Award Categories
Creative Ideas Categories
1. Most Creative – Cause Marketing
Judges will be looking at the strategy and creativity behind the campaign. Entries should illustrate how the campaign was designed to promote corporate social responsibility and raise awareness of it’s core values while achieving marketing objectives.
2. Most Creative – Communications / Public Relations
Judges will be looking at the communications, public and media relations idea that succeeded in promoting or recovering an image of a brand, product or service, or supplemented an existing marketing strategy. Entries should demonstrate how a public / media relations strategy created an impact on the chosen audience.
3. Most Creative – Content Marketing
Judges will be looking at the creative copy and the content strategy that was designed to stimulate interest and support a strategic marketing approach for a brand, product or service. Entries should reflect how the copy embodied various elements / mediums of the marketing campaign, and how it was designed to build a rapport with the targeted audience.
4. Most Creative – Customer Engagement
Judges will be looking for initiatives that aimed to go beyond simply advertising. Entries should illustrate how the idea sought to encourage consumers to actively participate in the brand’s programme.
5. Most Creative – Digital
Judges will be looking at how the idea and content were created for digital marketing and designed to be deployed over various digital channels to deliver an engaging consumer experience or add value to a marketing campaign. Entries can demonstrate the idea as part of a one-off campaign or a broader marketing strategy that focused on and around digital mediums to enhance a campaign.
6. Most Creative – Event (Physical/Virtual)
This category recognises the most creative and innovatively planned event. An event could include B2B events such as investor / stakeholder meetings or showcases, internal / employee engagement or B2C events such as concerts or festivals, product launches etc. Physical events and/or events that were help virtually via web-hosting or conference-hosting platforms are welcome.
Judges will be looking at the strategy and creativity behind the event. Entries should illustrate how the event was designed to captivate its audience and how the idea for the event supported the brand’s profile, values and marketing objectives.
7. Most Creative – Experiential
Judges will be looking at the creativity and strategy behind the experiential programme or campaign that was designed to stimulate interest and create buzz for a brand, product or service. Entries should illustrate how the idea was designed to allow consumers to get involved in or respond to a specified experience.
8. Most Creative – Gamification Campaign
Judges will be looking for campaigns that have ingeniously employed gamification elements to captivate and engage audiences.
9. Most Creative – Government Sector / Non-Profit Marketing
Judges will be looking at the creativity, innovation and strategy behind the idea that sought to bridge an information or solutions gap between a government, public sector or non-profit organisation and groups of individuals, organisations or communities.
10. Most Creative – Hyperlocal Marketing *NEW*
This category recognises campaigns that target hyperlocal audiences with personalised, location-specific marketing strategies. Judges will assess the effectiveness and creativity local targeting, including the use of geo-fencing, local partnerships, and community engagement. Entries should showcase how hyperlocal marketing drove foot traffic, sales, and community connection.
11. Most Creative – Immersive Brand Activation
Judges are seeking initiatives that have ingeniously combined creativity and technology to create memorable and captivating brand activations. Whether through virtual reality, augmented reality, or physical installations, the winning campaign will showcase outstanding creativity in immersing audiences in the brand’s world.
12. Most Creative – Influencers / KOLs
This category recognises the most creative and brilliant ideas using Influencers / KOLs to engage and delight your target audience.
Judges will be looking at the creative elements and overall impact of the idea, as well as how successfully the idea ties into the brand’s identity.
13. Most Creative – Integrated Media
Judges will be looking at how the idea was designed to stimulate interest and support a strategic marketing and communications approach across multiple distribution channels (at least 3 channels). Entries should demonstrate how the idea was creatively and tactically purposed for various paid, earned and / or owned media.
14. Most Creative – Interactive Storytelling *NEW*
This category celebrates the most creative use of interactive storytelling in marketing. Judges will evaluate the creativity and engagement of interactive storytelling techniques. Entries should illustrate how interactive elements were used to captivate audiences, convey the brand’s message, and achieve marketing goals.
15. Most Creative – Launch / Re-Launch
This category rewards the most creative and innovative idea behind a launch or re-launch of a brand, event, product or service.
Judges will be looking at the creativity of the idea and the initiative behind the launch / re-launch strategy. Entries should demonstrate how the idea helped mold the campaign and eventual execution strategy towards the launch / re-launch activity.
16. Most Creative – Out-of-Home
Judges will be looking at how the creative idea was designed to attract attention or interact with consumers to achieve an objective and / or communicate a message. Entries should reflect on the creative and messaging behind OOH’s impact on their campaigns.
17. Most Creative – Social Commerce
Judges will be looking for campaigns that have creatively harnessed the power of social commerce.
18. Most Creative – Social Media
Judges will be looking at how the creative idea was designed to be deployed over social media and can be part of a one-off campaign or a broader marketing strategy that focused on and around social media to engage or enhance a campaign.
19. Most Creative – Sonic Branding
This category celebrates campaigns that leverage audio logos, jingles, or soundscapes to build brand identity. Judges will evaluate the creativity and effectiveness of sonic branding elements. Entries should illustrate how sound was used to create a memorable and distinctive brand presence. Entries should showcase the impact of sonic branding on brand recognition, consumer engagement, and overall marketing success.
*Originally the category Most Creative – Audio
20. Most Creative – Specific Audience
Judges will be looking at the creativity and originality behind the idea that engaged and attracted a specific audience. Entries should illustrate how the idea stood out amongst competitors and how the idea expected to connect with audiences.
21. Most Creative – Video
Judges will be looking at the originality and ingenuity of video ideas and the creative strategy against the dissemination of said commercials and advertising to achieve a marketing outcome or reach for a brand, product or service. Entries should demonstrate how the idea and campaign were designed to impact and resonate with an audience or enhance an existing campaign.
Media Usage Categories
22. Most Effective Use – Artificial Intelligence
The winning campaign in this category will demonstrate how artificial intelligence has been effectively integrated into marketing strategies to drive exceptional results.
Judges are seeking campaigns that have harnessed AI for personalisation, automation, predictive analytics, or other innovative applications, resulting in impressive outcomes.
23. Most Effective Use – B2B Marketing
Judges will be looking at the effectiveness and results from the B2B marketing strategy. Entries should illustrate how the campaign successfully leveraged the channels it was deployed, as well as results versus objectives.
24. Most Effective Use – Consumer Insights
This category recognises the most effective use of consumer insights and market research in contributing to database development and the performance of a marketing campaign or communications plan.
Judges will be looking at how consumer insights and market research played a part in interpreting consumer behaviour to develop campaign strategies, moulding a successful marketing campaign and garnering significant results. Entries should demonstrate how market research, data planning, measurement and analytics tools were used to drive results.
25. Most Effective Use – Content
Judges will be looking at the effectiveness and results from a content strategy and developed to convert interest into action and support a strategic marketing approach for a brand, product or service. Entries should illustrate how the copy embodied various elements / mediums of the marketing campaign, and how the content was mapped out for a larger content strategy, addressing specific KPIs along the way.
26. Most Effective Use – Contextual Advertising *NEW*
Judges will evaluate the effectiveness and innovation of contextual advertising strategies. Entries should illustrate how contextual data was leveraged to place ads in the right context, enhancing relevance and engagement. Entries should showcase the impact of these campaigns on user experience, brand perception, and achievement of marketing objectives.
27. Most Effective Use – Customer Acquisition
Judges will be looking at the effectiveness and results of the campaign, and how it led to a systematic, sustainable acquisition strategy that was adaptable to new trends and changes in business goals.
28. Most Effective Use – Customer Retention & Loyalty
This category acknowledges initiatives that have implemented strategies and tactics to reduce customer churn, elevate customer lifetime value, and cultivate strong brand loyalty among existing clientele. The winning campaign will showcase innovative approaches, personalisation, and quantifiable results in the art of nurturing enduring customer relationships, solidifying their unwavering loyalty to the brand.
Judges will be looking for campaigns that have demonstrated exceptional effectiveness in the critical domains of customer retention and loyalty.
*This category was previously “Most Effective Use – Loyalty & CRM”
29. Most Effective Use – Digital
Judges will be looking at how the digital marketing was used to achieve a business objective, be it branding, a prompted consumer behaviour or to increase consumption. Entries should demonstrate how digital was an integral part of an executed marketing strategy and generated proven results with evidence of the mediums used.
30. Most Effective Use – Events (Physical / Virtual)
Judges will be looking at the strategy, execution, and performance of the scaled business, trade or consumer event. Entries should illustrate how the event was designed to captivate its audience, how the event was organised effectively, how strongly the brand values and objectives relating directly to the attendee’s journey at the event were achieved, and the resulting return on investment.
31. Most Effective Use – Experiential
Judges will be looking at the strategy, execution and engagement behind the scaled experiential programme or campaign. Entries should demonstrate how the experiential campaign managed to create unique brand experiences and generate positive brand association between the audience and the brand relating to the attendee’s journey, and the resulting return on investment.
32. Most Effective Use – Government Sector / Non-Profit Marketing
Judges will be looking at how the idea was executed and how successful it was in bridging an information or solutions gap between a government, public sector or non-profit organisation and groups of individuals, organisations or communities.
33. Most Effective Use – Influencers / KOLs
Judges will be looking at the effect and result of a marketing campaign which demonstrates a cohesive Influencer / KOL strategy that successfully helps achieve brand objectives. Entries should show how Influencers / KOLs were used to effectively engage a target audience for positive ROI.
34. Most Effective Use – Integrated Media
Judges will be looking at how the idea was executed across multiple distribution channels (at least 3 channels) to support the strategic approach and the results from the combined use. Entries should also demonstrate how the campaign was executed across various paid, earned and / or owned media (where applicable) to realise the brand’s objective.
35. Most Effective Use – Launch / Re-Launch
Judges will be looking at the results and metrics from a campaign which helped to achieve the marketing objectives for a new launch / re-launch strategy. Entries should demonstrate how the launch / re-launch was executed via a launch marketing strategy, motive behind the campaign, and the results and insights gained from the deployed activity.
36. Most Effective Use – Marketing Automation
Judges are interested in initiatives that showcase how marketing automation has significantly improved efficiency, engagement, and ROI.
37. Most Effective Use – Mobile
Judges will be evaluating the effectiveness and results of mobile app marketing methods to complement a brand’s offline experience, drive e-commerce, engage customers or connect a brand with its loyal customers. Entries should demonstrate how the apps/mobile reached broader audiences, increased conversion rates and turned a profit from mobile marketing.
38. Most Effective Use – Omnichannel
Judges will be evaluating the effectiveness and results of the campaign. Entries should demonstrate how the use of omnichannel marketing increased conversion rates and helped meet campaign and business objectives.
39. Most Effective Use – Out-of-Home
Judges will be looking at how the campaign was executed and generated desired results that met a business or marketing communication objective. Entries should reflect how the use of OOH managed to increase reach and recall of a campaign and impact path-to-purchase.
40. Most Effective Use – Performance Marketing
Judges will be looking for campaigns that have demonstrated exceptional effectiveness in the realm of performance marketing.
41. Most Effective Use – Programmatic Marketing
Judges will be looking at how the use of audience data and technology to tailor the marketing campaign to the right person, at the right moment, in the right context; and how this generated the desired results that met a business or marketing communication objective. Entries should reflect how the use of programmatic managed to improve reach efficiency of a campaign.
42. Most Effective Use – Social Commerce
Judges will be looking for campaigns that have effectively leveraged social commerce to drive impressive business outcomes.
43. Most Effective Use – Social Media
Judges will be looking at how the innovative use of social media channels reaped results towards customer acquisition and engaged existing customers. Entries should illustrate the effectiveness of the execution through social media channels to activate or enhance a marketing strategy.
44. Most Effective Use – Specific Audience
Judges will be looking at the strategy behind the executed campaign and how the targeted audience responded to the campaign. Entries should illustrate how they managed to engage targeted audiences in prompting customer acquisition, awareness, or a desired consumer behaviour.
45. Most Effective Use – Video
Judges will be looking at the strategy and execution behind the use of videos as a platform to drive customer engagement. Entries should demonstrate how the brand gained success from the dissemination of said commercials and advertising and the resulting impact it left on audiences be it branding, a prompted consumer behaviour or simply increased consumption.
46. Most Effective Use – Zero-Party Data *NEW*
Judges will look for innovative methods of collecting and utilising zero-party data. Entries should demonstrate how this data was used to create personalised experiences, improve customer relationships, and achieve marketing goals.
Not for Entry Categories
47. Overall Creative Ideas MARKie
48. Overall Media Usage MARKie
This award is also not open for entry, and will be awarded to the agency that has performed best in the Media Usage segment at the MARKies awards. Using a points system (1 point for Bronze, 2 points for Silver, and 4 points for Gold) this award will go to the winner with the most points across all Media Usage categories at the end of the night.