Categories and Criteria

Media Owner Categories

1. Media Idea – Launch
This category is open to any media owner that has launched a new media campaign during the eligibility period. It should take into account the launches innovation, creativity, customer insight, awareness of the brand and its values throughout the campaign, the customer proposition and showcase the results of the campaign in both quantitative and qualitative form.

2. Media Idea – Large (over £1m)
3. Media Idea – Medium (£250k - £1m)
4. Media Idea – Small (under £250k)
The Media Idea can be of any length, it can be a continuous daily campaign or It can be created to work in bursts across the length of the campaign. To provide an accurate comparison across the board entrants are asked to enter taking into account the large, medium and small financial criteria.

5. Media Brand of the year
Judges will be looking for evidence of brand development over the previous 12 months, what the brand delivers to agencies and advertisers, success within the marketplace, influence on media practice. The initial entry should be no more than one side of A4.

6. Sales Team of the year
To enter this category, entrants must submit work into at least two other Media Owner categories. A shortlist will be reached in August, and a panel of judges will assess live presentations from all the competing teams.
Shortlisted companies will be asked to provide further documentation, detailing evidence of financial success, collaboration with agencies, innovation and an acknowledgement of advertiser needs, as well as the media owners' target audience. Further advice on entry criteria can be found on the Top Tips page. Initial entry can be up to 2 sides of A4.

Agency Categories

Judges will recognise the big ideas behind the great media campaigns across “bought”, “owned” and “earned” media.  They will be looking for how the central thought worked across the campaign, potentially with different creative executions and on different platforms. They will be seeking evidence of a command and understanding of the workings different media channels. Entrants will need to show that the idea met the brief and delivered real business impact.

7. Media Idea – Launch
This category is open to any agency that has launched a new media campaign during the eligibility period. It should take into account the launches innovation, creativity, customer insight, awareness of the brand and its values throughout the campaign, the customer proposition and showcase the results of the campaign in both quantitative and qualitative form.

8. Media Idea – Relaunch
This category is open to any agency that has relaunched a media campaign for a client during the eligibility period. It should be for a campaign that was initially launched more than two years ago and has been reborn during the eligibility period. It should take into account the launches innovation, creativity, customer insight, awareness of the brand and its values throughout the campaign, the customer proposition and showcase the results of the campaign in both quantitative and qualitative form.

9. Media Idea – Large (over £1m)
10. Media Idea – Medium (£250k - £1m)
11. Media Idea – Small (under £250k)
The Media Idea can be of any length, it can be a continuous daily campaign or It can be created to work in bursts across the length of the campaign. To provide an accurate comparison across the board entrants are asked to enter taking into account the large, medium and small financial criteria.

12. International Campaign
A project or campaign that covers three or more different international territories, including the UK, which acknowledges the importance of local media knowledge and thinking, within wider international ambitions.

13. Media Agency of the year
To enter this category, entrants must submit work into at least two other Media Agency categories. A shortlist will be reached in August, and a panel of judges will assess live presentations from all the competing teams.

Shortlisted companies will be asked to supply a written entry detailing evidence of financial success, client retention and acquisition, work that shows great media thinking and development of the agency's brand, business and talent base. Judges will also look for any contribution to the wider media sector. Further advice on entry criteria can be found on the Top Tips page. Initial entry can be up to 2 sides of A4.

Categories open to Owners and Agencies

14. Media Innovation
This award recognises the clever use of new ideas in media that deliver something tangible for an advertiser such as a clever media insight, a new digital or social networking application, a buzz or viral marketing campaign, or a new piece of technology.

15, Media Creativity
This award will recognise the growing importance of creative thinking in agencies. Entries must go beyond evidence of great planning and buying, to the invention of ideas which address a business problem.

Collaboration categories:
These categories recognise projects or campaigns that have only been made possible by the close collaboration of one or more media agencies and/or other relevant agencies, with one or more media owners. Collaboration is broken into 2 categories:

16. Large collaboration (budget over £250K)
17. Small collaboration (budget under £250k)

Research categories:
Judges will want evidence that the research led to a real or potential commercial advantage. They will want to see originality of thinking and potential for changing media practice. Research is broken into 3 categories:

18. Data Innovation
It’s been said that Data is the “new oil” of our industry. Judges will be looking for evidence that data has been used in an original or innovative way to “oil” a marketing campaign and generate a tangible result for the promoted brand.

19. Econometrics
Econometrics is often a part of successful Media Week Award entries – mainly as a tool of post campaign evaluation. We hope to bring the “backroom boy” of econometrics into the foreground with this specialist award.  Judges will be looking for creative or original use of econometrics to guide a campaign towards a successful result.

20. Research Insight
The judges will be looking for a research study that uncovered an insight/s that guided a successful media campaign. The research study need not necessarily be an original research technique – we are looking for the discovery of insights from research – insights that unlocked commercial advantage.

Rising Star

Rising Star will be open to candidates of 30 years or under working in agencies or media owners. Participants will be shortlisted by Media Week judges and invited to present for 5 minutes in front of a panel of industry judges.

21. Rising Star - Agency
22. Rising Star - Media Owner

Judges Category:
23. Grand Prix
In the judges' opinion, the Grand Prix will be awarded to the category winner that stands out above all the rest.