WINNING AGENCIES WIN CLIENTS

FIRST ENTRY DEADLINE: THURSDAY 20 AUGUST


Great work is born from great agencies. While other industry awards celebrate a single standout campaign or a one-off creative spark, the Campaign Agency of the Year UK Awards look at the bigger picture: the whole business.

We assess the entire UK agency landscape to honour the businesses, teams, and leaders excelling in everything that matters. We judge the complete package: overall business growth, commercial performance, leadership, progressive workplace culture, client relationships, and wider industry contribution over the past 12 months.

If you want to boost morale, put your work in front of future clients and gain the ultimate pitch winner, get your entries ready!

KEY INFORMATION


DATES

First entry deadline: Thursday 20 August

Second entry deadline: Thursday 15 October

Final entry deadline: Thursday 10 December

PRICES

First entry price: £679 (+VAT)

Second entry price: £819 (+VAT)

Final entry price: £889 (+VAT)

OUR 2026 CHAIR OF JUDGES



Monica Silic

CMO, KFC UK&I

"There's something about UK agencies. Whatever the discipline, the work they produce stands up against the best anywhere, and often sets the pace. I feel lucky to do what I do, and luckier still to be chairing these awards this year. What I'm really looking forward to is celebrating the distinctiveness, the courage and the sheer quality of the work, and shining a light on the talent coming up behind it."





WHAT ARE THE JUDGES LOOKING FOR IN YOUR ENTRIES?

Client & The Work

Outline notable projects worked on within the last 12 months and provide a summary of major client relationships.

Business Performance

Provide details of new business wins, successful strategies for organic growth, and processes taken to achieve business development goals.

Leadership

Describe your company culture, examples of thought-leadership and how your business is playing a positive role in the advancement and reputation of the industry.

Talent

Outline your approach to talent recruitment and employee career progression including initiatives in place to encourage under-represented groups, as well as evidence of improved staff retention and the diversity of your staff. 


NEW: Workplace Culture

Describe how your agency’s environment and policies support employee well-being and contribute to a high-performance culture, citing specific examples of their impact.

2026 CATEGORIES


AGENCY

BRANDING AGENCY

This award recognises the best agencies specialising in creating, launching and repositioning brands.

BRAND EXPERIENCE AGENCY

This award recognises the best agency specialising in providing experiential marketing solutions.

CREATIVE AGENCY

This category recognises the most creative advertising agencies.

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT AGENCY

This award recognises agencies specialising in tailored creative solutions designed to prompt individuals, groups of individuals or customers into action.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AGENCY

This award recognises agencies specialising in providing the best digital solutions.

INDEPENDENT PR AGENCY

Open to independent PR agencies and agencies that are not majority owned by a holding company or network (less than 49%).

INDEPENDENT MEDIA AGENCY

Open to independent media agencies and agencies that are not majority owned by a holding company or network (less than 49%).

INDEPENDENT CREATIVE AGENCY

Open to independent creative agencies and agencies that are not majority owned by a holding company or network (less than 49%).

INFLUENCER AGENCY

This award recognises the best agencies specialising in developing and executing influencer marketing campaigns. Judges will be looking for agencies that demonstrate measurable results for clients, whether in engagement or brand awareness or other metrics. 

IN-HOUSE AGENCY

This category is open to in-house agencies that are part of brands’ businesses. This category is not looking to reward external agencies that physically (or virtually) work inside their clients’ offices, but instead recognise agencies within a brand’s company. 

INTEGRATED MARKETING AGENCY

This award recognises the best agencies specialising in providing the best integrated marketing and branding solutions.

MEDIA AGENCY

This award recognises the very best agencies specialising in media, including but not limited to planning and buying.

PERFORMANCE MARKETING AGENCY

This award celebrates companies that best demonstrate a consistent ability to drive sales for clients, whether by translating consumer intentions into revenue for clients or delivering ROI-based campaign activity.

PR AGENCY

This category recognises the achievements, performance and excellent work of PR consultancies in the UK.

PRODUCTION AGENCY

This award recognises the best companies producing and executing high-quality content, entertainment and advertising for brands and their agencies, whether through film, video, digital, experiential or other media. 

START-UP AGENCY

Open to agencies that are within their first two years of operation. All disciplines are welcome.

SOCIAL MEDIA AGENCY

This award recognises the best agencies specialising in delivering social media solutions for brands. The judges will be looking for innovative use of social platforms and effective engagement strategies in the social space.

PEOPLE & TEAMS

ACCOUNT PERSON

This award recognises professionals responsible for account management who have displayed the most innovation, skills and enthusiasm in bringing the benefits of advertising to their clients’ businesses, resulting in the development of solid business relationships.

AGENCY PRODUCER

This award recognises agency producers who have displayed the most innovation, skills and enthusiasm when delivering agencies’ campaigns. 


CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS/MARKETING TEAM

Open to the communications or marketing team within the agency, this award recognises success in addressing issues related to corporate communications, reputation, brand building, corporate campaign execution, and media relations.

CREATIVE LEADER

The award recognises creative directors working (largely) from the UK who have overseen the best work during the review period. The winner will have not only set the standard for creative excellence but also raised the bar for innovation and disruptive big ideas.

HEAD OF AGENCY - CREATIVE/ADVERTISING

HEAD OF AGENCY - DIGITAL

HEAD OF AGENCY - INTEGRATED MARKETING

HEAD OF AGENCY - MEDIA

HEAD OF AGENCY - PR

MEDIA PLANNING LEADER

This award is for the media planning and media strategy leaders who have made the most significant impact on their clients’ marketing and business results through the creative use of media during the review period. This person will be responsible for spearheading the agency’s planning and strategy efforts more broadly, even if they do not formally run a separate department.

NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAM/PERSON

This award is for the new business development person/team who has proven to have built and developed a new account or expanded the services of an established client relationship.

STRATEGIC LEADER

This award is for the account planning leaders who have made the biggest impact on their clients’ business through development of breakthrough consumer, brand and communications strategies. This person will be responsible for fostering a culture of innovation within their strategy department. 

STRATEGIST

This award will celebrate a planner/strategist who has helped to deliver the best results for their clients through insightful, original and evidence-based thinking. The winner of this award might focus on one brand, or work across a number of brands, but is a day-to-day practitioner, spending the majority of their time on client business, rather than departmental management. 

TALENT MANAGEMENT TEAM OR PERSON

This award recognises the talent management professional or team who has most effectively aligned the network’s people strategies with business outcomes during the review period.

HEAR FROM CAMPAIGN'S UK EDITOR



"The UK Agency of the Year Awards provide a definitive assessment of the UK agency landscape, celebrating the agencies and individuals who outperformed their peers across the year.

The marketer judges assess the achievements of agencies and their star performers against an expansive set of criteria – from the quality of the work delivered through to their contribution to the industry. The scheme offers agencies a fantastic opportunity to gain recognition from some of the country's leading marketers, and I look forward to celebrating the winners in March 2026."

Maisie McCabe

2025 HIGHLIGHTS




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