Nickelodeon to partner with Teach for India to bridge the digital education divide caused by the new normal.

It is time to forget about the challenges we have faced and rejoice the ultimate celebratory festive time. The one-of-a-kind award show that is for the kids and by the kids -Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2020 is back! While this year has been unprecedented, Nickelodeon follows through on its promise to entertain and empower kids. This year with Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards the promise is to present the show in a whole new format, focused on taking it virtual and getting kids to not only vote but also get closer to their stars in a never seen before avatar. That’s not all, KCA 2020 will witness 6 new and relevant categories for kids to vote for their favorite entertainers during the lockdown and decide who takes home the coveted Nickelodeon Blimp.

Over the years, Kids’ Choice Awards have featured a glittering host of celebrities gracing the orange carpet and with our iconic Nicktoons. With mind-blowing performances by renowned celebrities like Sara Ali Khan, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh and more, as well as raking in more than 5 lakh votes, kids had a gala time at the legendary award show. This year’s edition will witness nominees that have come through a special online research to determine who entertained children the most during the lockdown. Always turning lemons into lemonade, kids will get a chance to vote for a whole lot of nominees across several new categories such as favourite online learning apps, youtubers, Instagram personalities, sportspersons, food enjoyed during the lockdown amongst others. The voting starts on January 4, 2021 exclusively on www.voot.com and the Voot App.

Nina Elavia Jaipuria – Hindi Mass Entertainment & Kids TV Network at Viacom18, said, “In these challenging times our commitment is to ensure that our young viewers remain entertained and positive. Keeping this in mind we at Nickelodeon are going to celebrate all that is new with Kids’ Choice Awards 2020. In the virtual format, with the introduction of new categories, we aim to encourage and empower kids to cast their vote and choose their favourites who kept them going through the lockdown. Nickelodeon will also support Teach for India to help provide smart devices to children to enable online education.”

The uniquely curated awards will support a cause that has emerged during the pandemic while emphasizing the need to celebrate the new normal. Due to the ongoing social distancing, the shift to e-learning, India’s education system is going through a reform. The prolonged closure of schools to maintain social distancing has caused an educational inequality, especially due to limited access to internet and technology. To bridge the digital education divide and enable a smooth transition for all stratas of society, Nickelodeon has partnered with Teach for India, for the latter’s existing program “Sponsor A Device”. The partnership will kickstart during the voting process of the Kids Choice Awards 2020 where Nickelodeon will donate Rupee 1 for every vote garnered. Teach for India is a non-profit organization that works towards educational equity at all levels of the education system. Under the existing program, the community aims to enable the new form of learning by raising funds for putting a gadget in the hands of every student who needs one.

Commenting on the initiative, the director of communications and Marketing of Teach For India said, “We are delighted to partner with Nickelodeon for their most prestigious awards show. Their support to our #DontStopLearning campaign is important and we are deeply grateful to their commitment to sponsor a device to ensure our students continue learning. We are confident that this partnership will play a significant role in bridging the digital divide."

Pivoting the media mix to the new normal, the marketing campaign is being promoted through a robust digital and social media plan, interesting on-line interactivity, support across the Nickelodeon franchise and social media challenges along with a push from the entire network. There are various innovations lined up on the digital front, including tons of quirky communication on YouTube. There will be a #KCAsquad with influencers giving the audiences all the latest updates on #KCAIndia2020.Further adding to the slime-tastic experience will be slime inspired digital games, contests, AR filters, virtual face offs and series of engaging and interesting on-line interactivity that will create fun experiences for kids.

While box office collections and critic reviews foretell how successful a film or performer is, it is time to find out which of them would make it to the hearts of the young ones. Get your kids ready to cast their vote and decide who takes home the Nickelodeon blimp!