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Marketing awards are a highly competitive space and we all like to win! But when it comes to entering competitions and winning awards, the rewards are much more than the prize you take home at the end of the night.
Aside from the euphoria of recognition and reward, you can gain valuable insights from the entry and selection process, network and showcase your talents to others in your industry, and, most importantly, you can gain new clients!
So, what are the best marketing awards to enter? What are benefits of award nominations and wins for your brand? And how do you actually WIN a marketing award?
In this guide, we’re covering exactly that – the benefits of marketing awards, the top awards to enter in 2024, and tips to increase your chances of winning.
Let’s dive in!
This is a quick summary but keep scrolling for more detail on the best marketing awards for your brand to enter!
Best Marketing Awards | Eligibility/Region | Entry Fees | Website |
P2P | International | Chat to us about partnership options | |
Effie Awards: Global Multi-Region | International and ran in four or more countries across two or more regions within a set period | $1500 to $2500 depending on when you enter (non-profits receive a 50% discount) | |
B2B Marketing Awards | Open to entries from anywhere, as long as it is a B2B operation | TBA (2023 fees were £280 to £350+VAT depending on when you entered) | |
Performance Marketing Awards UK | Open to entries from anywhere in the world, as long as they relate to marketing activity within the UK and aimed at UK consumers | £295+ VAT per entry, per category | |
Content Marketing Awards | International | TBA (2024 fees were $199 to $299, depending on when you entered) | |
The Drum Marketing Awards | International | $450 to $555 depending on when you enter+discounts for multiple entries (fees differ by region) | |
The Clio Awards | International | $525 to $1150 depending on the category and when you enter | |
Brand Impact Awards | International | 1 entry is £199 / $279 / €230 per entry, 2-4 entries £169 / $237 / €196 per entry, and 5+ entries are £139 / $195 / €161 per entry (25% discount for organizations of under 10 people) | |
Muse Creative Awards | International | Single entries $130, campaign entries $195 (additional fees vary depending on entry type and when you enter) | |
Digiday Content Marketing Awards | International | Early Deadline $449 per entry, Regular Deadline $599 per entry, Last Chance Deadline $729 per entry. | |
Hermes Creative Awards | International | $125 to $195 depending on the number and type of entries (discounts for work done pro bono for non-profits) | |
Davey Awards | International but exclusively for smaller agencies, companies, or organizations with annual billings or revenues below certain levels | TBA (2024 early deadline fees were $195 to $355 depending on category and entry type) | |
Killer Content Awards | International (must be in the B2B space) | $329 to $429, depending on when you enter | |
MarCom Awards | International | $125 per entry and $195 per campaign or plan entry |
Award-winning (and even just award-nominated) agencies are recognized as leaders in the industry. This benefits you in the eyes of your clients and prospects, as well as the eyes of your peers.
Award nominations and wins increase your credibility, authority, and brand reputation, all of which lead to increased sales and a host of other benefits for your agency.
Let’s take a look at some of the most important benefits of entering your agency for marketing awards:
The award entry or nomination process allows you to look closely at your agency and campaigns against others in your industry. When you’re choosing the best marketing awards to enter, you will have to carefully assess your strengths and compare your efforts to your competitors. In doing so, you will be able to identify where your agency is excelling in comparison to others, and where your weaknesses lie, to effectively grow and strengthen your agency.
Marketing awards offer the unique opportunity to stand alongside your biggest competitors and leaders in your industry. It places you in the same arena and it allows you to be judged on the areas where you may well outperform them, such as customer service, creative innovation, and impact.
Sometimes exposure does pay the bills!
When your agency is nominated for an award, it opens up some valuable opportunities for publicity and exposure to the right people in your industry.
When your agency is judged and evaluated, chances are good that your agency has the focused attention of some influential people in your industry, as well as people who are serious about their selection of an agency.
Even just being nominated means you can place awards branding on your website, which is valuable social proof and increases trust and authority for your brand. A nomination also opens up opportunities to be interviewed and featured in the press and on influential online platforms.
Additionally, most awards are highly publicized events and your agency will benefit from the award’s marketing efforts before, during, and after the awards ceremony itself.
Social proof is a powerful driver of trust and confidence in your target audience. When you display award nominations and wins on your website and across all your marketing channels, you’re showing your audience that your agency is trustworthy, and seen as valuable by others. That kind of endorsement is great social proof and will certainly give you the edge with your prospects.
Awards are also a great place to find and nurture partnerships with others in your industry. Your competitors may need exactly what you excel at, and you may discover an agency that excels at something you can’t provide. Awards allow you to network and showcase your strengths to others in the industry.
No matter how great your marketing campaigns are, how much real value you drive for your clients, or how great your customer service is… Winning an award will make your clients more confident in their choice to use your agency.
As an award-winning agency, you can demonstrate to your clients that you’re worthy of their investment and their confidence, which translates into clients that want to stay with you. Many clients will also enjoy the “bragging rights” of using an award-winning agency, which translates into greater loyalty and advocacy from your clients.
Award nominations and wins are great for boosting morale in your team. It gives them recognition, validates their efforts and talents, and boosts motivation for new projects. When your employees feel seen, validated, and appreciated, employee satisfaction goes up and with it employee retention, and talent acquisition. Award nomination and winning also give employees great material to share on their social networks, positioning them as thought leaders in their field and providing valuable advocacy for your agency.
Summary: The Benefits of Marketing Awards for Agencies Include:
Unlike the others on this list, P2P is not an official marketing award but we review and rate marketing agencies and tools and then present the top ones in our articles and directory.
We provide our partners with a large audience that is ready to convert! Our articles tend to rank among the top results, for highly competitive keywords, and we have over 100,000 marketing managers visiting our site every month.
To learn more about P2P partnership options, feel free to contact us!
Over the last 50 years, the Effie Awards have firmly established themselves as some of the most prestigious marketing awards in the world. Marketers across the globe strive for Effie-worthy campaigns every year.
The Effie Awards focus on the most effective marketing efforts that drove success for the brand. The emphasis is on the impact and the results achieved for the brand. As of 2022, they have added new categories that focus more in-depth on digital strategy and technology to reflect the current digital marketing landscape and the challenges marketers face today.
There are numerous Effie Awards for different regions and categories, but the Global: Multi-Region Effie award is for marketing efforts that run in four or more countries across two or more regions within the specified date range (for the 2024 Effies, it will open in March 2024).
Entry Fees: $1500.00 for first deadline and $2500.00 for November entries. Non-profits receive a 50% discount on entry fees, and new entrants may be eligible for a $200 discount.
Submission Period: The first deadline is May 2024, and the final deadline is June 2024 (dates differ by region).
Awards Announced: TBD but most likely November/December 2024.
In 2021, Nike and Wieden + Kennedy Portland won the ‘Best of the Best’ Iridium Effie for their ‘Dream Crazy’ campaign featuring NFL quarterback and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick.
Check out this video by LLLLITL to see how impactful the campaign was and why:
One of the biggest and most prestigious marketing awards for B2B marketers is the aptly named B2B Marketing Awards. These awards offer categories that allow strategic, data-driven campaigns (think ‘Best Use of Customer Insight’ and ‘Best Integration of Sales and Marketing’) to showcase the value they have driven for their clients, as well as their creativity and boundary-pushing innovation.
The B2B Marketing Awards are global, and anyone in the B2B marketing space can enter. However, they’re particularly well suited to marketing agencies, PR agencies, and client-side marketers.
Entry Fees: TBA, but the 2023 fees were £280+VAT per entry before 16 June 2023 and £350+VAT thereafter.
Submission Period: 2024 entries will open in April, with the ceremony set for 27 November.
Awards Announced: The 2023 shortlist was announced in mid-August, and the final awards ceremony was held on 15 November 2023.
The Performance Marketing Awards UK is one of the top marketing awards in the UK for anyone in the performance marketing sector. Awards go to only the most creative, innovative, and ground-breaking performance marketing campaigns, teams, and companies.
They’re open to marketers from anywhere around the world, but they may only make submissions that specifically relate to marketing activity within the UK aimed at UK consumers.
Entrants include agencies, publishers, media owners, advertisers, networks, technology providers, start-ups, and individuals.
Entry Fees: £295 per category entered (prices exclude 20% VAT).
Submission Period: Early-bird entry deadline – 25 January 2024, regular entry deadline – 1 February 2024, and the last chance entry deadline – 23 February 2024.
Awards Announced: Shortlist announced on 4 April 2024, and the awards ceremony on 16 May 2024.
The Content Marketing Awards by the Content Marketing Institute are the top international awards in the industry. There are 80 categories, spanning every aspect of content marketing, from creation to distribution, and they reward only the best projects, agencies, and marketers every year.
Content marketing is a multi-faceted and highly competitive space, so even just being a finalist for a Content Marketing Award is one of the highest accolades in the industry.
Entry Fees: 2024 fees were $199 – $299, depending on when you submitted your entry
Submission Period: TBA. In the past, entries have been accepted from early April to late May, and any campaign created or run in the previous calendar year is eligible for entry.
Awards Announced: Winners are announced at the annual Content Marketing World conference. 2024 dates are still TBA, but the last conference was on September 27, 2023.
The Drum Awards for Marketing are for teams of any size, from anywhere in the world, that can prove the measurable impact their campaigns achieved for their clients. Awards are based on creativity and the documented impact of the campaign. If you’ve run a really effective campaign and you have the data to back it up – the Drum Awards are for you!
Entry Fees: Early-bird deadline fee $450, Official deadline fee $505, Extended deadline fee $555 (fees differ by region).
Submission Period: Early-bird deadline – 24 January 2024, Official entry deadline – 6 March 2024, Extended deadline 72 March 2024.
Awards Announced: Nominations will be announced on 9 May 2024. Winners will be announced on 30-31 May 2024.
Spellcaster Agency won in the Advertising category for their ‘Got Fired?’ ad for Adorio HR:
Established in 1959, the Clios are one of the most well-known and respected marketing awards. Each year, they celebrate and reward bold marketing and advertising work that furthers creative excellence and connections within the community.
The Clios are global and open to entrants from around the world. Categories are comprehensive and there is space for almost every kind of campaign, from Brand & Corporate Identity, Banners & Rich Media Advertising, to Copywriting, Film/Video, User Experience, and Virtual/Augmented Reality campaigns.
Entry Fees: $525.00 to $1150.00 depending on the category and when you enter. You can find a breakdown of the fees and dates on the fees page of their website.
Submission Period: First deadline – 27 October 2023, second deadline – 15 December 2023, final deadline – 2 February 2024.
Awards Announced: Grand winners are usually announced during the awards show in April of each year, with some categories awarded later in the year. You can find the latest set of dates on their website here.
The brand impact awards are the top marketing awards for branding agencies. Every year, they “celebrate the world’s best branding” by recognizing and rewarding agencies that drive consistent branding and creative excellence within the context of their sector.
Categories are broad and entries are open to branding agencies, ad agencies, consultancies, design studios, and in-house design teams or brand owners. Entrants can be from any country and they can enter campaigns running anywhere in the world.
Entry Fees: 1 entry is £199 / $279 / €230 per entry, 2-4 entries £169 / $237 / €196 per entry, and 5+ entries are £139 / $195 / €161 per entry (offers a 25% discount for organizations with less than 10 staff members).
Submission Period: 2023 entries were from 8 April to 4 June 2023.
Awards Announced: 2023 awards were announced on 9 September 2023.
The Muse Creative Awards aim to honor the creative professionals who inspire others with their ground-breaking concepts, ideas, or designs. If you’re wondering what makes for a Muse Creative Award-winning campaign, think of risk-taking mavericks, resilience, creativity, and avant-garde methods that effectively drive results and make change happen.
Entries are open to agencies, graphic designers, web and digital entities, production companies, and freelancers from anywhere in the world.
Entry Fees: $130 for single entries, $195 for campaign entries, additional fees vary depending on entry type and when you enter (you can check their fees page for more info).
Submission Period: Early-bird – 13 October to 9 November 2023, Regular Entries – 10 November to 7 December 2023, Final Entries – 8 December 2023 to 11 January 2024, and Final Extension Entries – 12 January to 29 February 2024.
Awards Announced: Winners announced 12 April 2024.
In 2022, Gravity Global won a Platinum Award for their integrated marketing campaign “Profit Hunter: A Force With Nature 2021” for Brazilian jet manufacturer Embraer:
Globally, the Digiday Content Marketing Awards is one of the most prestigious content marketing awards. They recognize agencies and brands that are at the forefront of the current content marketing landscape, advancing the modernization of marketing as a whole.
The categories available are tailored to content marketing and the unique challenges that great content marketing overcomes. Categories include “best branded podcast”, “best community campaign” and “most engaged branded community” as well as everything from branded B2B websites to influencer marketing and user-generated content campaigns.
Entry Fees: Early Deadline – $449 per entry, Regular Deadline – $599 per entry, Last Chance Deadline – $729 per entry.
Submission Period: Early Deadline – 8 December 2023, Regular Deadline – 19 January 2024, Last Chance Deadline – 1 March 2024.
Awards Announced: TBA. Last year, winners were announced in May 2023.
As one of the oldest and largest creative marketing awards, the Hermes Creative Awards honor the most imaginative and creative digital and traditional marketing campaigns. Submissions include publications, branding collateral, websites, videos, advertising, marketing, and communication programs.
The way the awards are judged allows every entry to be judged on its own merits and creativity, as opposed to being just against competitors in the category. This means that the Hermes Creative Awards truly level the playing field for entrants of all sizes, and makes a win all the more meaningful.
Entry Fees: Entry fees range from $125.00 to $195.00 depending on the number and type of entries, with discounts for work done pro bono for non-profits.
Submission Period: Submissions are open from April/May 2023, with the final deadline of 14 March 2024.
Awards Announced: The ceremony will be held on 22-26 April 2024. The exact date of the winners is TBA.
The Davey Awards are specifically for small agencies and firms with big ideas. Their website states “David defeated the giant Goliath with a big idea and a little rock – the sort of thing small agencies do each year”, which sums up what the Davey Awards are all about.
Participants are limited to entities with revenue or billings under certain thresholds, so if your agency is small but hitting heavy, the Davey Awards are a great place to showcase your talent.
Entry Fees: Fees start from $195.00 to $355.00 (category and type of entry)
Submission Period: TBA (early entry deadline was June 2023, and the final grace period deadline was 29 September 2023).
Awards Announced: TBA (last year’s announcement was on 12 September 2023)
B2B Marketing Exchange’s Killer Content Awards (also known as The Finnys, for their shark fin-shaped awards) are awarded to B2B marketers and brands for content campaigns that push the envelope through storytelling and innovation in our hybrid, digital-first world.
In the 2024 Killer Content Awards, we are honoring the brands that not only prioritize innovation in their strategies but also strive to amaze and please their audiences with their creative ideas.
The Killer Marketing Awards look for marketers that are doing new and unexpected things, innovating, and taking risks with their marketing. If you’re on the cutting-edge and pushing boundaries with your campaigns, the Killer Marketing Awards are a great choice.
Entry Fees: Early-bird fee $329, Final fee $429.
Submission Period: Super Early-bird Deadline – 30 November 2023, Final Deadline – 30 November 2023.
Awards Announced: The awards will be held on 26-28 February 2024.
Established in 2004, the prestigious MarCom Awards are one of the largest international creative competitions in the marketing and communications industry. Each year, they select their winners from more than 6500 print and digital entries, coming from dozens of different countries.
The MarCom Awards celebrate the creative excellence, hard work, and generosity of professionals in the marketing and communications sector. In keeping with their values, they do not charge entry fees on any work that was done pro-bono for a non-profit.
Entry Fees: $125 per entry and $195 per campaign or plan entry.
Submission Period: TBA (Last year’s deadline was September 2023).
Awards Announced: Winners will be announced, and results will be posted on or before 1 November 2024.
Summary – The Top Marketing Awards for Agencies in 2024 Are:
When it comes to marketing awards, there are some great benefits to entering and participating in the process but ultimately, you’re in it to win it!
Here are four tips to help you make the most of your entry and increase the odds of winning:
This may seem like a no-brainer but even if you’re the best of the best, you won’t win in the wrong context. Choose your awards carefully and play to your strengths by entering the awards that emphasize your strongest areas.
If you have a campaign that yielded incredible results and you have the data to back that up, choose an award that focuses on impact and effectiveness, rather than one that looks solely at creative innovation. Similarly, if your incredibly innovative and creative campaign doesn’t have a lot in the way of measurable, data-backed, results it might do better competing for an award that focuses on the creativity and originality of the campaign.
Once you have narrowed down your award options, look at the categories and how they’re judged to find the best possible fit for your entry. Entries that are not a good fit for the category are the usually the first to be cut from the competition so make sure you’re not only in the right category, but also understand the strengths and weaknesses of the campaigns you want to nominate and find the category where your strengths will really shine.
Different marketing awards have different submission requirements and different judging criteria. Spend some time doing your research and make sure you understand exactly what they’re looking for so your submission can meet all the requirements.
If you’re unsure, reach out and ask before you even begin the submission process. If a submission asks for additional information to back up your results, find out what they need and make sure you can supply it.
This step is essential as it lays the foundation for a great submission that checks all the appropriate boxes and makes it to the end of the selection process to be seen by the judges.
Judges may be experts but you don’t want to make them work too hard to evaluate your submission! It’s important to make your submission easy for the judges to understand and digest.
Make sure that everything you submit is in the correct format and laid out in a way that is logical and easy to follow. Answer questions fully. Any additional information you supply should be clearly labeled and each item should be put into context for the judges.
This means that your screenshots need captions and your figures need to be interpreted and clearly labeled. Don’t make them guess what you did, what you achieved, or why it was important!
Once you have your whole submission checked and ready to go, have someone who is not involved take a look to see how easily they can understand it and how they respond to it.
An unbiased opinion and honest feedback will help you curate your entry materials and ensure that they’re conveying exactly what you need them to.
Your submission needs to showcase your campaign to the fullest, frame it in the appropriate context, and clearly indicate the impact and results you achieved. It should also highlight the unique strengths of the campaign and what makes it special or unique. Judges generally only see what you present to them, so make it count!
In the highly competitive marketing world, winning a marketing award is a huge achievement. Not only does it reward your efforts and recognize your talents and achievements, it also provides a great deal of on-going value for your brand.
From the lessons you will learn through the process, to peer recognition and networking opportunities, to improved morale, increased sales and greater customer loyalty. Whether you win or not, there really is no downside!
The Effie Awards are considered one of the most prestigious global marketing awards. Other highly regarded marketing awards include the Drum Awards, the B2B Marketing Awards, the Clios, the Digiday Content Marketing Awards and the Hermes Creative Awards. Check out the full guide for all the top marketing awards in 2022.
The Content Marketing Awards are presented by the Content Marketing Institute and recognize the best agencies marketers and campaigns in the content marketing industry. They're considered the top marketing award for content marketing and categories are closely aligned with the intricacies of content marketing. Learn more about the Content Marketing Awards and other top marketing awards in the full guide.
The Davey Awards focus on small agencies and teams that are seeing success due to their big ideas rather than their big budgets. The Hermes Awards are also a great choice for small creative agencies, as their judging methods level the playing field really well, which gives small agencies the opportunity to compete with the huge ones at no disadvantage. Check out the full guide for more on all the best marketing awards available.
The first step is to have innovative, creative and effective marketing campaigns to enter into awards competitions. That said, even the best campaign isn't guaranteed to win an award. Here are some tips to increase your chances of winning: 1. Choose the right awards and category 2. Do your research and make sure your submission meets all the requirements, 3. Make it easy for the judges to understand and evaluate your entry, and 4. Get an unbiased opinion and then make compelling case for yourself. Read the full guide to learn more on each of these tips and win.
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