About the Awards
Innovation changes everything. The ideas that inspire action, shift perspectives, and deliver results are the ones the world remembers.
That’s why the 18th Annual Internationalist Awards for Innovation in Media honor case studies that prove what’s possible in today’s fast-moving marketing world.
Winning here isn’t about fitting into a category—it’s about demonstrating breakthrough thinking, measurable results, and relevance that transcends borders. Past winners have been celebrated not only on our global stage but also in podcasts, video series, and features seen by marketers everywhere.
Each year, we see extraordinary case studies from every region — bold uses of technology, inventive applications of data, breakthrough storytelling, and strategies that redefine what media can accomplish. These Awards shine a spotlight on the teams and thinking that inspire the industry to move forward.
What Makes These Awards Different?
The Internationalist Awards stand apart by recognizing innovation across all classifications, not just within narrow product or media categories. Every entry competes equally on insights, strategy, and results. And every win is earned through rigorous, anonymous, global judging.
The outcome? A level playing field that highlights true innovation, no matter the brand, sector, or scale.
This is a celebration of modern marketing at its best — intelligent, inventive, and unmistakably impactful.
Why Submit Your Work?
- Set the standard for the strategies that will shape tomorrow.
- Gain recognition across global marketing communities.
- Highlight your team’s leadership and innovative use of media.
- The Internationalist Awards for Innovation in Media are included in the WARC and RECMA Rankings.
It’s Easy to Enter
Past case study winners have highlighted significant shifts now occurring in the industry: innovative work must go beyond the traditional scope of “media solutions,” purpose and passion are essential to successful programs while data and technology often take center stage, the role of content is changing dramatically, and meaningful, shared customer experiences are becoming a new barometer of results. Plus, growth is possible with the right insights and strategies.
Answer 5 critical questions about your case study’s insights and solutions.
- Outline the marketing situation to which the campaign responded (15 points)
- Describe the critical insight or insights that became the foundation for the media strategy (20 points)
- Tell us about key tactics employed and why they are innovative (25 points)
- Describe how this campaign solution may be a template for other markets or exemplify worldwide best practices (10 points)
- Discuss the success of the media campaign and how this was measured (30 points)
The suggested length for each response is 400 words or less.
Send up to 3 examples of work- images and/or video. Send via any large file transfer software.
SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY ON THIS FORM
Key Dates:
KEY DATES:
- November 2025- Call for Entries Opens.
- December 31, 2025- Early Discount Ends.
- January 23, 2026- Deadline for Entries.
- Early March 2026- Finalists will be announced.
- Virtual Awards Show to follow.
- Winners will also be interviewed as part of the Trendsetters or People Behind the Brands podcast series on iHeartRadio’s Spreaker and via video shows on Internationalist Marketing TV on YouTube. They will also be highlighted on the Internationalist Awards site, Internationalist Magazine, and LinkedIn.
Qualifying Period:
Cases may be submitted for initiatives appearing in any market between October 2024 and the Awards deadline.
The Internationalist Media Awards are included in the annual WARC Rankings. Plus, the results of the winning campaigns are used to score media agencies in RECMA’s rankings.
A Note About Entry Fees
To help teams submit their strongest work from the past year, we are offering Early Pricing through December 31, 2025:
- $450 single entry
- $395 each for multiple entries
2026 Pricing:
- $495 single entry
- $445 each for multiple entries
If your team is planning multiple submissions, the year-end discount may be especially helpful.
Judging:
Judging is anonymous, rigorous, and global—with a mix of senior marketers, ANA members, and even an AI Judge comparing data-driven scoring with human insight.
The Annual Internationalist Awards for Innovation in Media honor inspiring case studies scored for insights, strategy, and results across all product categories and reflect how companies market their products around the globe. Unlike many awards that cite the best in a single product or media category, The Awards for Innovation in Media enable all case studies to compete equally across all classifications; winners are those with the highest point scores.
Judging is anonymous through online forms and by marketers who are part of The Internationalist community or ANA members.
The Internationalist team, past winners, and other industry executives pre-qualify all entries. Each judge reviews approximately 15 entries per session, so case studies are given fair consideration. Several judges from different regions and industry sectors score each grouping. Top-scoring entries then go on to the next round.
This year’s awards will also feature an additional AI Judge, given our success with using an Artificial Intelligence “persona“ in our Digital Awards. The AI Judge was created with the help of Global AI Marketing Solutions Company XPLAIN. The Internationalist will continue to consider AI-driven scoring and how it compares to the human experience, insights, and emotional responses of our client-side marketer judges.
Entries are evaluated for:
- Innovative and strategic use of media
- Breakthrough communications thinking
- Creative solutions to complex marketing problems
- Insightful cross-cultural understanding
- Standards worthy of world-class excellence
- Real, measurable results
SEE 2025 WINNERS
SEE 2024 WINNERS
More About the Awards:
This is the eighteenth year of the competition, which attracts case studies from all regions of the world. All entries compete against each other as examples of innovative strategies, solutions, and results. Unlike many awards that cite the best in a single product or media category, The Internationalist Awards for Innovation in Media enable all case study entries to compete equally across all classifications; winners are those with the highest point scores. There is no predetermined number of bronze, silver, gold, or grand prix winners; again, these designations are determined by point scores.