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2023 categories

Our award categories ensure there are plenty of opportunities for great marketing to be assessed and recognised by our elite panel of marketing judges.


Main categories

BRAND COMMUNICATION (LARGE - £15M PLUS) Supported by Accenture Song 
BRAND COMMUNICATION (MEDIUM - £5M - £14M)
BRAND COMMUNICATION (SMALL - UNDER £5M)
BRAND EVOLUTION
CREATIVE USE OF MEDIA
BRAND PURPOSE 
EFFECTIVE USE OF INSIGHT & DATA, Supported by MRS 
NOT FOR PROFIT MARKETING
BUSINESS TO BUSINESS (LARGE - £15M PLUS)
BUSINESS TO  BUSINESS (SMALL TO MEDIUM - UNDER £15M)
INNOVATION
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT & EXPERIENCE, Supported by Accenture Song 
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT & EXPERIENCE
EFFECTIVE & IMPACTFUL STRATEGY, Supported by WARC
SUCCESSFUL & EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS
BEST SCALE UP BUSINESS
BEST AGENCY TEAM
BEST BRAND TEAM
MARKETING FOR POSITIVE CHANGE
CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR

People awards

FUTURE LEADER
INSPIRATIONAL MARKETING LEADER, Supported by MediaLink, in association with Campaign 

Judges' choice awards

MOST INSPIRATIONAL STORY
FINANCE DIRECTORS' PRIZE
GRAND PRIX, Supported by Accenture Song 

The below are open to all organisations, brands and agencies worldwide to enter

To view the categories for our awards in the UAE, click here


Entry criteria

The below are open to all organisations, brands and agencies worldwide to enter. See each category entry criteria and how much weighting the judges will give to each aspect of your entry.

What was the challenge you faced? Max 10 points
What was your desired outcome? Max 10 points
How creative & innovative were you in your approach? Did you push boundaries? What did you do differently? Max 20 points
What risks did you take? Max 20 points
What were the measurable results? Max 20 points
How does your work advocate the reputation/importance of the Marketing industry? Max 20 points


Eligibility dates

There are no restrictions or requirements around dates of when the campaign/work in question took place, excluding the Campaign of the Year category. As long as your entry addresses the above Entry Criteria it will be considered valid.


Main categories

BRAND COMMUNICATION (Large - £15m plus), Supported by Accenture Song 
How you communicate your brand and position it in the market is core to business success, we will recognise those brands who can showcase excellent marketing strategies that bridged the gap between the brand and the consumer, showcasing how you understood and connected with them and how you executed your campaign effectively, either in single or multimedia platforms that created a 360-customer experience.

BRAND COMMUNICATION (Medium - £5m to £15m)
How you communicate your brand and position it in the market is core to business success, we will recognise those brands who can showcase excellent marketing strategies that bridged the gap between the brand and the consumer, showcasing how you understood and connected with them and how you executed your campaign effectively, either in single or multimedia platforms that created a 360-customer experience.

BRAND COMMUNICATION (Small - under £5m)
How you communicate your brand and position it in the market is core to business success, we will recognise those brands who can showcase excellent marketing strategies that bridged the gap between the brand and the consumer, showcasing how you understood and connected with them and how you executed your campaign effectively, either in single or multimedia platforms that created a 360-customer experience.

BRAND EVOLUTION
More than ever brands have to be agile and able to flex and change to societal and global demands which impact their business. This award will recognise a brand that has embraced an evolution with clear marketing strategy at the heart of it to effectively grow their brand. This can be a full brand evolution or single product evolution that had a clear objective of achieving greater results, customer engagement and market share.

CREATIVE USE OF MEDIA
The media landscape is evolving at pace it’s a key function to elevate marketing strategies enabling consumers to interact with brands and for brands to engage with existing and future consumers. This category will recognise those that have used media creatively as part of their wider campaign, we want to hear about the original and innovative ways media was used in your campaign, showcasing the strategic marketing process applied and how you effectively used media to plan and execute your campaign to achieve the desired results.

BRAND PURPOSE
Consumers care about what impact brands are making on society; they want brands to embody an inspiring ethos, bring a strong point of view, and take action to make a positive impact in the world. Brands who have a clear, authentic brand purpose are the ones who will thrive and survive. This category recognises those who have clearly defined their purpose, truly embodied it in everything they do with clear results and have acted upon it with legitimacy, ensuring it is something they do and not just say.

EFFECTIVE USE OF INSIGHT & DATA, Supported by MRS
As privacy laws evolve, we too must evolve with them. Customers are savvier now than ever before so we want to hear about success stories that demonstrate how a brand has used research, data and insights, to inform and shape your marketing strategies or campaigns – we want to see a full 360 story which has delivered clear results against the objective and improved customer engagement, experience & satisfaction.

NOT FOR PROFIT MARKETING
This category will recognise and reward NFP, charity or Government led campaigns that are  focussed on cause related marketing and not solely on revenue driven results.

BUSINESS TO BUSINESS (Large - £15m plus)
B2B marketing requires a unique set of skills and marketing strategies to be successful, we want to hear how you have effectively identified and delivered a successful B2B campaign – we want to understand how you used insights, data and research to build a complete market intelligence picture, how you built productive relationships when dealing with multifaceted and knowledgeable buyers to build trust and deliver , campaigns that have stood out above the rest, taken risks and engaged customers, showcasing not only excellent work, but creativity and long term results.

BUSINESS TO BUSINESS (Small to Medium - under £15m)
B2B marketing requires a unique set of skills and marketing strategies to be successful, we want to hear how you have effectively identified and delivered a successful B2B campaign – we want to understand how you used insights, data and research to build a complete market intelligence picture, how you built productive relationships when dealing with multifaceted and knowledgeable buyers to build trust and deliver , campaigns that have stood out above the rest, taken risks and engaged customers, showcasing not only excellent work, but creativity and long term results.

INNOVATION
Digital, Technology and immersive experiences are evolving at pace. We want to hear how you have used new solutions to advance your campaigns, what original approaches were used, how did you blend new channels with traditional, how did you use innovation to attract and connect with new customers.

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT & EXPERIENCE, Supported by Accenture Song 
Customer loyalty is vital for brand growth & success, consumers champion brands who put customer over profit, this award will recognise those brands who live and breathe the customer first ethos and have developed and enhanced their relationships with their customers building trust and loyalty and always ensuring the customer experience is paramount.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT & EXPERIENCE
Good people are fundamental to business success, this award will recognise the brands that value their teams and have excellent employee engagement and experience measures in place. We want to know how brands are attracting and retaining the best talent, harnessing and empowering them to be at their best, what creative innovative solutions have been introduced that have made a positive difference, how do you ensure you understand your employees needs and behaviours and use that to influence your E&E strategy to ensure your employees are always your brand advocates.

EFFECTIVE & IMPACTFUL STRATEGY, Supported by WARC
Great creative strategy is paramount to business success - forging new paths when the tendency may be to stick with what you know. This award recognises the strategies behind original concepts that go on to be award winning campaigns - the brand building ideas and insights that revive a brand, or solve a specific problem to shift strategy and position the brand in a new light that leads to greater business success.

SUCCESSFUL EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS
Powerful collaborations can change business fortunes, we want to hear the story of successful partnerships and the impact they have had for all parties, how have your partnership strategies evolved, how have you innovated in this space and how to you build long term partnerships.
BEST SCALE UP BUSINESS
From early level investment, through to later funding rounds, emerging from corporates or venture backed incubators - all disruptors are welcome to enter this category. We want to hear how changemakers, pioneering brands and products have entered the market and shown high growth potential. We want to hear the story from the idea and the journey to bring your brand or product to market, how have you used marketing strategies, how have you used research and insights to improve and what does success look like?

BEST AGENCY TEAM
This award will recognise the agencies who demonstrate how they help their clients achieve their business objectives, they must demonstrate the power of the relationship they have with their clients, and how they work alongside them in synergy with a joint aim to achieve a specific goal.
We want to celebrate teams that are doing great work so for this category the judges will score against:
Tell us your story – why is your team a super team? What have you achieved above and beyond the day job? Max 20 points
What new creative approaches, marketing insights & data have you embraced to produce campaigns that push boundaries? Max 20 points
What results have you achieved? Max 20 points
How has your team and the work they have done impacted the overall business? Max 20 points
How is the work your team is doing pushing the reputation of the industry forward? Max 20 points

BEST BRAND TEAM
This award recognises the marketing team that can demonstrate how they have worked together using effective marketing strategies to achieve objectives, taken on a challenge or pushed boundaries, stepped outside their comfort zone and worked together to achieve business success and demonstrate why marketing is vital for business success.
We want to celebrate teams that are doing great work so for this category the judges will score against:
Tell us your story – why is your team a super team? What have you achieved above and beyond the day job? Max 20 points
What new creative approaches, marketing insights & data have you embraced to produce campaigns that push boundaries? Max 20 points
What results have you achieved? Max 20 points
How has your team and the work they have done impacted the overall business? Max 20 points
How is the work your team is doing pushing the reputation of the industry forward? Max 20 points

MARKETING FOR POSITIVE CHANGE
We believe that marketers can be the Changemakers needed to lead the way in creating positive change for our economy, businesses, teams and society as a whole. Do you have a marketing led initiative that has created positive change? Are you and your brand actively making changes on important topics such as (but not limited to) Sustainability, Climate Change, Diversity & inclusion or Gender Inequality? We want to hear what you have been doing and the impact you have had to create positive change for the future.
 
CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 
This category will recognise the stand out campaign, the one that was head and shoulders above the rest, it’s the one that got everyone talking and that people will use as an example of what good marketing looks like. This category is not just about the end product we want to know the full journey - how innovative was the idea, what inspired the campaign, what insights were gathered and how did that influence strategy, how did you execute the campaign and how was success measured. Eligibility: 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2022


People awards

Entry criteria
LEADERSHIP 20 points
Can clearly demonstrate consistent leadership skills
Shows natural leadership ability
CREATIVITY & STRATEGIC PLANNING 20 points
Has the ability to quickly identify both issues and solutions - weigh up risks and make strategic decisions
Consistently explores new approaches and creative thinking to find new solutions and approaches
POSITIVE IMPACT 20 points
Leaves a positive impression, is credible, inclusive, engaging and motivates those around them
Is an individual who understands how to make things happen and will if necessary, step outside of their remit to achieve bigger picture goals
COMMUNICATION 20 points
Articulate, fluent and clear in their communication style
Is inclusive of those around them able to give and take on board feedback
AMBITION 20 points
Consistently exceeds targets & has clear goals and ambitions
Wants to be an advocate for marketing as a changemaker in business


FUTURE LEADER
We are looking for brave future marketing leaders who have already demonstrated their leadership skills through a project which they have led which has achieved significant results. We are looking for someone with star quality, who demonstrates leadership skills, initiative, creativity and someone with a passion for marketing.

INSPIRATIONAL MARKETING LEADER, Supported by MediaLink, in association with Campaign
We want to find the most inspirational leader there is in our industry and recognise the impact they are having on their team, brand, industry and of course Society as a whole. The winner will be selected based on a combination of proven achievements: their success as a leader, how they empower those around them, how they have pushed boundaries themselves and how they are having an impact on their brand and society as a whole and raising the reputation of the industry.


Judges' choice awards

MOST INSPIRATIONAL STORY
The winner will be selected by our judges from any of the entered papers. The judges are looking for a story that has the most impact on them, the one that makes them most want to leap up and take immediate action. This is not just about business results but about a brand or campaign that had an impact on society and inspires you to want to follow their example because it is the right thing to do and not because it will result in business profit.

FINANCE DIRECTORS' PRIZE
The judges will recommend a short list of papers to be assessed by a panel of finance directors, who will choose the paper they think best demonstrates effective use of marketing expenditure.

GRAND PRIX, Supported by Accenture Song 
The winner of this category will be chosen from one of the winning papers of the main categories. This paper will be the epitome of marketing excellence, the one that stands out head and shoulders above the rest and showcases the brilliance of the industry as a whole. This is the one that will inspire all ambitious marketers, and which all the judges wish they could put their own name to.

UK ENTRIES NOW CLOSED

Entries are now closed for our 2023 UK Awards.