Welcome to the Online Judging Process

Each award entry is judged in two stages. The first round takes place online via our judging platform. Entries that achieve the highest scores will progress to the second round: an in-person judging panel.

Following the online round, you may be invited to take part in one of these panel sessions to help determine the final winners and runners-up. While participation is optional, it is a valuable opportunity to meet fellow senior client-side B2B marketers, discuss the shortlisted entries, and gain insights from peers across a range of industries.

To ensure a fair, consistent and transparent process, judging is conducted independently of the B2B Marketing Awards team and overseen by our independent Head Judge, Shane Redding.

Your expertise and impartial assessment are fundamental to recognising the very best in B2B marketing. Thank you for taking the time to support the awards and help celebrate excellence across our industry.

Structure and Methodology

Online judging takes place via OpenWater, our dedicated awards platform. You'll be asked to score each entry against a set of pre-defined judging criteria, which vary by category. The highest-scoring entries will progress to the second round of judging.

Each judge will typically review around 30 entries across a small number of categories. We recommend allowing up to 15 minutes per entry, equating to approximately 8-10 hours of judging over the judging period. Some judges prefer to take a more detailed approach and spend closer to 20 minutes per entry.

We recommend setting aside a full day or dividing the time across several sessions, depending on what works best for your schedule.

Judging period: 29 July – 17 August 2026

You should already have received a calendar invitation for the judging period to help you plan your time.

A separate step-by-step guide to using the OpenWater platform will be shared before judging opens. The platform is quick to set up, intuitive to use, and allows you to save your progress and return to your entries at any time before the deadline.

Campaign Categories ( 1–24) will be judged according to the following criteria:

› Understanding of objectives: How well was the activity tailored to a clearly identified business challenge, target audience and market context? Did the entrant demonstrate a clear understanding of both the campaign objectives and wider business goals?

› Strategic thinking: Did the entrant demonstrate intelligent, relevant and well-reasoned strategic thinking? Was the chosen approach clearly aligned to the objectives and target audience?

› Creativity: Did the campaign demonstrate original thinking in its creative concept and execution? Was creativity used effectively to help achieve the objectives?

› Effectiveness/results: Were clear objectives and success measures established? Did the campaign deliver measurable commercial impact, demonstrate effectiveness against those objectives, and provide evidence of business value?

The Commercial Marketing Award (Category 25) will be judged according to the following criteria:

› Understanding of objectives: How well did the entrant identify the commercial challenge or business opportunity? Did they demonstrate a clear understanding of the organisation's wider business objectives, target audience, market context, and how marketing would contribute to commercial success?

› Strategic thinking: Did the entrant demonstrate strong commercial thinking by aligning marketing strategy with business priorities? Was the approach insight-led, well justified, and clearly connected to delivering measurable commercial outcomes?

› Execution: How effectively was the strategy put into practice? Did the entrant demonstrate strong decision-making, cross-functional collaboration, agility, and effective use of resources to deliver against their objectives?

› Effectiveness/results: Were clear commercial objectives and success measures established? Did the initiative deliver measurable business impact, demonstrate effectiveness against those objectives, and provide clear evidence of value to the organisation through outcomes such as revenue growth, pipeline, profitability, customer value, or other commercial metrics?

The Best Agency-Client Partnership (Category 26) will be judged according to the following criteria:

› Strategic alignment
How effectively did the agency and client align around shared business objectives, commercial priorities, and long-term success? Did the partnership demonstrate a clear understanding of the client's business, target audience, market context, and strategic goals?

› Collaboration and partnership
How effectively did the agency and client work together to achieve shared objectives? Consider communication, trust, joint decision-making, knowledge sharing, and the strength of the relationship throughout the engagement.

› Innovation and value creation
Did the partnership demonstrate proactive thinking, continuous improvement, and innovation? How did the agency and client work together to solve challenges, create additional value, and strengthen the partnership beyond the agreed scope of work?

› Commercial impact and results
Were clear objectives and success measures established? Did the partnership deliver measurable business impact, demonstrate effectiveness against those objectives, and provide clear evidence of value for the client through commercial outcomes and long-term partnership success?

 

Marketing team of the year (category 27) will be judged according to the following criteria:

› Commercial impact: How effectively did the team contribute to the organisation's commercial objectives? Did they demonstrate measurable impact on business performance through marketing outcomes such as pipeline, revenue, customer growth, brand value, or other strategic business metrics?

› Leadership, capability and development: How effectively did the team develop and strengthen marketing capability? Consider leadership, talent development, knowledge sharing, innovation, adaptability, retention, and the team's commitment to continuous improvement.

› Team performance and collaboration: How effectively did the team work together to achieve shared objectives? Did individuals demonstrate complementary strengths, collaborate across functions, and create an environment where the whole was greater than the sum of its parts?

› Strategic alignment: How well was the marketing team aligned with the organisation's wider business strategy? Did they demonstrate a clear understanding of commercial priorities and build strong partnerships across the business to maximise impact?

Marketer of the year (category 28) will be judged according to the following criteria:

› Professional achievements: What they have achieved to date at various levels of responsibility with the same or different organisation.

› Achievements during the qualifying period: What measurable impact has the entrant delivered during the qualifying period? Did they achieve or exceed clearly defined objectives, demonstrating commercial success through outcomes such as pipeline, revenue, customer growth, brand impact, or other strategic business measures?

› Strategic leadership and commercial impact: How effectively has the entrant aligned marketing with wider business objectives? Did they demonstrate commercial thinking, influence business strategy, and position marketing as a driver of organisational success?

› Impact on other employees and departments: How they have collaborated with the rest of the organization and promoted the benefits of marketing to a wider audience.

Agency categories (categories 29-30) will be judged on the following criteria:

› Commercial performance: How has the agency demonstrated commercial success during the qualifying period? Consider financial performance, business growth, client retention, new business, profitability, and the overall health of the agency.

› Key initiatives:  What significant strategic initiatives has the agency undertaken during the qualifying period? Consider investments in people, technology, innovation, new services, operational excellence, expansion, or other initiatives that have strengthened the business and improved client outcomes.

› Client impact:  How effectively has the agency delivered value for its clients? Consider strategic thinking, measurable commercial impact, long-term partnerships, client retention, testimonials, and evidence of outstanding client service.

› Innovation and agency excellence: How has the agency demonstrated innovation in its services, capabilities, ways of working, or marketing approach? Has it invested in developing new skills, technologies, or solutions that deliver greater value to clients?

› People and culture: How has the agency invested in its people? Consider leadership, talent development, diversity and inclusion, employee wellbeing, retention, and creating a positive, high-performing culture.

› Industry contributions: How has the agency contributed to the wider B2B marketing profession? Consider thought leadership, innovation, community involvement, mentoring, speaking, research, awards, or initiatives that advance the industry.

Please only score in numerical 0, 1, 2 ,3, 4, or 5 in each criteria box 

1. Complete the Code of Conduct

Before you begin judging, please read and sign the Code of Conduct. Award entries often contain commercially sensitive information, so all content must remain strictly confidential and must not be discussed or shared outside the judging process.

2. Understand the category

Take a few moments to read the category overview before reviewing the entries. Each category has its own objectives and judging criteria, so it's important to assess entries against the requirements of that specific award.

3. Score against the judging criteria

Evaluate each entry against the published judging criteria, rather than comparing it directly with other entries. Focus on the quality of the response, the supporting evidence, and how effectively it meets each criterion.

4. Review your scores

Before submitting your marks, take a final look through the entries you've judged. Once you've seen the overall standard across the category, you may wish to adjust some scores to ensure they're consistent and accurately reflect the quality of each entry.

5. Submit your scores

Once you're happy with your marks, submit them through the OpenWater platform before the judging deadline.

6. Judge the evidence, not the brand

Avoid being influenced by well-known brands, agencies, previous winners, or personal familiarity with an organisation. Assess every entry solely on the evidence provided and how effectively it meets the judging criteria.

Thank you for giving your time and expertise to help recognise the very best in B2B marketing.