ENTRIES OPEN FEB. 10

The 2026 Ad Age Small Agency Awards will honor small, independent agencies that are performing well in three important areas: Creating exceptional and effective work for clients, building a financially healthy business and cultivating a diverse and rewarding environment for employees.

We’re looking for ingenuity and nimbleness in a real-time marketing world as well as a versatility of work spanning digital, social, experiential, TV, print and more. We’re also seeking to reward shops that may be smaller in size (up to 150 employees) than big agencies, but have the smarts, the chops and the culture to compete against them—and win.

View the 2025 winners

Entries open soon

Deadline

Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at 5 p.m. EDT

Finalists will be notified in June, and winners will be announced at the Ad Age Small Agency Conference & Awards in July.

Questions? Visit our FAQs and important information sections. If your question isn't answered, please contact the Ad Age awards team.

PRICING & DEADLINE

Pricing

There is a tiered entry fee structure for the program.

Agency of the Year: 1-10 Employees
$375 per entry

Agency of the Year: 11-75 Employees
$425 per entry

Agency of the Year: 76-150 Employees
$500 per entry

All other categories
$425 per entry

Deadline

Entries open: Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026
Final deadline: Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at 5 p.m. EDT

There will be no extensions beyond the final deadline.

Please pay strict attention to all the entry requirements and category descriptions, as fees are non-refundable once entries are submitted.

SMALL AGENCY NETWORK

The Small Agency Network is an exclusive Ad Age community designed to connect founders, principals and senior leaders who want to grow their business, sharpen their skills and share ideas with peers who understand the unique challenges of running a small but mighty shop.

Winners of the 2026 Ad Age Small Agency Awards will receive a one-year complimentary membership for up to three (3) team members. Membership includes in-person meetups and virtual workshops; a monthly editors’ newsletter; a private WhatsApp group; and an Ad Age All Access subscription for one (1) year.

Learn more

God-is Rivera

Chief Strategy Officer

Burrell Communications

God-is Rivera

Chief Strategy Officer

Burrell Communications

God-is Rivera is Chief Strategy Officer for Burrell Communications Group. Throughout her trailblazing career as a marketing and strategy expert, God-is has served as a marketing executive at the global tech platform formerly known as Twitter for over 4 years culminating in 2022, where she drove strategy to make sure that campaigns and programs were connective, inclusive and reflective of the diverse communities Twitter served. Prior to joining Twitter in 2018, God-is was Director, Inclusion & Cultural Resonance for VMLY&R. Earlier, she held lead channel strategy roles at VMLY&R, global agency iCrossing, and Austin-based T3. God-is has been profiled in digital trade publications Adweek, Ad Age, Marie Claire, Forbes, Digiday, Fortune, Campaign US, and The Drum. She was named an Ad Age “Woman to Watch” and Adweek “Disruptor”, listed as #28 on the Root 100 Most Influential African-Americans list, BET’s Top 100 Most Innovative and Influential Business Executives, and by Fortune Magazine on their esteemed 40 Under 40 list of influential people, and in 2023 she was recognized by ColorComm as one of the most influential 28 Black Women in Communications. Also in 2023 she was also recognized by her hometown, the Bronx Tourism Council, and was inducted in the Bronx Walk of Fame for excellence in the field of marketing. In November of 2023 God-is also was chosen to be inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s esteemed AAF Hall of Achievement Class of 2023, a prestigious honor representing an impactful and innovative career in marketing, advertising, and/or media. In October of 2022 God-is joined The Walt Disney Co. as their first VP, Inclusive Marketing across all Disney streaming platforms. In June of 2023, God-is joined Essence Ventures as their first-ever Chief Content Officer. Leading content strategy and connection with intersectional global audiences across all Essence Ventures brands including; ESSENCE Communications Inc, AFROPUNK, Beautycon and ESSENCE Studios. In 2024 she focused her work as an independent executive consultant with her consulting firm God-is Rivera Consulting, LLC for top global brands and organizations around the world. God-is is also a highly sought after keynote speaker and moderator who has spoken for several brands like Netflix and Spotify, and at international events such as The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, The Cannes Lion Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France, CES in Las Vegas, NV, and Brandweek in Palm Springs, CA among many more. God-is resides in the greater New York City area with her husband and daughter.

Andrés Ordóñez

Global Chief Creative Officer

FCB

Andrés Ordóñez

Global Chief Creative Officer

FCB

A Bogotá, Colombia native with a depth of global experience, Andrés is one of the most decorated creatives in the advertising industry, with 20+ years of experience dedicated to crafting compelling narratives for some of the world’s most renowned brands. He was named Global CCO in 2024. As a member of FCB’s Global Leadership Team, Andrés is responsible for supporting FCB’s all-star creative leadership community, keeping creative teams connected and sharing ideas across all internal boundaries to deliver the Timeless and Timely work at the local, regional and global levels clients have come to expect from FCB. Andrés moved up to the global role after a successful four-year tenure as CCO for FCB Chicago, where he was a major driver behind the agency’s growth, helping to win the largest new business review of 2023 – lead creative partner for Pfizer – and generating huge organic growth with Chicago’s long-standing clients, such as The Clorox Company. Since joining FCB Chicago in 2019, Andrés has collaborated on notable creative campaigns such as “Contract for Change” for Michelob ULTRA, “Banned Book Club” for The Digital Public Library of America, “Adopt-a-Stray” for Fresh Step, “HVR X HVR” for Hidden Valley Ranch, and “Boards of Change” for the City of Chicago. Throughout his career, Andrés has collected hundreds of industry accolades, including Cannes Lions (two Titanium, four Grands Prix), Effies, D&AD, One Show Pencils, ADC, Clios and many more. He has been ranked as one of the top creative minds in the business by Adweek, Campaign, Cannes Lions, The One Show and The Drum, among others. Andrés grew up surrounded by advertising — in Bogota, his mother was an advertising model and his father ran an agency. After attending the Miami Ad School, he started his career at BBDO Puerto Rico, then moved to Zubi Miami and Bravo before landing at Energy BBDO. Before joining FCB, he worked with a diverse list of the world’s most iconic brands, including Pfizer, MARS/Wrigley, Danone, Ford, Pepsi and Walmart. It’s this upbringing that shaped Andrés’ guiding philosophy. A firm believer in empowering his team at every step in their careers, Andrés urges them to challenge the status quo and extend their vision beyond conventional limits and borders. His motto is: “Follow the work, and the rest will come. Everyone should feel part of this process and take ownership of the journey.” Outside the agency, Andrés finds great joy in running, traveling the world, and spending quality time exploring his hometown in Chicago with his wife, two daughters and beloved Goldendoodle, Frappu, dedicating the same Never Finished energy to these passions as he does to his creative work.

FAQs

All kinds, as long as they meet the size and ownership requirements. After many discussions with the small agency community about what constitutes a “not big” shop, we established awards in three size categories: 1-10 staffers, 11-75 staffers, and 76-150 staffers. All disciplines are welcome, including full-service ad agencies as well as design, digital, direct, media, mobile and promo agencies, or combinations thereof.

Entrants must be majority independently owned, or in other words, at minimum 51% privately held. Agencies that are not eligible are those that are either majority or fully backed by a holding company (by this we mean firms like WPP, Omnicom Group, Publicis Groupe, Interpublic Group of Cos., Havas, Aegis or MDC Partners) or other firms, such as a publisher, marketer, etc.

Yes, international agencies are eligible to enter many of our categories. In the past, international agencies were only able to enter our International Agency of the Year category. Categories including Experiential, Media and Newcomer Agency of the Year, all campaign categories, Executive of the Year and our Agency Culture category are now open to international entrants. Please note that all submissions should be written in English.

The deadline for all entries is April 15, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET.

All kinds, including TV spots and campaigns, experiential, web videos, branded content, design (product, package, graphic, motion, experience, retail, etc.), websites, games, apps, social media, and other stuff that’s harder to define: new distribution ideas, new ways to engage a community, etc.

We ask that you enter only bona fide work for a real client of your agency that was actually produced and/or ran in a media environment. Please do not enter work that was created only to run in award shows. If judges raise any flags, we will be following up and we’ll disqualify bogus work (e.g. work not approved by a client, work done for a client you don’t have, ads that were run once, at 3 a.m. in Bend, Oregon, so they would be eligible to enter in Cannes, etc.). Campaigns should have run between Jan. 1, 2025, and March 1, 2026.

Yes! We will award in the following people categories: Executive of the Year, Account Manager of the Year, Agency Producer of the Year, Creative of the Year, Media Planner of the Year, Strategic Planner of the Year.

There is a tiered entry fee structure for the program.

Agency of the Year, 1-10 Employees: $375 per entry
Agency of the Year, 11-75 Employees: $425 per entry
Agency of the Year, 76-150 Employees: $500 per entry
All other categories are $425 per entry.

Any entries submitted after the final deadline of April 15, 2026 will automatically incur a processing fee of $200 per entry.

All entries must be submitted and paid by credit card online at AdAge.com/smallagencyawards. Please contact awards@adage.com if you experience any issues submitting payment.

Unfortunately, once you have submitted your entry, you will not be able to log in to edit the form in any way. If there is factual information that is incorrect, please contact the awards team to request a change.

Please note changes cannot be made once the final deadline has passed and judging has started.

Finalists will be notified in June, and winners will be announced at the Ad Age Small Agency Conference & Awards in July.

The event will take place in July; please check AdAge.com/events-awards for updates.

The Ad Age Small Agency Network is a dedicated group for leaders of independent, small agencies. The goal is to connect likeminded folks and serve as a hub for exchanging practical insights on operations, client growth, creative leadership, talent retention, DEI, AI adoption and more. More information can be found here; reach out to smallagencynetwork@adage.com.

Our awards team is here to help with any technical issues you might experience. Please contact awards@adage.com.

Your account on AdAge.com is separate from the account used for the Small Agency Awards or any other Ad Age award programs. When you click "Enter now," be sure to register a new account—unless you've previously submitted to our awards and already have one. If you’re still having trouble logging in, please email us at awards@adage.com.

IMPORTANT INFO

Eligibility

Entry is open to agencies in three size categories:

• 1-10 people
• 11-75 people
• 76- 150 people

All agencies of all marketing disciplines are eligible to enter. Entrants must be majority-independent owned, or in other words, at minimum, 51% privately-held. Agencies who are not eligible are those who are either majority or fully-backed by a holding company (by this we mean firms like WPP, Omnicom Group, Publicis Groupe, Interpublic Group of Cos., Havas, Aegis or MDC Partners) or other firms, such as a publisher, marketer, etc.

Dates for submitted work

When discussing revenue/growth for the Small Agency of the Year award you should refer to 2025 financials and staff headcounts, giving as much guidance as possible for 2026 business. As far as submitting examples of work, all work must have debuted and run between Jan. 1, 2025, and March 1, 2026 to be eligible.

Entry info

All information included should be publishable by the time the awards break in July 2026. Any information noted as “not for public” or “off the record” cannot factor into the juries’ evaluation.

Entries should accurately represent real, legitimately created work. Exaggerated results, inaccurate financials, misleading or fabricated case studies or speculative work presented as real may be subject to disqualification. Ad Age may request verification at any point in the process.

If during the review process the judges feel your entry is better suited to another category and would like to award you in that category, the judges have the right to move your entry. Please note that all awards are based on the quality of the entries received each year. If the judges feel there isn’t a fitting entry within a specific category, they have the right to not award that category.

AI disclosure

Entrants are required to disclose whether artificial intelligence (AI) was used to help prepare the submission itself—including writing, editing or generating any part of the written entry, case study video, mockups or supporting materials. This disclosure applies to the submission materials only and does not refer to AI used in the work or campaigns entered. The disclosure is intended to provide transparency around how submission materials were created and presented.

Final deadline

April 15, 2026, at 5 p.m. EDT

Small Agency Awards judging criteria and entry instructions:

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ENTRIES OPEN FEB. 10

Deadline

PRICING & DEADLINE

Pricing

Deadline

CATEGORIES

Small Agency Awards judging criteria and entry instructions:

CONFERENCE & AWARDS

SMALL AGENCY NETWORK

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JUDGES

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FAQs

IMPORTANT INFO

Eligibility

Dates for submitted work

Entry info

AI disclosure

Final deadline

Small Agency Awards judging criteria and entry instructions:

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CONTACT US

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AWARDS

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ENTRIES OPEN FEB. 10

Deadline

PRICING & DEADLINE

Pricing

Deadline

CATEGORIES

Small Agency Awards judging criteria and entry instructions:

CONFERENCE & AWARDS

SMALL AGENCY NETWORK

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JUDGES

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Guto Araki

Guto Araki

CEO and Co-Founder, Fellow Kids and Founder, Biite

Fellow Kids and Biite

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Nedal Ahmed

Nedal Ahmed

Executive Creative Director

Uncommon Creative Studio

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Avinash Baliga

Avinash Baliga

Chief Creative Officer

Tombras

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Mary Lou Bunn

Mary Lou Bunn

CEO and Founder

Flower Shop

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God-is Rivera

God-is Rivera

Chief Strategy Officer

Burrell Communications

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Shruti Dang

Shruti Dang

Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder

Dang

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Kelsey Hodgkin

Kelsey Hodgkin

CEO and Partner

Special U.S.

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Bill Imada

Bill Imada

Founder, Chairman and Chief Connectivity Officer

IW Group

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Nick Law

Nick Law

Creative Chairperson

Accenture Song

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Tara Lawall

Tara Lawall

Chief Creative Officer and Partner

Rethink New York

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Colleen Leddy

Colleen Leddy

Most recently Partner and Chief Strategy Officer

Quality Experience

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Andrés Ordóñez

Andrés Ordóñez

Global Chief Creative Officer

FCB

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Jonathan Santana

Jonathan Santana

Chief Creative Officer

Johannes Leonardo