**Instagram Introduces ‘Ring’ Award to Honor Top Creators Globally**
*By Mudit Dube | Oct 07, 2025, 10:57 AM*
Instagram has announced a new awards program called the **‘Ring’**, designed to honor the platform’s top creators worldwide. The first batch of 25 winners will be revealed next week, marking a fresh initiative to recognize and celebrate those who drive cultural change and push creative boundaries.
### The Judging Panel
The judging panel for the ‘Ring’ award features notable personalities from diverse creative fields, including Instagram head **Adam Mosseri**, acclaimed director **Spike Lee**, fashion designer **Marc Jacobs**, tech YouTuber **Marques Brownlee**, actress **Yara Shahidi**, and makeup artist **Pat McGrath**.
### What Winners Receive
Each winner will be presented with a custom-designed gold ring crafted by English fashion designer **Grace Wales Bonner**. Alongside the physical award, winners will receive a digital golden ring displayed on their Instagram profiles, and the opportunity to customize a unique “Like” button for their feed posts.
### A Strategic Shift Amid Changing Creator Economy
The launch of the ‘Ring’ award comes as **Meta** has been scaling back creator payout programs in recent years. Earlier in 2025, Meta discontinued a program that paid creators for ads featured on their profiles. In 2023, it stopped offering bonuses to Reels creators on Instagram and Facebook and had already shut down its affiliate marketing bonuses back in 2022.
These cutbacks have coincided with significant challenges for creators. In 2024, creators experienced a 52% drop in brand deals. In addition, **Bank of America** reported increased competition among creators, with more paid partnerships increasingly concentrated among top-tier creators.
### Instagram’s Commitment to Creativity
Despite these shifts in monetization strategies, Instagram remains committed to celebrating its most creative users through the symbolic ‘Ring’ award. The company stated in a blog post that the award is “all about celebrating those who bring people together over their creativity, and deserve recognition.”
With this new initiative, Instagram aims to recognize creators who are unafraid to take creative risks and express themselves authentically, reinforcing the platform’s vision to foster a vibrant and dynamic creator community.
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/science/instagram-s-new-ring-award-will-honor-top-creators/story
