The best in show!

Chair Award

Agency of the Year Award

The Agency of the Year Award celebrates the very best and most recommended agencies from around the globe. Exclusive and free of charge to agencies recommended by The Drum, the award winner will be selected through a rigorous research process taken from client recommendations, industry peers and additional The Drum research sources.  

Rising Star of the Year Award

The Rising Star of the Year Award highlights individual excellence in advertising and marketing and celebrates the pioneers of tomorrow.

Whilst programmatic trading is growing hugely it is vital that it does not become synonymous with automation alone, but rather that it is used to help boost online creativity. We want to reward the most creative use of technology. 

For agencies, advertisers and ad tech vendors to show how they have worked together to create an effective programmatic media proposition.

Entrants should demonstrate a great return on investment, ability to work in collaboration with media owners and best use of a client budget.

For any public sector organisation, service, government body, or individual project.

For agencies and/or advertisers to show how they have utilised data to drive the success of a campaign. 

For any retail, ecommerce, and consumer goods business or organisation.

For any financial service including insurance, banking, accountancy, engineering etc.

For work briefed and implemented for a charity or not for profit organisations. 

For an innovative strategy or campaign that has engaged the target audience. 

Entries should demonstrate a great awareness of client needs, creative use of media, formats and great results.

For an innovative strategy or campaign that has engaged the target audience. This could include display advertising, contextual data like time and activity, etc. 

This category will reward a solid digital advertising campaign that has had a major cut through, delivering major engagement, impressive sales results or any other metric that would justify as being of high impact.

This category will reward the best agencies incorporating digital out of home into their programmatic strategy. 

This category will reward a digital advertising campaign that is truly inclusive. Diversity and inclusion must be at the heart of the campaign – this could be from the team working on the campaign and/or the campaign itself.

For agencies to demonstrate how they have bought and implemented a multi-channel campaign. 

For any b2b sector organisation, service or individual project.

For an innovative strategy or campaign that has engaged the target audience. 

Rewarding the technology solution which proves most effective for both advertisers and media owners. 

This category will reward the best in-house programmatic team. This also includes in-house teams who work in partnership with an agency.

For any organisation working in the automotive and transport industry.

To reward the best tech partners in digital advertising. 

There is a huge array of buy side technology vendors in the market. We are looking to reward the best technology solution out there.

For an innovative strategy or campaign that has engaged the target audience. 

For any business in the leisure and travel industry or for any sport business or organisation.

For an innovative strategy or campaign that has engaged the target audience with well-placed audio ads. 

This category will reward the best digital advertising within any gaming platform.

Fraud is one of the biggest threats to the digital advertising world, costing advertisers millions of pounds per year. Entries for this category need to show evidence of how they prevent ads appearing on fraudulent impressions across online and mobile. We will be looking for solutions which combat not just GIVT but also can prevent against SIVT.

For an innovative strategy or campaign that has engaged the target audience with well-placed video ads.

Programmatic trading has become synonymous with direct response advertising but now is increasingly being used for branding campaigns. 

There is a huge array of sell side technology vendors in the market. We are looking to reward the best technology solution out there. 

At The Drum, we believe that marketing can change the world. We want to give recognition to AdTech or programmatic campaigns that drives forward socially responsible marketing and brand purpose.

For work developed for the entertainment industry.

Forecasting and reporting will be of interest alongside any other bespoke features particular to the technology.

This category rewards those companies/campaign that adapted quickly to change. 

Our industry is changing and developing at an alarming rate, but what are the game-changers? What are the technologies, platforms, ideas and innovations that are going to make a lasting impact and change the way we do things?