For the AI Category, entrants are required to showcase their effective use of artificial intelligence to drive meaningful business outcomes. This category recognizes outstanding campaigns and initiatives where AI was leveraged as a pivotal tool to achieve specific business goals, whether it be enhancing customer engagement, optimizing operations, increasing sales, or any other measurable objective. 

Entrants must provide clear evidence of how AI was integrated into their strategy and demonstrate the tangible impact it had on their business growth and desired results. This includes detailed metrics, analytics, and any other relevant data that highlight the effectiveness of the AI implementation. The judges will be looking for entries that not only display creativity and technical proficiency but also a profound understanding of how AI can be harnessed to produce real, quantifiable success. 

Brand Content & Entertainment: This category recognizes efforts that successfully engaged audiences through original branded content that goes beyond traditional advertising. The focus should be on content created to be actively sought out and consumed by the audience for its entertainment or informative value. Entries must detail the content itself, its alignment with brand and business objectives, the distribution and audience engagement strategy, and the measurable impact on the brand and business. Branded content may be produced and distributed by publishers or independently and can include long-form entertainment. 

Note: Judges will expect to understand why branded content was chosen as a tactic. Enter in one of two sub-categories:  

• Brand Content & Entertainment – Products  
• Brand Content & Entertainment – Services

Experiential Marketing: This category is to showcase brand experiences beyond traditional advertising – work that truly brought a brand or product to life and interacted with a specific audience to achieve desired objectives should be entered. It may include a re-invented product demo, re-imagined pop-up, or a “brick and mortar” retail overhaul; it may have created a new game, an alternate or virtual reality experience, or an interactive/immersive film experience that effectively showcases a new product or brand personality. Award winners will show how the brand is reaching out to their audiences to establish meaningful relationships, memorable, engaging experiences, and unique connections. Entrants must address how the experiential marketing related back to the overall brand strategy. Judges will expect to understand the ‘participation’ in the experience as a core factor. Enter in one of three sub-categories:

• Experiential Marketing: Live
• Experiential Marketing: Digital
• Experiential Marketing: Hybrid

This category honors brands that have effectively reached their audience via strategic integrations and entertainment partnerships. Submissions should detail how the brand was seamlessly interwoven in an engaging way. Detail the strategic reasoning behind the partnership – why was this partner chosen over others? Clearly explain the selection process of the partner, and how this partnership led to the results that met the brand objectives.

This category recognizes brands that successfully navigated significant structural and cultural shifts or moments of crisis (e.g., pandemic, social justice movements, political events) by effectively pivoting their marketing strategy or business activities. Entrants must clearly identify the pivot and explain how the messaging, campaign, production approach, or go-to-market strategy was adapted. Highlight the impact and effectiveness of these actions on the brand’s success. Examples may include shifts in brand positioning, portfolio management, digital acceleration, and more. 

Some of the most impactful efforts occur when a deep understanding of shoppers’ attitudes, behaviors, and needs lead to innovative category/aisle evolution, whether in-store, online or both. Entrants must outline how the effort utilized shopper activation at shelf or shopper awareness of evolution to enhance the shopping experience and drove greater engagement, conversion, and category growth. Successful entries in this category will be sustainable evolutions and not simply promotional in nature.

This category is for campaigns that effectively used insights, strategy, creative, and analytics to drive digital shopper conversion. Show how, by utilizing data and a deep understanding of the shopper, the brand and/or retailer succeeded in a digital setting. A successful effort will combine strong shopper knowledge with digital marketing practices to increase conversion online. The effort must be based on a shopper insight(s) and be shopper-driven. Explain the strategy of how the effort went to market. Submissions in this category will be solely evaluated on digital commerce effectiveness.

Pharma/Corporate: Brand/client efforts designed to educate and/or promote health awareness. Efforts may be targeted to either healthcare professionals, patients and/or consumers.

For efforts that grew the business/brand by changing the marketing model in ways that drive the industry forward. A marketing disruptor of any size can enter. Detail the marketing challenge, the competitive landscape, and how the brand succeeded by changing the existing marketing model for the brand/category. Note: Judges will deduct from the case without clear articulation regarding how the marketing was disruptive for the brand/category. Enter in one of two sub-categories:

• Marketing Disruptors – Products
• Marketing Disruptors – Services

Media Idea: This category is about outstanding effectiveness as a result of media-led ideas. The line between what constitutes a creative idea and a media idea is blurring and there are occasions when the media idea drove the entire effort. Of course, media cannot exist without the content, but this award is intended to recognize those cases that were led by the media thinking – where the integration of media and message led to success. The award honors media-led ideas that are powerful enough to become the genesis of the marketing program itself, to the extent that the program would not have been successful without the strategic media idea.

Media Content Partnerships: This category recognizes brand-media partnerships that created and activated original content beyond traditional advertising. These partnerships should showcase innovative consumer connections through integrated communication channels centered on creative and strategic content. Each activation channel should demonstrate how the media company contributed to the campaign’s effectiveness and impact. Submissions must detail the strategic rationale for the partnership, the selection process, and how the partnership led to results that achieved the brand’s objectives.

Media Innovation: This award showcases those who had the insight and creativity to change the way a particular media channel is consumed, or to create a new channel. The award will go to brands who reached out of the conventional approach to grab their audience and effectively engage with them. Whether the effort was one execution or multiple, and/or used one engagement channel or multiple – the work must represent new and creative usage of the media channels we know and love, or have not yet met. Note: All entries must specifically address what was innovative and the results achieved. Address the category situation and provide clear articulation of how the media was used innovatively and how the media strategy/plan optimized the results. Enter in one of two sub-categories

• Media Innovation – Emerging & New Channels
• Media Innovation – Existing Channel

This category celebrates the most impactful performance marketing strategies, where a combination of tactics generated significant, incremental results and conversions. Describe how you leveraged the synergy between your organic and paid ecosystems to create a halo effect, using data-driven insights, agile testing, and continuous optimization. Your submission should be performance-led, demonstrating how approaches such as (but not limited to) affiliate marketing, paid search, SEO, email campaigns, personalization at scale, influencer or sponsored content directly drove measurable outcomes like increased revenue or leads.

Positive Change – Environmental: For efforts that have measurably shifted audience behavior toward more environmentally sustainable choices, and/or grown demand for more sustainable products and services. Explain how your efforts created positive impact on the environment and the business. Efforts entered must have as one of their main strategic objectives changing audience behavior towards more environmentally sustainable choices. Entrants should address how the sustainability goal relates back to the overall brand and business strategy. Demonstrate immediate impact while articulating progress toward long-term objectives. Highlight the most interesting, effective and impactful elements of the work, including the actual change-making components.

Criterion for this award is the result of behavior change toward more environmentally sustainable choices, with these elements being considered in judging:

• Awareness – Making the audience aware of a sustainable product, service or action.
• Trial – Trying the sustainable product, service or action for the first time.
• Product/Service Substitution – Switching to a more sustainable product, service or action.
• Change in Use – Using a product/service more sustainably than before or taking a more sustainable action.

Enter in one of the two sub-categories:

• Environmental – Brands
• Environmental – Non-Profit

Social Good: For marketing efforts proven effective in solving/impacting a social problem or in expanding an existing program in ways that benefit our society. This is about creating positive societal and cultural change, challenging the established status-quo and changing accepted norms and stereotypes that create societal inequalities with inspired action.

Examples include initiatives that tackle food poverty; access to healthcare or education; creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive society; or creating equal opportunities at work and in wider society for all members of our society. Any effort that sets out to give back in some way for the greater good is eligible to enter, and any/all marketing efforts, whether full campaigns or unique efforts within a campaign are eligible to enter as long as measurable results exist.

Demonstrate immediate impact while articulating progress toward long-term objectives. Highlight the most interesting, effective and impactful elements of the work, including the actual change-making components. Include the impact your work had on the cause and why it was a match for your business.​

Enter in one of three sub-categories:

• Social Good – Brands
• Social Good – Non-Profit
• Social Good – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

This category highlights the success achieved through strategic collaborations between retail media networks and brands, driving measurable business growth for both parties. Whether digital or in-store, or omnichannel, demonstrate how your efforts were tailored to specific customer segments using data-driven insights. Showcase the use of multiple channels, both online and offline, to deliver a cohesive and effective campaign that resonates with your target audience and drives tangible results for both retailer and brand. 

Enter one of (3) sub-categories:

• Digital Commerce – use a retail media digital ecosystem (e.g., digital advertising, marketplace) to drive an online purchase
• In-Store Retail – use of retail media in-store to drive a sale
• Omnichannel – follow through from digital to in-store to drive to purchase

To be eligible, an entry may not be for a line extension and must represent the only marketing efforts for the brand during the time period. The value of donated and non-traditional media as well as activation costs must be included. Budget eligibility is as follows:

Enter in one of three sub-categories:

• Small Budgets – Non-Profit
• Small Budgets – Products
• Small Budgets – Services

Efforts that experienced sustained success for at least three years are eligible for entry. At a minimum, include at least three years of creative work and case results, and include the current competition year’s results. Work must have a common objective in both strategy and creative executions; with a continuation of core executional elements (e.g., spokesperson, song, theme, tagline, etc.) that demonstrates effectiveness over time. As part of the entry, specifically address how the effort evolved over time (e.g., media choices, targeting, insights, new products/services, etc.). Answer all questions for the initial year and describe how/why change occurred over time. Enter in one of three sub-categories:

• Sustained Success – Non-Profits
• Sustained Success – Products
• Sustained Success – Services

Note: There is a special entry form and different creative requirements for the Sustained Success Award. The creative requirements, including different rules for the creative reel, can be found in the Sustained Success form.

Social Media: This category celebrates campaigns designed around social media as the primary touchpoint, leveraging its influence to engage connected consumers. Focus on campaigns where social media was the core idea, not just an element. Provide a clear rationale for using social media, demonstrate its direct impact on audience behavior, and show how it drove measurable business results. Enter in one of two sub-categories: 

• Social Media – Products  
• Social Media – Services

Influencer Marketing: This category recognizes brands that successfully partnered with influencers to achieve short or long-term marketing goals. Influencers can range from micro to macro and include social media personalities, brand ambassadors, and bloggers. Clearly define the strategy, target audience, and why the influencer was chosen. Highlight how the influencer engaged the audience, influenced consumer behavior, and contributed to the brand’s success by driving measurable business results.

Engaged Community: This category is about managing effective, engaged communities. Entrants are brands that are creating content, experiences, platforms, news, etc. that get their communities to grow, engage, share, act, or amplify messaging in a way that directly relates to the brand’s goals. State clearly how the brand managed the community, defined effectiveness around the community, what they specifically achieved, and why the engaged community was significant for the development of the brand/business. Enter in one of two sub-categories:

• Engaged Community – Products
• Engaged Community – Services

This category spotlights effective strategic efforts that were able to generate desired results as a direct outcome from a single significant moment of activity. Cases should show how the brand or product/service was put in an intensely bright spotlight to create immediate, measurable, unexpected, and unconventional impact. The best examples include live experiences, moments, stunts, and tactics, online and offline, perhaps amplified through PR, social media, digital engagement, or even the use of content created in the moment to fuel paid campaigns. Enter in one of two sub-categories:

• Timely Opportunity – Products
• Timely Opportunity – Services

Entrants can enter a single effort into a maximum of one of the below categories.

Crisis Response/Critical Pivot: This category recognizes brands that successfully navigated significant structural and cultural shifts or moments of crisis (e.g., pandemic, social justice movements, political events) by effectively pivoting their marketing strategy or business activities. Entrants must clearly identify the pivot and explain how the messaging, campaign, production approach, or go-to-market strategy was adapted. Highlight the impact and effectiveness of these actions on the brand’s success. Examples may include shifts in brand positioning, portfolio management, digital acceleration, and more. 

Current Events: For cases that effectively leveraged immediate relevance, interest, or importance via a targeted marketing/PR strategy around current news and events (e.g., World Cup, Olympics, economic situations, social issues, etc.). Note: Annual events should enter the Seasonal Marketing category.

Seasonal Marketing: Seasons, holidays and annual events allow marketers the opportunity to build strategic efforts based on the time-based interests of their target audience. This category honors those efforts that effectively capitalized on a season, holiday, or annual cultural event to drive results for their business. Submit in one of two sub-categories:

• Seasonal Marketing – Products
• Seasonal Marketing – Services

This category honors work that effectively engages teens or young adults. Your entry should clearly demonstrate how the campaign was crafted specifically for this audience and how it succeeded. Detail the elements and strategies tailored to the youth market, and explain how you addressed relevant dynamics, trends, values, and linguistic nuances that resonate with this demographic. 

Note: Judges may not be familiar with this particular audience, so showcase details that may be overlooked. Enter in one of two sub-categories:  

• Youth Marketing – Products  
• Youth Marketing – Services