How to enter

(it's simple, honest)

Shortlists Announced In

Day(s)

Hour(s)

Minute(s)

Second(s)

No faff. No fees. No gatekeeping.

Just a chance to shout about great work and even greater people.

Whether you’re putting yourself forward or shining a light on someone else, entering the East Anglian Marketing Awards is simple – and free. Here’s how it works:

Nominate

Wait

Celebrate

Dates For Your Diary



04.03.26

Nominations Open



06.05.26

Nominations Close



01.07.26

Shortlists Announced



05.08.26

Finalists Announced



11.09.26

Celebration Event

Nominate

Pick your category, tell us what makes your entry stand out, and hit submit. It’s all done online, and you’ve got until the deadline date to get it in. No exceptions.

Wait

Then, judging begins. Our panel of industry experts will carefully review every entry. No box-ticking or buzzword-hunting – just thoughtful judging with fresh eyes and real curiosity. The nominees will be whittled down to a shortlist, before we’re left with our finalists.

Celebrate

Winners will be revealed at our live awards night – a big, brilliant celebration of East Anglia’s marketing talent. Think good vibes, great people, and zero pretence.

With thanks to our 2026 sponsors

The Nomination Form

Nominating someone? Excellent choice.
Our form is split into three simple stages – designed to help you tell their story (or yours) in the best possible way. So, take your time, be honest, and don’t be afraid to show some love. We’re not looking for perfection – we’re looking for impact.

Before we dive into the nominee’s brilliance, we need to know a bit about you. Who are you, and how do you know the person you’re nominating?

We’ll ask you to give us your email address and the email address of the nominee – these will only be used for transactional communications about the awards.

Now it’s time to introduce the star of the show. This section is all about them – who they are, what they do, and why they deserve to be on our radar.

You’ll be asked for their full name, preferred pronouns (check their LinkedIn or leave blank if unsure), where they currently work, what link they have to East Anglia, as well as the URL for their LinkedIn profile (if they have one).

Here’s your moment. Tell us everything that makes this nominee award-worthy. Don’t hold back – this is your one shot to show the judges why they truly deserve to win.

To achieve the top marks for your nomination, it’s key that you provide evidence for your claims. Think: can you find any analytics or testimonials to strengthen your entry?

Entry Guidance

Important things to note

Nominees must have a connection to East Anglia – either living, working, originating or having clients in the region. We will ask for the nominee’s link to East Anglia in the application form.

Nominations must reference recent achievements (past 12-18 months).

Anyone can nominate, but entries for certain categories may have more weight if coming from others. The nominator will remain anonymous, so self-nominations are encouraged to write in third-person to avoid detection.

Nominees won’t be informed who has nominated them, unless we cannot reach the nominee and need you to be a messenger, for whatever reason.

There is no limit to how many people you nominate, so please encourage your teams to do so.

The Judging Criteria

The judges will be presented with the shortlist of nominees and will mark each nomination out of 25.

There are 3 key questions in stage 3 of the nomination form, each of these hold equal weighting and will be marked out of 7 points.

Each nomination form offers the chance to add testimonials or additional evidence – there are 4 extra points that can awarded for these, based on the individual judge’s discretion.

The Individual Categories

In stage 3 of the nomination form, you have to justify the suitability of the nominee to the category.

Beneath each question will be a description explaining how many points are available, as well as the type of question, so that you know what the judges are looking for. Please find a breakdown of the different question types below:

For the Convincing Summary questions

Responses should offer a clear, persuasive summary linking the nominee to the category. Judges will score as follows:

1	Little effort has been made to showcase the nominee.
2	Mid-way between 1 and 3.
3	The summary is clear but not properly linked to the category brief.
4	Mid-way between 3 and 5.
5	The summary is clear and relates to the category brief, but is not convincing.
6	Mid-way between 5 and 7.
7	The summary is convincing and clearly argues why the nominee is a contender for the relevant category.

For the Example-Based questions

Responses should include clear, detailed, and evidenced examples linked to the category brief. Judges will score as follows:

1	The question has not been answered properly – there are elements left unaddressed or there is little relevance to the category brief.
2	Mid-way between 1 and 3.
3	Examples have been given, but there is little detail and no evidence.
4	Mid-way between 3 and 5.
5	Strong, detailed examples have been given, but not evidenced.
6	Mid-way between 5 and 7.
7	There are strong, evidenced examples that fully answer the question. It is clear how these examples relate to the category brief.

For the Impact-Based questions

By impact, we’re keen to hear how this individual has had an effect or influence on others – what have they done, who has it impacted, and how have they been impacted?

1	The impact has not been made clear.
2	Mid-way between 1 and 3.
3	The impact has been explained, but there is little detail and no evidence.
4	Mid-way between 3 and 5.
5	The impact has been explained clearly, but not evidenced.
6	Mid-way between 5 and 7.
7	The impact has been explained clearly with evidence that fully answers the question. It is evident how these examples relate to the category brief.

For the Noteworthy Story questions

Responses should tell a clear, compelling story that shows how the nominee stands out. Judges will score as follows:

1	A vague story has been explained but it’s unclear how it links to the category brief.
2	Mid-way between 1 and 3.
3	A story has been explained that links to the category brief.
4	Mid-way between 3 and 5.
5	A story has been explained that clearly demonstrates that the nominee stands out from the crowd.
6	Mid-way between 5 and 7.
7	An impressive story has been explained in a compelling way that clearly demonstrates that the nominee stands out from the crowd.

What does ‘evidence’ mean?

Firstly, don’t panic – you don’t necessarily need statistics or photographic proof to justify the claims in your nomination. (Although these are both good forms of evidence if you have them!).

‘Evidenced’ for us means that you have properly explained your claim.

So, rather than saying “Emily is a brilliant leader.“, you could instead say “Emily is a brilliant leader because she takes the time to tailor her approach to every person in her team. She started running team surveys in 2018 to discover more about the individuals and their management preferences.” etc.

The Work Categories

In stage 3 of the nomination form, you have to justify the suitability of the nominee to the category. Beneath each question will be a description explaining how many points are available, as well as the type of question so that you know what the judges are looking for. Please find a breakdown of the different question types below:

For the Strategic Clarity questions

Evaluates whether the entrant clearly explains the strategy behind the work. What judges want: A clear explanation of the strategic challenge, objectives, and thinking behind the work. Judges will score as follows:

1	Weak explanation, unclear strategy.
2	Mid-way between 1 and 3.
3	Clear description but minimal strategic insight.
4	Mid-way between 3 and 5.
5	Strong clarity, objectives are explained well.
6	Mid-way between 5 and 7.
7	Highly strategic, insightful, and clearly aligned to the category brief.

For the Evidence-Based questions

Evaluates the measurable impact of the work. What judges want: Data, KPIs, before/after evidence, measurable outcomes.

1	No results or unclear statements.
2	Mid-way between 1 and 3.
3	Some results, but vague or anecdotal.
4	Mid-way between 3 and 5.
5	Clear results but not evidenced.
6	Mid-way between 5 and 7.
7	Strong, evidenced results with metrics that prove success.

For the Creative Execution questions

Evaluates the craft, originality, and execution of the work. What judges want: A clear breakdown of the creative approach, innovation, and craft.

1	Minimal detail, unclear execution.
2	Mid-way between 1 and 3.
3	Execution explained but missing specifics.
4	Mid-way between 3 and 5.
5	Strong detail showing good creative craft.
6	Mid-way between 5 and 7.
7	Compelling explanation showing outstanding creativity + relevance to the category.

For the Implementation & Rollout questions

Evaluates how thoroughly and consistently the work was applied. What judges want: Clear evidence that the work was implemented across real-world touchpoints.

1	Little or no detail about implementation.
2	Mid-way between 1 and 3.
3	Some rollout info but unclear or incomplete.
4	Mid-way between 3 and 5.
5	Good detail on implementation.
6	Mid-way between 5 and 7.
7	Robust, well-evidenced rollout across multiple touchpoints.

For the Supporting Evidence Upload section

Allows judges to verify claims with real assets.

File types:

✓ brand guidelines

✓ visuals (before/after images)

✓ campaign materials

✓ videos

✓ PDFs / case studies

Scoring:

Primarily supports other scores – judges will expect evidence to be consistent with claims.

The Business Categories

For the Business Performance questions

Evaluates business growth, sustainability, and success. What judges want: High-level performance indicators such as revenue growth %, client retention, size of team, major wins.

1	No meaningful performance insight.
2	Mid-way between 1 and 3.
3	Some KPIs but vague.
4	Mid-way between 3 and 5.
5	Clear performance indicators.
6	Mid-way between 5 and 7.
7	Strong KPIs + well contextualised + clearly support excellence.

For the Operational Excellence questions

Evaluates the systems, processes, and structure that make the business strong. What judges want: Clear examples of strong internal operations such as workflow management, quality assurance, communication processes, and project delivery systems that demonstrate efficiency, consistency, and the ability to produce high-quality work at scale.

1	Minimal operational insight.
2	Mid-way between 1 and 3.
3	Some detail but unclear.
4	Mid-way between 3 and 5.
5	Good description of processes / systems.
6	Mid-way between 5 and 7.
7	Excellent, evidenced description showing a high-functioning business.

For the Culture & People questions

Evaluates how the organisation supports, trains, and retains people. What judges want: Evidence of meaningful investment in staff wellbeing, learning, development, progression, and inclusion. Strong examples of a positive culture, retention, internal initiatives, or people-first practices that show the organisation is committed to its team.

1	No clear cultural contribution.
2	Mid-way between 1 and 3.
3	Culture described but vague.
4	Mid-way between 3 and 5.
5	Clear examples of training/support.
6	Mid-way between 5 and 7.
7	Strong, evidenced examples of an excellent workplace culture.

For the Innovation & Leadership questions

Evaluates how the business leads, innovates, and impacts the wider industry. What judges want: Specific examples of innovation in process, technology, creative approach, or business model, alongside evidence of industry leadership such as thought leadership, knowledge-sharing, trend-setting, or pushing standards forward.

1	Minimal innovation or vague claims.
2	Mid-way between 1 and 3.
3	Some examples.
4	Mid-way between 3 and 5.
5	Clear examples of innovation.
6	Mid-way between 5 and 7.
7	Strong, specific, industry-leading innovation.

For the Client & Market questions

Evaluates influence on clients, the region, or the marketplace. What judges want: Clear, evidenced examples of measurable value delivered to clients, testimonials or outcomes showing strong results, and any wider impact on the regional marketing ecosystem through initiatives, partnerships, or community contribution.

1	No impact explained.
2	Mid-way between 1 and 3.
3	Impact explained vaguely.
4	Mid-way between 3 and 5.
5	Clear impact examples.
6	Mid-way between 5 and 7.
7	Strong impact supported by testimonials/evidence.

For the Supporting Evidence Upload section

Critical for business awards.

May include:
✓ case studies
✓ testimonials
✓ client retention stats
✓ new business wins
✓ awards
✓ performance dashboards
✓ culture survey results

Stuck?

Get in touch. We don’t bite.