Entries are open for the 2026 Prolific North Marketing Awards, celebrating the campaigns, teams and individuals driving marketing excellence across the North of England and Scotland. Whether you’re an agency, in-house team, freelancer or rising star, now is the ideal time to start planning your submissions and identifying the categories that best showcase your work.
For many entrants, the biggest challenge isn’t writing the submission it’s deciding what to enter.
With categories spanning campaign effectiveness, sector specialisms, team achievements and individual recognition, there are plenty of opportunities to gain the recognition your work deserves.
First things first: register on the awards portal
Before you begin drafting your entries, it’s worth registering on the awards portal and exploring the available categories.
The portal allows you to:
- Create and save entries
- Review category criteria
- Duplicate submissions across multiple relevant categories
- Collaborate with colleagues on entry content
- Submit when you’re ready before the deadline
Even if you’re not ready to submit, registering early can help you map out your strongest opportunities and gather supporting evidence well in advance.
Which categories should you enter?
A good starting point is to think about the story behind your success.
Ask yourself:
- Did your campaign deliver exceptional commercial results?
- Did you achieve standout performance despite a limited budget?
- Have you pioneered a new approach or channel?
- Has your team undergone significant growth or transformation?
- Is there an individual who deserves recognition for their contribution?
The awards programme includes categories recognising campaign excellence, team performance and individual achievement. Entrants can also submit the same piece of work into multiple categories where relevant, making it possible to maximise the visibility of your best projects.
For campaign-led success stories
If your strongest work centres around a specific project or activation, consider categories such as:
- Best B2C Marketing Campaign
- Best Social Media or Influencer Campaign
- Best Small, Medium or Largw Budget Campaign
- Best OOH Ad Campaign
- Best PR Campaign
These categories reward creativity, innovation, execution and measurable impact, so start gathering performance data, audience insights and business outcomes now. Judges are particularly interested in evidence of effectiveness.
For agencies and in-house teams
Not every award-winning story is built around a single campaign.
If you’ve developed a high-performing team, introduced new capabilities, delivered sustained client growth or transformed your marketing function, team-focused categories could be the right fit.
These entries offer an opportunity to demonstrate culture, leadership, collaboration and the wider impact your team has delivered over the past year.
For individuals making an impact
The awards also celebrate the people behind the work.
Individual categories provide an opportunity to recognise emerging talent, experienced marketers and freelancers who have made a significant contribution to the industry over the past 12 months. They’re also a great way for organisations to shine a spotlight on standout members of their team.
Don’t overlook multiple-category opportunities
One of the most common mistakes entrants make is limiting themselves to a single category.
A campaign that delivered exceptional results on social media, for example, could potentially be relevant for:
- A channel-specific category
- A budget-based category
- A sector category
- An overall campaign category
The awards platform makes it easy to duplicate entries across categories, helping you increase your chances of success while reducing the amount of additional work required.
Start gathering evidence now
Strong entries are built on evidence.
Before you begin writing, consider collecting:
- Campaign objectives
- Audience insights
- Budget information
- Performance metrics
- ROI data
- Testimonials or stakeholder feedback
- Creative assets and supporting materials
The strongest submissions clearly demonstrate not only what was done, but why it mattered and what impact it delivered.
Ready to get started?
Now is the perfect time to explore the categories, identify your strongest work and start building your entries.
Whether you’re showcasing a breakthrough campaign, celebrating team success or recognising an exceptional individual, the Prolific North Marketing Awards provide a platform to put your achievements in the spotlight.
Browse the full list of categories and award criteria here:
https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/awards/marketing-awards/
Then register on the awards portal and start building your entries:
https://prolificnorthmarketing.awardsplatform.com/
The sooner you register, the more time you’ll have to identify the right categories, gather compelling evidence and create an entry that stands out from the crowd.
Sponsors
