This category honors efforts that successfully communicate to teens or young adults. The entry should be written in a way that identifies how the case was created and specifically directed to this audience, and how it succeeded.

Identify any elements in the creative work or strategy that are specifically directed to the youth market and any relevant dynamics and/or nuances, trends, values, linguistic characteristics, and their significance with respect to your submission.

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

• Youth Marketing – Products
• Youth Marketing – Services

Brand Content & Entertainment: For efforts that effectively reached their audience through the creation of original branded content that is not advertising. The core of the entry should be content designed to be consumed / experienced and sought out by the consumer for entertaining or informative reasons. Entrants must detail the content, how it related back to the overall brand and business goals, how it was distributed to, and shared by, the audience, and the results it achieved for the brand and business. Branded content may be produced and distributed by either publishers or independently and can include longform 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

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.

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

This award is for brands that created positive change by effectively pivoting their commerce/shopper marketing program or business activities in response to significant structural and cultural shifts and moments of crisis (e.g. pandemic, social justice movement, political events, etc.) in order to more effectively connect with the shopper along the path to purchase and drive conversion. Entrants need to pinpoint the pivot and frame for the judges how the messaging/campaign shifted, the team adjusted the approach to production or go-to- market planning, etc. Demonstrate the effectiveness of the action for the brand. Examples can include a pivot in positioning, a change in portfolio management, a digital acceleration, etc.

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.

Social Media: For campaigns that set out with the explicit purpose of using social as the primary touchpoint or have social at their core – ideas that were specifically designed to take advantage of the socially connected consumer and the influence of social media. Note: Judges are looking for campaigns that begin with a social idea, as opposed to advertising or integrated campaigns with a social media element. They require a clear rationale for why social was the right way to tackle the brief, and evidence of how social activity measurably and materially drove the commercial result. It is not enough to count the number of impressions, likes, or shares. Measure and prove the commercial value of social through the direct effect it had on audience behavior or perceptions and demonstrate correlation with the achieved business results. Enter in one of two sub-categories:

• Social Media – Products
• Social Media – Services

Influencer Marketing: For brands that effectively worked with key influencers to reach their target audience to achieve short or long-term marketing goals. Influencers/opinion leaders may be social media/vertical platform leaders, brand ambassadors, bloggers, etc. – from micro to macro. Clearly identify the strategy, the desired audience, and why the influencer was important to that audience. Explain why the brand selected that influencer, what the influencer did for the audience, how they were used to carry out marketing activities, and what consumer behaviors were impacted, and a result, how the business was impacted.

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 recognizes the most effective performance marketing efforts. To be eligible, your effort must have been led by performance marketing and the case must demonstrate how efforts such as affiliate marketing, paid search, SEO or sponsored content drove results for the business using performance marketing KPIs.

This category aims to recognize the use of AI technology to enhance marketing effectiveness. This includes audience targeting, interactive experience, programmatic, content generation and innovation. Entrants should illustrate how AI drove effectiveness, from initially motivating audiences to ultimately driving consumer behavior.

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 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

Media Content Partnerships: For efforts based on partnerships between a brand and a media owner/platform to create and activate original media content beyond traditional advertising. Partnerships should demonstrate the innovative consumer connections that media companies can develop for advertisers via integrated communication channels centered on creative and strategic content. Each activation channel is critical to delivering the overall effectiveness and impact of the campaign and shows the value media companies can deliver. Submissions must detail the strategic reasoning behind the partnership – why was this partner chosen over others? Clearly detail the selection process of the partner, and explain how this partnership led to the results that met the objectives of the brand.

For efforts that have measurably shifted audience behavior toward more environmentally sustainable choices, and/or grown demand for more sustainable products and services by incorporating environmentally- conscious messaging into their marketing. Show how effective marketing programs that incorporate sustainable strategies can make a positive difference for brands and for the environment. Over and above the standard Effie requirements to demonstrate a positive impact on business, there are specific areas of interest that relate to this award. Efforts entered must have as one of their main strategic objectives changing audience behavior towards more environmentally sustainable choices and environmentally conscious messaging must be a part of the marketing.

Entrants should address how the sustainability goal relates back to the overall brand and business strategy.

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

Enter in one of the two sub-categories:

• Environmental – Brands
• Environmental – Non-Profit

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.

Enter in one of three sub-categories:

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