What do I need to begin?

See the submission questions before you enter:

Agency of the Year Submission Questions

Campaign of the Year Submission Questions

Agency Culture Submission Questions

Before you begin the entry process gather the necessary information and campaign samples. You will need to provide:

Agency Name

Agency Size (number of employees)

Agency Revenue (last year's revenue and this year's projected revenue)

Contact Information (address, emails, etc.)

For campaign samples you will need to provide:

Campaign description (500 words max)

Campaign files (images, video, audio, PDF, PPT, DOC, XLS) Files cannot exceed 75MB.

Gathering all of the entry information and sample files ahead of time will ensure a smooth contest entry.

What kinds of agencies are eligible for the Small Agency Awards?

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 or 76-150 staffers. All disciplines are welcome and have entered previously: those include full service ad agencies, digital agencies, media agencies, promo, direct, mobile, design agencies, or combinations thereof.

Do I need to be independent?

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 firm, such as a publisher, marketer, etc.

What kind of work is eligible?

All kinds! TV spots and campaigns, web videos, branded content, design (product, package, graphic, motion, experience, retail, etc), web sites, games, apps, social media, and other stuff that's harder to define new distribution ideas, new ways of engaging a community, etc. We ask that you only enter bona fide work for a real client of your agency that actually ran in some media environment. Please do not enter work that was only created 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, 2016 and March 1, 2017.

Are PSAs eligible?

Yes! In fact, we have a special category just for Pro Bono work.

Are B-to-B campaigns eligible?

Yes! We also have a special category just for B-to-B work. And if you feel it’s good enough to take all comers (and it’s integrated), you can enter it in the Campaign of the Year: Integrated category as well.

How much is it to enter?*

Entry fees are as follows

•             1-10 Employees: $250

•             11-75 Employees: $295

•             76-150: $350

•             Campaign of the Year: $295

•             Digital Campaign of the Year: $295

•             B-to-B Campaign of the Year: $250

•             Pro-Bono Campaign of the Year: $250

•             Best Agency Culture: $250

An entry fee must be paid for each entry. In other words, one entry fee must be paid for Agency of the Year submission (all agencies submitting for Agency of the Year will be considered for regional awards and size categories). A separate entry fee must be paid for Campaign of the Year, Digital Campaign of the Year, B-to-B Campaign of the Year, Pro Bono Campaign of the Year and Best Culture entries (one fee for each campaign entered).

How many awards will be given out?*

We'll award gold and silver in the following categories: Agency of the Year Overall; Campaign of the Year (Integrated); Campaign of the Year (Digital, B-to-B, ProBono), Agency of the Year in the three size categories; and Best Agency Culture. We'll also tap regional winners (Southeast, Southwest, Midwest, West, Northwest and Northeast) and an international winner. Ad Age reserves the right to withhold or add awards as the quality of submissions dictates.

How will the entries be judged?

All Campaign of the Year entries will be judged by a panel of ad agency professionals as well as Ad Age staff. Agency of the Year and Best Agency Culture honors will be determined by editorial staff from Ad Age and Creativity.

Can I enter the competition in more than one category?

Yes. For Campaign of the Year entries, an entry fee must be paid for each entry.

Note that for regional and size-category awards, all you have to do is enter for Small Agency of the Year category. You will automatically be considered for size and regional honors based on the information you supply in your entry (and at no extra costs).

Can I enter multiple campaigns in the campaign of the year category?

Yes. For Campaign of the Year entries, an entry fee must be paid for each entry.

How should I submit my work and information?

All work for the contest must be submitted via the Small Agency Awards website. We will NOT be accepting entries submitted via email or via company microsites or blogs. For a complete list of rules and regulations, go here. 

 

Questions? Email adagesmallagencyawards@crain.com