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Click Here for a list of the 2024 Global ACE Awards Categories.
Click Here for Submission Guidelines.
CATEGORIES
Creative Agency of the Year
Great is great; no other rules apply for this category. This award will be given to the agency whose totality of work in the past year rose above. Budgets and channels are not the thing here. The consistent level of breakthrough, rise-above creativity is.
In-House Agency of the Year
The ACEs recognize the amazing work being done by in-house agencies and teams. Please note that this award is for the year’s body of work. Same rules apply as for the Creative Agency of the Year award.
Integrated Marketing Campaigns
These are your biggest, multi-faceted, multichannel campaigns that have moved the needle in a big way. They are, naturally enough, based on big ideas with a range of executions to drive impact and results. Enter your best ACE-worthy campaigns in the sub-categories below.
$2 Million Budget and Over: Budget includes agency services, media and production.
$750,000-$2 Million Budget: Budget includes agency services, media and production.
Under $750,000 Budget: Budget includes agency services, media and production.
AI/DIGITAL/TECHNOLOGY POWERED EXPERIENCES
If your brand of creativity includes AI-powered innovation, immersive experiences, VR/AR/MR, 360-degree, all-of-the-above and then-some experiences, then this is your category.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Campaigns
ABM shines in the spotlight on the big stage that is the ACEs. Did your creative ABM campaigns match the hype? Our judges are eagerly awaiting your awesome submissions.
Agency Self-Promotion
In a massively competitive market, the great agencies aren’t sitting still. This category is for the promotional and thought leadership campaigns that are setting the B2B marketing agenda. Have initiatives that are moving the industry forward? Apply here!
B2B Rising Stars
We’re looking for next-gen stars in the B2B firmament. For creatives with five years or fewer of experience, enter representative work from the past year that shows us why we should be excited for the future of creativity.
B2B2C Campaigns
In financial services, pharma/healthcare and plenty of other categories, B2B has a significant “C”component. This category is for business-to-business campaigns that also encompass consumer audiences.
Best Campaign That Never Ran
Enter the best creative ideas that never saw the light of day. Whatever the reason it didn't run, our judges will decide if it should have.
Brand Launch/Relaunch
Whether at the corporate or product/service line level, brand launches and relaunches are as high stakes as it gets. It takes truly great creative from brand development to activation. Enter your work that elevated a brand’s trajectory.
Broadcast Advertising
In our all-digital-all-the-time world, there remains a time and place for B2B to go broadcast. In fact, there remain a lot of times and places as audio, TV and on-demand video make these channels more efficient. Let’s face it, who doesn’t love making a movie?
Audio (Single Spot & Campaign): Enter your best spot or multi-spot campaign created for radio, podcasts or audio channels.
Video (Single Spot & Campaign): Enter your best spot or multi-spot campaign created for TV, CTV, streaming or digital on-demand platforms.
Can Marketing Change the World?
ESG? DEI? The world can use plenty of changing. That’s what we’re after with this award. Work that has societal impact. B2B marketing that matters.
Challenger Brand New!
Scrappy, smart, creative...dare we say disruptive! Winning work in this category is for brands challenging established leaders and paradigms, shifting mindshare and finding new ways to establish differentiation.
Content Marketing
Content is king, but these days it’s also the joker. The good stuff is great. The rest just adds to the noise. Here’s to the good stuff! All content marketing/branded content work is judged in this category – from e-books to industry reports, to blogs and vlogs. Please note the sub-categories below.
Individual Piece: Enter your best content marketing piece. All formats accepted.
Multiple Piece Program/Campaign: Enter your best multi-piece content marketing program.
Corporate Image: Please note the three sub-categories below.
Logo Design: The boundless creativity displayed by logo creators is truly amazing. This is foundational work that engenders pride within organizations and love (hopefully!) on the outside. If you win, you have a lifetime dispensation from the “can you make it just a little bigger” conversation.
Design System: Beautiful, artful, strategic brand design organized into a true system so that all audiences and stakeholders can make the design their own. That’s all we’re asking for!
Brand Name: Brand naming is as hard and rewarding as it gets in the creative world. Get just rewards for your hard and brilliant work.
The Craft Categories
The ACE jury believes that craft is back in B2B! Greater love is being given to the core crafts – art direction, writing and photography. The ACEs recognize them all. Love the craft that goes into your work? Then enter. Let’s raise the game for all B2B marketers. Please note the three sub-categories below.
Art Direction: For visual expression including concept and execution, regardless of form or function. Submit three pieces of work to be considered.
Copywriting: Persuasive, insightful, moving, hilarious. Submit three pieces of work to be considered.
Photography/Illustration: Brilliant original images that enliven brand, campaign or digital initiatives. Submit three pieces of work to be considered.
Demand Generation Campaigns
Demand generation will always be at the core of B2B marketing. Whether product, solution or issue-driven, enter your most creatively effective single or multi-channel campaigns for jury consideration.
Digital Display Campaign (All formats including video)
Digital display deserves its day in the sun. Here’s where to shine. Banners, video, rich media, page takeovers and other formats. Single or multiple executions. All comers welcome. But a word of caution: we’re looking for the great display work that’s treated with creative love.
Direct Mail
What’s old is effective again. Whether for ABM or more broad-based comms, DM is cutting through. Enter your best direct: self-mailers, 3D mailers, in-mail video, etc. There’s lots of innovation going on. Let’s see it!
Emotion in Action
B2B is finally getting in touch with its humanity. This category is for everything from the heartfelt to the hilarious. If your work strikes a powerful emotional chord, enter it here. Any form or format that connects on this deeper human-to-human level.
Event/Trade Show Marketing:
Booth Design/Experience/Campaign: This category is for the trade show exhibits and experiences that stand out by virtue of design, differentiation and accompanying marketing efforts.
Events: Proprietary Virtual and Face-to-Face Events:
These two categories are for brands’ own events targeting internal stakeholders, customers and prospects, influencers and industries. Powerful themes and content, stand-out experiences and outstanding promotion determine our winners. Please note the sub-categories below.
External/Customer Facing: Enter this sub-category for events focused on customers, prospects, partners, industry thought leadership, etc.
Internal: Enter this sub-category for events such as annual sales meetings, employee summits, etc.
Internal Activation
Don’t work on the inside, won’t work on the outside. Enter your best campaigns or initiatives for launching, promoting or enhancing your brand and campaigns among employees. This category includes everything from sales kick-offs to brand launches to employee engagement programs.
Microsites
Smaller than a website and bigger than a breadbasket. Enter your slickest microsites whether used for product launches, campaigns, thought leadership and more.
Out of Home
Some of the best work that’s out there is…out there. Digital…airport…elevator…commuter…if it’s outstanding out of home, enter here.
Print Advertising
Old school? It’s a great school and still highly relevant across plenty of B2B sectors. David Ogilvy did well enough with it to lead an industry and land a chateau. Here’s B2B creatives’ shot to follow in his famous footsteps. Please note the sub-categories below.
Single Ad: Enter your best print ad.
Campaign: Enter your best print ad campaigns.
Pro Bono Campaigns
Agencies and brands in the B2B space are nothing if not generous of spirit. This award is for campaigns and initiatives for worthy causes that are provided at no cost. From raising awareness to raising funds, creativity counts most when it makes an impact. (Causes do not have to be ‘B2B’ in nature – any worthy cause qualifies!)
Sales Enablement (Analog & Digital)
What have you done to keep the sales team closely connected with customers amid all the challenges sales organizations have faced? Enter your best sales enablement systems, content, tools, collateral, apps and more. Entries can be digital, physical or both.
Social Media Campaigns
In the age of paid, earned, owned and shareable media, enter your social campaigns utilizing one or multiple channels – from Facebook to LinkedIn to TikTok to Instagram. This is the fastest-growing ACE category – and there’s little wonder why.
Video
The growing use of video is one of the primary trends in B2B marketing, making video well deserving of its own category. Showcase your best video work here. Please note the sub-categories below.
Short-Form: Up to 2 minutes (don’t worry, we won’t hold you to the second!). Explainer videos. Educational videos. Corporate videos. Campaign-related videos.
Longer-Form: Thought leadership videos. Documentary style videos. Videos that are richer and deeper in terms of themes and contents.
Websites
By virtue of IA and UX, visual design, content quality, usability, smart use of personas – and magic – these are the B2B sites that stand apart from competitors and stand out among the world’s best websites.
Best in Show Award
You can’t enter this one. From among all the amazingly great work, our jury will select the amazing-est work to win the preeminent creative award in all of B2B!
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