AMA SF Excellence in Marketing Awards Terms and Conditions

All work entered in the 2026 AMA SF Excellence in Marketing Awards competition must have been executed between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025.

Submission of entries acknowledges the right of AMA San Francisco (aka AMA SF) to use them for publication, exhibition, and marketing of the AMA SF Excellence in Marketing Awards. The AMA SF Excellence in Marketing Awards committee reserves the right to move applicants to the category best suited through the lens of the judging criteria and rubric.

Submissions must be finalized and submitted by 11:59 pm July 31, 2026.

ENTRIES MUST:
-Meet all eligibility and deadline requirements
-Include a complete entry form
-Include properly formatted creative support
-Conform to defined submission requirements
-Conform to all copyright and intellectual property laws*

- Student Achievement submissions must have been created while enrolled in or temporary break from any educational program the student attended from California. Student to provide evidence of eligibility, including enrollment dates and program with submission.

- Community Nominations may be used if you and your family members were not involved in the production of the work, are not employed by an organization that was involved in the production of the work, and were not previously employed by these organizations. Community Nominations should only use publicly available information, and any links should be to trusted sources that do not require download such as nominated brand or agency websites, news outlets, video platforms like YouTube or ispot.tv, social media platforms, established award submission pages.

*Copyright infringement, trademark infringement and/or plagiarism (be it intentional or unintentional) will result in the disqualification and, if applicable, removal of awards from any entry deemed in violation. All applicable entry fees will be forfeited.

Entries must be received no later than 11:59 pm July 31 , 2026.

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

Entries for each category are evaluated and scored by a panel of judges against four key criteria. All answers are required and must be less than 1000 words.

Challenges & Objectives:
-What was the core problem the entry needed to solve or address? What was/were the objective(s) to address the situation or challenge? This should be a specific, quantifiable statement. Judges will score on how clearly the challenge is stated and whether the objectives are sound, clear, and measurable.

Strategic & Tactics:
-Describe the strategic process behind this project/initiative and what tactics or actions were taken to achieve the objectives. Judges will score how well the strategy and tactics relate to achieving the objectives.

Results:
-How was the success of the entry evaluated? What were the results and how did they help solve the stated challenges or meet the objectives? t’s extremely important to describe the results in measurable terms to demonstrate the entry’s objective(s) were achieved. Judges will score on how effective the entry was in producing results that directly tie into the objective(s).

Campaign Elements:
Include digital files of the work to be judged along with your entry. If your entry wins, a single image of your entry campaign elements will be displayed at the awards ceremony. Judges will score campaign elements and creative work of all digital files submitted.

ENTRY SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

-Contact information is required (please ensure company or agency name is spelled as how it should appear formally)
-All criteria questions (above) are required to be complete and 1000 words or less.
-The same entry can be submitted in a maximum of Two (2) categories as long it meets the criteria and objectives of the categories.

In the case of a tie, an additional judge will score the campaigns for a tie breaker result.

AMA SF reserves the right to reach out to any nominee for additional information related to their entry and include any information received for judging purposes.

It is not guaranteed that all categories will recognize a winner. Only submissions that provide solid results and exemplify the qualities of great marketing will be considered for finalist placement.

CREATIVE SUBMISSION DO’S & DON’TS

The campaign elements should be digital files that complement the submission and support the campaign objective. Files that do not follow the creative requirements will not be included in the entry for judges’ review.

Do’s:

Allow time for any technical issues, upload delays, etc. to ensure that your submission is finalized and submitted by the deadline.

When including attachments, all files uploaded must be in one of the following formats:
-PDF
-MPEG-4
-QuickTime
-Ensure all files and links to URLs are verified and secure. Submissions that present a security threat will be disqualified without return of fees and may subject the submitter to liability for damages.

-Uploading .DVD format is also acceptable, but we cannot accept a physical DVD.
-Submit any relevant materials through the submission forms, and not through any other means unless expressly requested to do so by a member of the Excellence in Marketing Awards committee.

-Please keep file size under 50MB. Provide verified and secure URLs for website entries. For websites that require password access, please create a guest user account login for the purpose of AMA SF judging and provide this login information with your submission. Entries that AMA SF is unable to access or view will be forfeited without return of fees..

-Ensure your submission meets the category you are submitting for. While AMA SF reserves the right to allocate submissions to categories better aligned with the submission, we cannot guarantee that they will be moved.

Don’ts:
-Do not submit files that will attempt to install a program on the judging computers. Executable files cannot be judged and will be disqualified without reimbursement of entry fees
-Do not send submissions through email, mail, physical copies, or other methods outside of the online submission form. AMA SF accepts no responsibility for submissions or materials sent through any means other than the online submission form. Any such submissions, unless specifically requested by the EIMA Awards Committee, will be disqualified.
-Do not submit as a Community Nomination, AMA SF Member or Student if you do not meet the criteria of those submissions. Any such submissions that do not meet these criteria will be disqualified.

ACCESSIBILITY: if you need any assistance with submission due to a disability, please email us at awards@amasf.org prior to the submission deadline and we will be happy to assist.



AWARD CATEGORY DESCRIPTIONS:

1. Best Creative Campaign
Celebrating campaigns that captivated audiences, sparked conversation, and showed the power of great storytelling. Examples might include experiential activations, creator campaigns, or big game ads that still makes us laugh.

2. Best Performance Campaign
For the campaigns that delivered where it counts: measurable, meaningful results driven by precision targeting, smart optimization, and a relentless focus on ROI. Examples might include B2B, ecommerce, or something we haven’t thought of yet.

3. Most Innovative Campaign
Celebrating the trailblazers who embraced new technologies, tools and methodologies — AI, AR, VR, and beyond — to solve real problems and create genuinely better experiences.

4. Best Bootstrapped Campaign
Budget? Who’s that? This award is for a startup, small-to-midsize brand, or “mom & pop shop” who drove creative, impactful results with limited resources. This campaign shows ingenuity and a grassroots mindset to turn pennies into magic.

5. Best Local Campaign
Celebrates a San Francisco Bay Area agency that deserves top marks for their impact on the marketing community through innovative and effective ideas, strategies, concepts, campaigns, and overall leadership. This agency supports and serves the Bay Area as an inspiration for all marketers, companies, and industry leaders.

6. Best Cause Marketing Campaign
Recognizing campaigns that championed causes, mobilized communities, and used the power of communication for good. Examples might include a non-profit campaign, civic campaign, or a brand campaign that champions a cause.

7. Best Inclusive Campaign
Spotlighting work that engages San Francisco Bay Area communities in a thoughtfully authentic way. We know this effort may take extra time or budget and deserves recognition. Examples might include accessible activations, multilingual messaging, or campaigns that deeply with cultures that the marketer serves.

8. Student Award
Recognizing the next generation of marketing talent. Open to students enrolled in or on temporary break from any accredited program attended from California.

The following categories cannot be entered through the nomination form, the winners will be selected based on their credited involvement in shortlisted work and outstanding achievements in the field.

1. Best In Show
The best overall strategy and execution of marketing and advertising for the year. The best of the best. This campaign should leverage data, include great creative, multiple channels, and impactful results.

2. Brand Marketer of the Year
Celebrates a brand in the San Francisco Bay Area who, through their contributions of outstanding ideas, strategies, concepts, campaigns, and overall leadership has served as an inspiration for all marketers and a shining example of the very best of marketing professionalism and accomplishment in the past year.

3. Next Big Thing
Recognizes a brand that has demonstrated exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact within the marketing industry over the past year. This award honors someone who has broken new ground with creative strategies, embraced emerging technologies, or set new industry standards. They have shown a commitment to pushing boundaries, driving results, and inspiring others in the marketing field through their visionary approach and ability to adapt to evolving trends and challenges.

4. President’s Awards
Honors individuals who have shown outstanding contributions to the American Marketing Association San Francisco chapter, selected by AMA SF Board President Thomas Moyer.