This award recognises the best event for acquiring and retaining audiences through creative and innovative ideas that grabbed their attention, improved interaction, and increased engagement.

Judges will be looking for new concepts and initiatives that promoted creative ideas and different ways of engagement for retaining audiences, reducing churn, as well as acquiring new audience pools. Entrants should demonstrate significant audience growth in the event.

This award recognises events that exhibited truly creative and innovative or unique content. Judges will be looking at how the creative content was infused throughout the event, and evidence that it had a positive and tangible effect on the audience’s perception and experience of the event.

The element can be any concept, including, but not limited to, unique ideas, unique themes, unique uses of technology, unique activations, unique use of influencers or novel forms of audience engagement (AR/VR, etc).

This award recognises the event that achieved exceptional audience immersion and participation, turning attendees into active participants and advocates. Judges will evaluate the ingenuity and effectiveness of the engagement mechanics – from technology and gamification to live interactions and environmental design.

The winning entry must demonstrate how these elements worked in concert to create a dynamic and memorable experience that not only held the audience’s attention, but also successfully translated that engagement into measurable brand lift and commercial outcomes.

This award recognises the most seamlessly executed event in the arts, leisure, and entertainment fields. This can include theatre events, gallery exhibitions, music concerts, local festivals, film festivals, artistic competitions, and more. Judges will be looking for high levels of creativity as well as an effective and seamless execution of the event to obtain the brand’s objectives.

This award honours the strategic event that most effectively aligned brand purpose with meaningful societal impact. It recognises campaigns that moved beyond philanthropy to create immersive experiences that addressed core social, environmental or economic issues.

Judges will evaluate the depth of the strategic integration, the creativity of the activation, and the rigour of the execution, with a focus on how the event mobilised stakeholders, amplified a cause, and delivered a measurable and positive change. The winning entry should demonstrate a clear link between the experiential design of the event and the achievement of tangible and sustainable outcomes for both the community and the brand.

This award recognises the most creative and engaging event with outstanding production values, concepts, and execution. Lighting, music, A/V, staging, animation and graphics will all be taken into consideration. Judges will be looking at how the themes, designs, entertainment, catering, lighting and innovation were combined, and how the event transitioned from a smart strategic insight into a compelling brand experience.

This award recognises the most outstanding events in the financial and insurance sectors that effectively showcased innovation, expertise, and excellence. The event should have engaged attendees, provided valuable insights, and facilitated networking opportunities within these specialised industries. Judges will evaluate the exceptional creativity, strategic planning, and the event’s significant impact on engaging the audience and obtaining the brand’s objectives.

This award recognises the most creative event experience that took the audience inside a brand or product through promoting health, wellness, and fitness activities. This category encompasses any initiative – from ongoing tournaments to one-off special events – designed to enhance social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, occupational, intellectual or physical wellbeing. Judges will be looking for high levels of creativity as well as an effective and seamless execution of the event that reached the brand’s objectives.

This award honours the event that most powerfully championed a public cause, elevated awareness of a critical issue or transformed public attitudes and understanding. Judges will be looking for evidence of how the event was planned, executed, and the effectiveness in shifting public perception, sparking dialogue, and inspiring measurable changes in behaviour or support. The winning campaign will serve as a benchmark for how live experiences can mobilise communities and drive tangible progress on issues that matter.

This award recognises the best retail event that creatively engaged shoppers through activities or programmes. Judges will be looking for high levels of creativity, excellence in design and execution, and the meeting of marketing objectives. Entries should also provide relevant and tangible evidence to demonstrate the purpose, reach, and results of the event.

This award recognises the event that most effectively engaged, celebrated or mobilised a distinct community or audience segment. Judges will evaluate the strategic insights behind the targeting, the cultural authenticity and relevance of the event execution, and its measurable success in fostering meaningful connections, driving positive action or inspiring a tangible shift in community behaviour or sentiment.

The winning entry should demonstrate a deep understanding of its audience and serve as a model for purposeful and community-centric experiential marketing.

This award honours the creative ideas and technical execution of an event. It celebrates those who have transformed a concept into a fully realised, sensory spectacle, where ambition meets flawless delivery. Judges will assess the artistic coherence, innovation, and precision of every production element such as environmental design, lighting, and soundscapes to staging, ticketing/registration journey, and technical integration.

The winning entry should demonstrate how the research and insights were translated into an extraordinary physical or hybrid environment which created an unforgettable experience defined by its operational excellence and creative audacity.

This award honours excellence in the strategic design and seamless execution of exhibition experiences – from trade shows and public festivals to curated brand pavilions. Events with multiple exhibitors, including trade, retail, arts and culture, as well as single brand exhibitions, are all eligible for entry. Judges will evaluate the level of innovation in the presentation and display, and the audience feedback

This award recognises the most innovative event experience designed to foster a personal interaction and memorable connection with customers, and which took the audience inside a brand or product. Entries should demonstrate how the event engaged attendees in a customised environment or space. Judges will be looking for high levels of creativity, a seamless execution, and the results of the experience.

This award recognises events that have creatively celebrated festive occasions such as Christmas and music festivals, wine and dine events, and delivered exceptional experiences that resonated with attendees. The event should have embodied the spirit of the celebration while enhancing brand engagement and fostering community involvement. Judges will look for creativity, audience engagement, and how well the event captured the essence of the festive theme while achieving key marketing objectives.

This award honours the event that most completely dissolved the boundary between audience and brand by leveraging technology, environment, and a narrative to create a fully absorbing, multi-sensory world. It recognises experiences where every detail was orchestrated to emotionally and physically place the attendee at the heart of the brand story. Judges will evaluate the depth of the immersion, the innovation of the interactive formats, and the cohesive alignment between the brand’s core values and the participant’s curated journey.

This award honours the event that most effectively orchestrated a seamless, multi-channel ecosystem, blending physical and digital touchpoints to amplify both promotion and the live experience. Judges will be looking for a seamless integration with the event’s objectives and branding, and how the campaign drove traffic, generated leads, identified prospects, and garnered more participation compared with the competition.

The winning entry should demonstrate a unified brand narrative in two or more channels and provide clear metrics on how this integration drove measurable outcomes.

This award honours the event that served as the definitive, experiential catalyst for introducing a new product, service or brand identity. It recognises the strategic role of a live experience in making an abstract launch tangible, while forging immediate emotional connections, and embedding a consistent narrative with key audiences.

Judges will evaluate how the event’s creative concept and execution translated core brand messages into an immersive, shareable reality, effectively engaging the target market and driving measurable success against launch-specific objectives such as awareness, perception shift, and early adoption.

This award honours the most creative and effective brand activation within the dynamic environment of a shopping mall or retail centre. It celebrates events that successfully captivated a transient audience of shoppers, and turned casual footfall into engaged participation.

Judges will evaluate the innovation of the concept, the excellence of its spatial design, the execution within the logistical constraints, and its tangible success in achieving specific marketing outcomes such as driving dwell time, boosting brand trials or generating direct sales. The winning entry should provide clear evidence of the event’s strategic purpose, its measurable reach and engagement, and its commercial or brand impact on the retail floor.

This award honours the boldest and most creatively ambitious events that mastered the unique challenges and opportunities of an outdoor setting. From festivals and cultural fairs to brand carnivals, it celebrates those who transformed open spaces into destinations of wonder and connection.

Judges will evaluate the innovative use of the environment, the scale of audience engagement and spectacle, and the effectiveness in delivering powerful exposure and value for partner brands. The winning entry should demonstrate how it captivated a large-scale public audience, created a defining sense of place, and achieved outstanding reach and impact under an open sky.

This category recognises the most creative use of pop-up marketing, including stores, stands, road shows, flash mobs or anything else that was temporary and time-sensitive. It celebrates mastery in using scarcity and spectacle to cut through the noise, generate intense buzz, and convert curiosity into measurable action.

Judges will evaluate the originality of the concept, the ingenuity of its spatial design, and the flawless orchestration of a short-term experience with a long-term impact. The winning entry should demonstrate clear success in driving immediate sales, amplifying brand awareness, and creating powerful shareable moments that resonated well beyond the pop-up’s lifespan.

This award honours the event that best realised the strategic potential of a brand partnership or sponsorship, creating a greater impact than either party could have achieved alone. Judges will evaluate the depth of the collaboration, the seamless integration of the sponsor identity within the event experience, and the strategic alignment of the shared objectives.

The winning entry should demonstrate tangible results from the brand uplift and audience engagement and the commercial return that validated the partnership’s success which set a benchmark for value creation through the strategic alliance.

This award recognises the best event in captivating audiences with a compelling and immersive storytelling experience. Entries should showcase the exceptional creativity and craftsmanship in presenting the brand’s narrative, and how it engaged the audience through memorable and impactful storytelling techniques. Judges will be looking at how effectively the event brought a brand’s story or historical narrative to life, and how it left a lasting impression on attendees.

This award seeks out the most effective strategies in recruiting and utilising advocates and influencers/ KOLs (including experts, ambassadors, bloggers, celebrities, etc) for an event. Judges will be looking at not only how the influencers were recruited, but how closely the influencer(s) related to the theme or style of the event and how well they enhanced awareness and engagement from the target audience.

This award honours exceptional event planning and execution that leveraged an integrated, multi-channel strategy to create a truly comprehensive and immersive attendee journey. It celebrates events that seamlessly connected physical and digital touchpoints – from social media and email to in-person activations, forging a unified OMO (online-merge-offline) ecosystem.

Judges will evaluate the strategic creativity behind this phygital approach and its effectiveness in deepening engagement, extending reach, and delivering a cohesive and memorable experience that captivated audiences across every platform.

This award celebrates events that harnessed the power of social platforms not just for promotion, but to create dynamic two-way conversations that drove real-time engagement and community participation.

Judges will evaluate the strategic creativity behind the social media approach – from pre-event buzz and live activation to post-event amplification – and its measurable success in expanding reach, deepening attendee involvement, and turning online interactions into an integral part of the event experience. The winning entry should demonstrate how the social channels were used to extend the event’s impact far beyond the physical or digital venue.

This award honours events that have pioneered the strategic integration of cutting-edge technology to achieve a distinct competitive advantage and measurable outcomes. Judges will evaluate how innovations such as AI, immersive environments, seamless apps or data-driven platforms were used not merely as features, but as core drivers to enhance promotions, boost registrations, elevate the user experience, and foster meaningful networking.

The winning entry should demonstrate a clear link between the brand’s technological execution and the successful achievement of its core event and its objectives.

This award honours the most innovative and strategic transformation of a space, where the venue itself became an essential character in the event narrative. It celebrates creative concepts that reimagined both large-scale and intimate spaces through layout, activation zones, and environmental design to fully immerse the audience and amplify the brand or theme.

Judges will evaluate how the venue choice and its innovative utilisation directly enhanced audience engagement, supported storytelling, and showcased out-of-the-box executions, proving the right space used creatively is a powerful experiential tool.

This title is not open for direct entry, and is based solely on performance across all categories. It recognises the agency with the most successful performance at the Marketing Events Awards, based solely on the number and type of awards won as determined by the awards jury.

Points System:

• Gold: 4 points
• Silver: 2 points
• Bronze: 1 point

Points allocation for multiple agencies

Lead agency: When multiple agencies collaborate on a winning entry and a lead agency is identified, the lead agency receives full points towards the overall awards. Non-lead agencies on that entry will each receive 25% of the points respectively.

Joint submission: If two agencies declare an equal partnership on a winning entry, each agency receives 50% of the points towards the overall awards.

Tie-breakers:
Most gold: If total points are tied, the agency with the highest number of gold awards wins.
Most silver: If gold awards are also tied, the agency with the highest number of silver awards wins.
Highest average score: If a tie still persists, the agency with the highest average score percentage (as assigned by the judges across all their winning entries) will win.

This title is not open for direct entry and is based solely on performance across all categories. It recognises the brand with the most successful performance at the Marketing Events Awards, based solely on the number and type of awards won as determined by the awards jury.

Points System:

• Gold: 4 points
• Silver: 2 points
• Bronze: 1 point

Tie-breakers:
Most gold: If total points are tied, the brand with the highest number of gold awards wins.
Most silver: If gold awards are also tied, the brand with the highest number of silver awards wins.
Highest average score: If a tie still persists, the brand with the highest average score percentage (as assigned by the judges across all their winning entries) will win.