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Judges will seek to reward outstanding management of a brand’s affiliate program that has leveraged data-driven insights or creative strategies to optimise and significantly enhance the affiliate programme’s growth, profitability, or efficiency.

For campaigns that successfully built brand visibility and engagement while delivering measurable performance outcomes.

Judges will look for creative use of channels, strong partner collaboration, and evidence of impact on brand metrics and conversions.

Celebrates performance campaigns that harnessed creators and influencers to drive measurable results across affiliate, editorial, and social commerce channels.

Judges will be looking for clear planning, creative collaboration, and outcomes that showcase the power of creator-led performance marketing.

Recognising campaigns that coordinated multiple partners and tactics across the entire customer journey – from awareness to conversion.

Entries should show clear objectives, smart measurement across funnel stages, and proof of how the integrated approach drove results.

Rewards activity that meets client objectives by delivering high-quality prospects via smart, cost-efficient and ethical practices, with clear alignment to campaign goals.

Entries should highlight innovative targeting, compliance, nurturing strategies, and proof of how leads converted into meaningful outcomes (sales, sign-ups, subscriptions etc).

This award recognises the expert management of an enterprise brand’s affiliate programme, whether managed in-house, by an agency, network, or SaaS. Judges will be looking for clear objectives, smart execution, creativity, measurable results, and evidence of how large-scale programmes are managed effectively.

Enterprise brands face unique challenges in affiliate management, from complex partner ecosystems and cross-market coordination to compliance, scalability, and integration with wider brand objectives. Entries should demonstrate how these challenges were addressed while delivering strong outcomes.

For this category, an enterprise brand is defined as a company with more than 250 employees or an annual turnover above £40 million.

This award recognises the well-executed, holistic management of an SME brand’s affiliate programme, whether managed in-house, by an agency, network, or SaaS.

Judges will be looking for clear objectives, smart execution, creativity, measurable results, and the human touch that makes SME programmes unique.

For this category, an SME is defined as a company with fewer than 250 employees and an annual turnover under £40 million.

Honours the effective integration of two or more measurable channels working together to achieve outcomes, with clear planning and in-flight optimisation.

Judges want to see how integration and orchestration across channels created efficiency, reach, or incremental value.

Showcases excellence in paid search, including smart use of data, platforms and tools (in-house or managed), aligned to brand values and objectives with a well-planned approach.

Recognises innovative, impactful paid social activity that achieves performance outcomes while clearly meeting client objectives.

For campaigns that excelled during key seasonal or trading periods (e.g. Black Friday, Prime Day, peak travel seasons). Judges will look for agility, strong preparation, and standout results in a highly competitive environment.

This award recognises outstanding affiliate or partner programme launches, relaunches, or restructures. Judges will look for strong planning, smooth execution, and early success in building or revitalising a programme.

Entries should highlight partner recruitment, onboarding, activation, and creative strategies that set the programme apart. Open to advertisers managing in-house or via agencies, networks, or SaaS platforms.

For campaigns leveraging retail media networks or retailer first-party data to deliver measurable results.

Judges want to see collaboration with retail partners, creative activations, and proven impact on sales or brand outcomes.

Celebrates performance campaigns that drove shopping on social platforms – through shops, livestreams, or shoppable formats. Entries should demonstrate how content, commerce, and community came together to deliver measurable outcomes.

Recognises innovative, strategic use of AI that enhances planning, research, execution or measurement in performance marketing, with clear application and results.

Judges will seek to recognise innovative and strategic use of AI that enhances the planning, research, execution, or measurement of performance marketing efforts.

They are particularly interested in how AI has been intelligently applied to drive improvements and deliver impactful results in these areas.

Recognises campaigns or partnerships that drive outcomes via mass media, editorial partners, creators or strategic content, informing and inspiring consumers while delivering results.

Celebrating campaigns or strategies that used data to improve targeting, personalisation, or measurement.

Judges will reward smart audience segmentation and clear evidence of how insights drove results.

For campaigns that harnessed authentic user-generated content (UGC) to drive engagement or conversions.

Entries may include reviews, testimonials, or customer content repurposed across channels, with results clearly linked to performance goals.

Recognising campaigns targeting business audiences with measurable success.

Entries should demonstrate how performance strategies tackled B2B challenges like long sales cycles or niche audiences.

Recognises performance campaigns in finance, insurance, and related services – from banking, credit, and mortgages to protection products such as breakdown cover, health, or travel insurance.

Judges will be looking for evidence of smart planning, creative execution, and the effective use of technology to drive measurable results.

Rewards performance campaigns across leisure, lifestyle, and wellness sectors – including fitness, health, beauty, fashion, food, and experiences.

Judges will be looking for creative planning, strategic execution, and the smart use of technology to deliver measurable outcomes.

Rewards retail/eCommerce campaigns that excel through performance methodologies, with clear planning, strategic execution and value-adding technologies.

Rewards performance campaigns across telecoms, utilities, and essential digital services – from broadband and mobile to energy and streaming – demonstrating thoughtful planning, strong execution, and technology that adds value.

Honours campaigns across the travel sector – spanning airlines, hotels, OTAs, cruises, accommodation, transport, and destination marketing organisations – that demonstrate clear planning, smart execution, and measurable results.

Judges are seeking a technology that has significantly enhanced growth, service, or efficiency in clients’ performance marketing activities.

Beyond delivering a strong return on investment, the technology should offer a competitive advantage or enable smarter business practices for its users.

Judges will look for an innovative product that demonstrates clear evolution, with tangible evidence of customer adoption, measurable results, and high levels of satisfaction.

Affiliate networks and SaaS platforms must submit an entry via the website to be considered. Judges will create a shortlist based on how well each platform engages and supports clients, enabling them to evolve and optimise their performance marketing activity.

Once the shortlist is announced, the industry casts its vote, with one vote per company counted toward the final result.

As with last year, this award recognises excellence in product development, service, and support for both advertisers and publishers. The final outcome is determined equally by the judging panel and the public vote (50/50). Review the full criteria in the entry kit for guidance on what to include.

Recognises agencies that plan and execute joined-up affiliate and partnership activity, utilising multiple partnership types to deliver exceptional results.

This award celebrates agencies that excel across multiple performance channels, from programmatic and native to content, CTV, and data-driven solutions. Judges will look for agencies that combine innovation, technical expertise, and creativity to deliver measurable ROI and transformative impact for their clients.

The winner will be recognised as a leader in digital optimisation and performance marketing excellence, consistently achieving outstanding results and driving long-term client growth.

This award celebrates outstanding teams that have earned the trust and admiration of their clients across diverse audiences.

Great teams drive industry progress, and the PMAs are proud to recognise those who excel in collaboration and consistently optimise client performance and potential.

Open to teams from all areas of the performance marketing industry, including both internal and client-facing teams.

This award shines a spotlight on the people, companies, campaigns, or products that have truly shaken things up in performance marketing. Judges want to see bold ideas that challenged the norm, pushed boundaries, and left a clear mark on the industry.

Whether it’s a breakthrough technology, a fresh way of working, or a standout act of leadership, entries should tell the story of how you made it happen and why it mattered. Share the challenges you faced, the changes you sparked, and the results that prove your impact. Testimonials, case studies, and hard numbers will help bring your story to life.

This award shines a spotlight on the brightest emerging talent in performance marketing – individuals with less than six years’ experience who are already making a big impact. We welcome nominations from across the industry, whether directly from individuals (with employer endorsement), from clients, or from employers.

Up to six candidates will be shortlisted and invited to a judging day, where they’ll pitch to a panel of industry experts on a topical challenge. Judges will be looking for drive, enthusiasm, ambition, and industry knowledge, alongside evidence of real contributions to their company and clients.

Judges will recognise a standout partnership between two or more companies that delivered clear value for all involved. Success may take many forms, from commercial growth and customer engagement to creative innovation or brand impact.

Any collaboration that significantly advanced the goals or mission of each partner will be considered for this award.

Recognises work that achieves its objectives while making a positive impact – for example in sustainability, health and wellbeing, social good or environmental responsibility.

This award honours a publisher that has stood out over the past year through innovation, creativity, and originality, while delivering exceptional results for advertisers and value for consumers.

Judges will be looking for evidence of product innovation, service excellence, and campaigns that showcase measurable success and strong client relationships.