Ad Age Awards Rules & FAQ

The Short Version:

Ad Age is accepting submissions for our annual A-List honoring the best agencies of the year and the new Creativity Awards honoring the best people, work and companies of the year.

As usual, A-List winners will be determined by Ad Age editorial staff and the basic criteria remain the same.

Creativity Awards will be judged by juries of industry luminaries along with Ad Age editorial staff.

A-List winners will be announced in our Agency A-List package in January 2017 and honored at the A-List party in April. Creativity Awards winners will be announced and honored at the April event.

There is a tiered entry fee structure for each program.

A-LIST Deadline and Fees:
Early Pricing - $395 per category*. Ends October 21
Regular Pricing - $450 per category. Ends November 4
Late Pricing/FINAL DEADLINE -$600 per category. Ends November 30

*Note: For the purposes of the A-list, there will be only one fee to enter Agency of the Year, Media Agency of the Year, BtoB Agency of the Year and Multicultural Agency of the Year. In-House Agency of the Year, International Agency of the Year, Creativity Agency of the Year, Production Company of the Year and Executive of the Year will count as distinct categories. (More on this below.)

Creativity Awards Deadline and Fees:
Early Pricing- $350 per entry. Ends November 23
Regular Pricing - $400 per entry. Ends December 9
Late Pricing/FINAL DEADLINE - $500 per entry. Ends December 23

There will be no deadline extensions beyond those outlined above.
We also reserve the right to bestow additional honors, if we see fit, or to not award a category. These awards will be determined based on the information submitted in the original categories.

THE DETAILS:
Both the Advertising Age A-List and Creativity Awards are entered via our new online entry system. We will not accept mailed entries; judges will not review microsites. (For those of you who entered last year, rest assured that this is a new entry system.)

THE A-LIST:
The Advertising Age A-List is the premier annual advertising agency honor. Each year the editorial staff at Advertising Age combs through hundreds of entries trying to determine which agencies are building the best businesses for themselves and their marketing clients. Agencies are judged on revenue growth, client wins and client relationships, creativity, effective work, results, thought leadership, culture and more.

THE CATEGORIES
Honorees will be named in the following categories.

• Agency of the Year (including Agency A-List, Agencies to Watch and Standouts)
• Media Agency of the Year
• BtoB Agency of the Year
• Multicultural Agency of the Year
• In-House Agency of the Year
• International Agency of the Year
• Creativity Agency of the Year (including Agency Innovators list)
• Production Company of the Year (including Production Company A-List)
• Executive of the Year

ELIGIBILITY
Agency of the Year, Media Agency of the Year, BtoB Agency of the Year and Multicultural Agency of the Year are open to U.S.-based advertising agencies or agency networks of any size. Those entering Media Agency of the Year, BtoB Agency of the Year and Multicultural Agency of the Year will automatically be considered for Agency of the Year and A-list. The A-List itself is open to agencies representing any advertising discipline. For the purposes of these categories, please do NOT enter offices in separate cities as distinct entries.

In-House Agency of the Year is open to any U.S.-based agency entity that is owned and operated by its only client. While an in-house agency can partner with external agencies, for the purposes of these awards, an in-house agency is NOT simply the marketing team within a company. It should consist of roles seen at traditional shops—i.e., copywriters, art directors, media buyers, etc.

International Agency of the Year is open to independent shops based outside the U.S. as well as an agency network’s operations in a specific country outside the U.S. Each international entry should cover one country only, however many offices you have there. If you’re entering from Australia, for example, you don’t need separate entries from Sydney or Melbourne.

Creativity Agency of the Year (and Creativity Innovators) is open to individual agency offices (so San Francisco can enter separately from New York, for example) inside and outside the U.S. who feel they’ve delivered the most innovative, forward-thinking ideas of the year.

Production Company of the Year is open to all production companies (traditional/digital/experiential). Companies, even those with multiple offices, should submit a single entry comprising the best work of all offices. If you have separate digital or film practices, you are free to submit those separately but at your discretion. A more well-rounded package that includes a variety of production could work in your favor, but if you feel your digital offering, for example, stands strong on its own, you are welcome to submit that on its own.

Executive of the Year is open to CEOs, Chief Creative Officers, Chief Strategy Officers and other top level executives from any level of any agency, regardless of location. Each entry must pertain to only one executive.

ENTRY FEES & DEADLINES
A-LIST Deadline and Fees:
Early Pricing: $395 per category. Ends October 21
Regular Pricing: $450 per category. Ends November 4
Late Pricing/FINAL DEADLINE: $600 per category. Ends November 30

Note: Because those entering Media Agency of the Year, BtoB Agency of the Year, In-House Agency of the Year and Multicultural Agency of the Year will automatically be considered for Agency of the Year and A-list, for the purposes of the A-list, there will be only one fee to enter Agency of the Year, Media Agency of the Year, BtoB Agency of the Year, In-House Agency of the Year and Multicultural Agency of the Year.

In-House Agency of the Year, International Agency of the Year, Creativity Agency of the Year, Production Company of the Year and Executive of the Year will count as distinct categories and each will require a separate entry fee.

There will be no deadline extensions beyond those outlined above.

HOW TO ENTER/BEFORE YOU START
Interested agencies should click here to start the process of entering. Instructions along the way are pretty straightforward and will walk you through the process of providing the appropriate information and uploading work.

Note: Third-party PR companies can enter on behalf of agency clients. The system will prompt you to note whether you’re entering on behalf of yourself or a client.

What agencies will want to have ready before starting. Production companies and other entities will find more specific requirements in the entry form.

• 2014 and 2015 revenue, plus guidance on 2016. Please indicate, by percentage, where your revenue comes from (i.e., 10% digital, 60% traditional, etc.)
• Employee head count and any picture of growth in this regard, year over year
• Three biggest clients by revenue (not applicable for In-House Agency)
• A detailed list of account wins and losses with estimate revenue per annum from each (not applicable for In-House Agency)
• Any IP projects or other revenue streams that are not client related
• Descriptions of and examples from at least three (3) and up to six (6) distinct campaigns that ran between January 1, 2016 and November 1, 2016.
• A description of your thought leadership and culture, including a picture of your diversity.

CREATIVITY AWARDS ENTRIES

The Creativity Awards Categories

1: PEOPLE
Creative Director of the Year
Creative of the Year
Strategic Planner of the Year
Media Planner of the Year
Director of the Year

2. WORK
Campaign of the Year
Best Experiential
Best Content Marketing
Best Humanitarian/Sustainability Effort
Best Use of New Media/Platform

3. COMPANIES
Startup to Watch
Innovation/Products to Watch
Ad Tech/Marketing Tech/Financial Tech to Watch
App/Mobile Technology to Watch

Eligibility

Creativity Awards Deadline and Fees:
Early Pricing: $350 per entry. Ends November 23
Regular Pricing: $400 per entry. Ends December 9
Late Pricing/FINAL DEADLINE: $500 per entry. Ends December 23

There will be no deadline extensions beyond those outlined above.

HOW TO ENTER/BEFORE YOU START/ELIGIBILITY
Interested companies or individuals should click here to start the process of entering. Instructions along the way are pretty straightforward and will walk you through the process of providing the appropriate information and uploading any necessary supporting material.
Creativity Awards are open to people, work and companies from anywhere in the world.

1: PEOPLE
Some things you’ll need before you start
Nominee’s Name
Nominee’s Title
Nominee’s Employer
Nominee’s Age
Nominator’s Name
Nominator’s Title
Nominator’s Employer

For each of the categories, entrants will tell us why the nominee is worthy of the recognition in 350 words or lest. Entrants will also have a chance to upload supporting evidence—creative work, PowerPoint deck, highlight reel, video case study, etc.

Creative Director of the Year is open to creative directors and executive creative directors. Creative teams are free to submit as a single entrant, as long as both members of the team were involved in each piece of work submitted in the portfolio.
Note: It is NOT open to Chief Creative Officers. CCOs should be entered in the A-List Executive of the Year category.

Creative of the Year is open to copywriters, art directors and other creative positions. Do you make things? Then you’re likely a creative. Creative teams are free to submit as a single entrant, as long as both members of the team were involved in each piece of work submitted in the portfolio.

Note: This category excludes creative directors and executive creative directors. For those entrants, please see Creative Director of the Year

Strategic Planner of the Year is open to strategic planners at advertising, media and PR agencies.

Media Planner of the Year is open to media planners at advertising, media and PR agencies.

Director of the Year is open to traditional film, digital, new-media and experiential directors.

2. WORK
Campaign of the Year
Best Experiential
Best Content Marketing
Best Humanitarian/Sustainability Effort
Best Use of New Media/Platform

Some things you’ll need before you start

Campaign/Product Name
Client Name
Ad Agency Name
Ad Agency Full-Time Headcount
Type of Agency:
Ad Agency Headquarters

In general, the categories are self-explanatory. For each, entrants will provide a background and description of the campaign, its challenges and results. Entrants will also have a chance to upload supporting evidence—creative work, PowerPoint deck, highlight reel, video case study, etc.

You must enter each category you’d like to be considered for, i.e., work entered only into Best Experiential or Best Content Marketing will NOT be automatically considered for Campaign of the Year. If you’d like to be considered for Campaign of the Year, you must enter the category.

Work submitted for this category must have run in the real world between January 1, 2016 and November 1, 2016.

Campaign of the Year: This category recognizes the best overall campaign and honors the year’s most innovative advertising/marketing effort, with additional props going to impact and effectiveness. It  is open to work that ran anywhere in the world between January 1, 2016 and November 1, 2016

Best Experiential: What are brands doing out there, in the real world, to get consumers talking about them? This category celebrates brands that have created innovative ways to interact with consumers in the real world. It’s open  to experiential efforts staged anywhere in the world between January 1, 2016 and November 1, 2016.

Best Content Marketing: This category recognizes creative uses of storytelling on any number of platforms – such as longform films, branded content, native advertising on publishing sites. Of course, great traditional ads can be considered “content,” but work that wins in this category represents the sort of storytelling you would not expect to find within a traditional ad buy. It is open to content-marketing efforts that ran, were launched or were published anywhere in the world between January 1, 2016 and November 1, 2016.

Best Humanitarian/Sustainability Effort: This category recognizes campaigns/work created with social good in mind. It comprises both marketing initiatives and corporate social programs that have a positive impact on society and/or a company’s own personnel—impact that can be game-changing to a business. Being good to people is good for business. These ideas will prove that. It  is open to creative work with a humanitarian or sustainability bent that ran anywhere in the world between January 1, 2016 and November 1, 2016. Work for paying clients and work done pro bono are eligible.

Best Use of New Media Platform: This category is open to any campaign that demonstrated innovative use of platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, Periscope, WeChat, Weibo, Twitter or others anywhere in the world. Work should have debuted between January 1, 2016 and November 1, 2016.

3. COMPANIES
Startup to Watch
Innovation/Products to Watch
Ad Tech/Marketing Tech/Financial Tech to Watch
App/Mobile Technology to Watch

These categories are open to agencies, vendors, tech companies, startups and marketers who have an offering that they should win.

A special note about time frame. For the purposes of this category, we will consider startups, products, apps, etc. that were introduced to the market between January 1, 2015 and November 1, 2016. (In other words, this is closer to a 2-year period than a 1-year period.)

Here are some of the things you’ll need before you get started.

Nominee’s Company/Brand/Product Name
Company
Company Full-Time Headcount
Type of Company:
Company Headquarters (City, State/Province Country.)
Nominator’s Name
Nominator’s Company

For each distinct category, you’ll be asked to explain why the company is deserving and provide any relevant metrics (users, sales, revenue, funding, engagement) to back up your claim.

Entrants can also provide a video pitch as well.

Agency of the Year,  Media Agency of the Year,  BtoB Agency of the Year and  Multicultural Agency of the Year are open to U.S.-based advertising agencies or agency networks of any size. Those entering Media Agency of the Year, BtoB Agency of the Year and Multicultural Agency of the Year will automatically be considered for Agency of the Year and A-list. The A-List itself is open to agencies representing any advertising discipline. For the purposes of these categories, please do NOT enter offices in separate cities as distinct entries.

International Agency of the Year is open to independent shops based outside the U.S. as well as an agency network's operations in a specific country outside the U.S. Each international entry should cover one country only, however many offices you have there. If you're entering from Australia, for example, you don't need separate entries from Sydney or Melbourne.

Creativity Agency of the Year (and Creativity Innovators) is open to individual agency offices (so San Francisco can enter separately from New York, for example) inside and outside the U.S. who feel they've delivered the most innovative, forward-thinking ideas of the year.

Production Company of the Year is open to all production companies (traditional/digital/experiential). Companies, even those with multiple offices, should submit a single entry comprising the best work of all offices. If you have separate digital or film practices, you are free to submit those separately but at your discretion. A more well-rounded package that includes a variety of production could work in your favor, but if you feel your digital offering, for example, stands strong on its own, you are welcome to submit that on its own.

Executive of the Year is open to CEOs, Chief Creative Officers, Chief Strategy Officers and other top level executives from any level of any agency, regardless of location. Each entry must pertain to only one executive.

Entries opened in September 2016.
The final deadline for A-List entries will be November 30.
The final deadline for Creativity Awards entries will be December 23.

A-LIST Deadline and Fees:
Early Pricing: $395 per category. Ends October 21
Regular Pricing: $450 per category. Ends November 4
Late Pricing/FINAL DEADLINE: $600 per category. Ends November 30

Creativity Awards Deadline and Fees:
Early Pricing: $350 per category. Ends November 23
Regular Pricing: $400 per category. Ends December 9
Late Pricing/FINAL DEADLINE: $500 per category. Ends December 23

Note: Because those entering Media Agency of the Year, BtoB Agency of the Year and Multicultural Agency of the Year will automatically be considered for Agency of the Year and A-list, for the purposes of the A-list, there will be only one fee to enter Agency of the Year, Media Agency of the Year, BtoB Agency of the Year and Multicultural Agency of the Year.

International Agency of the Year, Creativity Agency of the Year, Production Company of the Year and Executive of the Year will count as distinct categories and each will require a separate entry fee.

There will be no deadline extensions beyond those outlined above.

Work must have run in the real world between January 1, 2016 and November 1, 2016. Except for Companies to Watch: Startup to Watch, Innovation/Products to Watch, Ad Tech/Marketing Tech/Financial Tech to Watch, App/Mobile Technology to Watch.

For the purposes of this category only, we will consider startups, products, apps, etc. that were introduced to the market between January 1, 2015 and November 1, 2016. (In other words, this is closer to a 2-year period than a 1-year period.)

The Advertising Age A-List is the premier annual advertising agency honor. Each year the editorial staff at Advertising Age combs through hundreds of entries trying to determine which agencies are building the best businesses for themselves and their marketing clients. Agencies are judged on revenue growth, client wins and client relationships, creativity, effective work, results, thought leadership, culture and more.

Agency of the Year, Media Agency of the Year, BtoB Agency of the Year and Multicultural Agency of the Year are open to U.S.-based advertising agencies or agency networks of any size. Those entering Media Agency of the Year, BtoB Agency of the Year and Multicultural Agency of the Year will automatically be considered for Agency of the Year and A-list. The A-List itself is open to agencies representing any advertising discipline. For the purposes of these categories, please do NOT enter offices in separate cities as distinct entries.

Creativity Agency of the Year (and Creativity Innovators) is open to individual agency offices (so San Francisco can enter separately from New York, for example) inside and outside the U.S. who feel they’ve delivered the most innovative, forward-thinking ideas of the year.

No. Agencies of all sizes are invited and encouraged to enter.

For the campaign and work-related categories, you can enter as many campaigns as you’d like, but will be charged a separate entry fee for each. Agencies can also enter Creativity Agency of the Year as well as other A-List categories if they meet eligibility requirements for each category. Because those entering Media Agency of the Year, BtoB Agency of the Year, In-House Agency of the Year and Multicultural Agency of the Year will automatically be considered for Agency of the Year and A-list, for the purposes of the A-list, there will be only one fee to enter Agency of the Year, Media Agency of the Year, BtoB Agency of the Year, In-House Agency of the Year and Multicultural Agency of the Year.
 
In-House Agency of the Year, International Agency of the Year, Creativity Agency of the Year, Production Company of the Year and Executive of the Year will count as distinct categories and each will require a separate entry fee.

The A-List will continue to be judged by the Ad Age editorial team.
Judging for Creativity Awards will be conducted by juries along with Ad Age and Creativity editorial staff.
More details will be announced shortly.

The A-List winners will be published at the end of January and celebrated at an event in April. The Creativity Awards winners will be announced and celebrated at that same event.

Yes! We won’t be taking away the much-loved A-List Cocktail Party but we are making some improvements. We'll be offering additional opportunities to experience the winning work, learn from the honorees, and network with a who’s who of the industry.

We’d love to hear from you. Send your questions to [email protected].