The Sunday Times Generation Next Awards were held this past Thursday at Montecasino, Johannesburg. The Sunday Times Generation Next Awards are voted by the youth of South Africa and are an indication of what is cool in 2014.
Because of my involvement in the campaign, I was invited to the event as a press blogger and I must say it was unlike any other event I had ever been to.

Read The Sunday Times Generation Next Awards Blog Post
I started off the event by doing an interview with Maggs on Media about brands and how youth effect the way marketers market their brand. It wasn't the first time I had done a television interview but that didn't mean I was nervous.

With Spur meals rotating the venue and conversations being had, I met Josh, another blogger I did the campaign with and we waited to hear who would take top honours at the awards. We took photos at the Disney photobooth and mingled with brand representatives and the people who put all the data together.
Anele Mdoda from Highveld FM was our host and the awards started with a performance by MiCasa.

The atmosphere at the after party

The awards are voted for by the youth of South Africa as mentioned before and the brand representatives and audience were given the opportunity to watch videos from the discussions which were had by the voters. One thing that was stood out was that the youth of today prefer brands which are able reinvent style, technology or the way they view the world. In order to do such, you need not be a new brand, you just have to re-market your brand according to what the youth are into at that particular moment.

Here is a list of some of the winners of the 2014 Sunday Times Generation Next Awards:

	Coolest Brand Overall BMW Coca Cola Nike	Coolest SA Company Google BMW Apple
	Coolest Local Music Star MiCasa The Soil Big Nuz	Coolest Bank FNB Standard Bank Group Absa Bank LTD
	Coolest Fast Food Place McDonalds KFC SA Debonairs Pizza	Coolest Eat Out Place Spur Wimpy Nandos
	Coolest Computer Brand Samsung Apple Sony	Coolest Computer Game FIFA Grand Theft Auto Need For Speed
	Coolest Telecomms Provider Vodacom MTN Cell C	Coolest Cellphone Samsung Mobile Apple Blackberry
For a full list of the winners visit the Sunday Times Generation Next Awards Facebook Page

A few of the awards ceremony

It is the 10th year these awards have been running and South African brands have The Sunday Times to thank for helping them learn what is cool and how to be cool if they are not already.

It was a lovely event to attend and an eye opener for me. I always thought I knew what was cool because I have a younger brother and cousins but obviously I know nothing about what the kids of 2014 think is cool. Can't wait to see what is cool next year and I do expect a change as cool changes every minute in 2014.

Micasa on stage for their last performance

As mentioned before, it was a lovely event filled with incredible people who are doing their best to keep relevant in today's forever changing world.