2025 Excellence in Marketing Awards

AMA SF Excellence in Marketing Awards Terms and Conditions

All work entered in the 2025 AMA SF Excellence in Marketing Awards competition must have been produced between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024 by or for an organization, team, brand or agency within the 9 San Francisco Bay Area counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, and San Francisco)

Submission of entries acknowledges the right of AMA San Francisco (aka AMASF) 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 complete by 5/15/2025

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*

- Agency of the Year, Marketer of the Year, Rising Star of San Francisco, and Student Achievement submissions must all be based, headquartered, or with a local office within the 9 San Francisco Bay Area counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, and San Francisco)
- Campaign entries may have been produced by or for an organization, team, brand or agency based, headquartered, or with an involved local office within the 9 San Francisco Bay Area counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, and San Francisco)
- Student Achievement submissions must have been created while enrolled in or temporary break from any educational program.

*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 May 15, 2025


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 500 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? What measurable results did this entry achieve? Did it achieve the entry’s objective(s)? It’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 500 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.

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. Finalists will be announced in June 25 2025.



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:

When including attachments, all files uploaded must be in one of the following formats:
-MS Word(.doc/ .docx/ .rtf)
-MPEG-4
-QuickTime
-PDF

-Uploading .DVD format is also acceptable, but we cannot accept a physical DVD. Uploaded examples and images are limited to 8.5” x 11”.

-Please keep file size under 50MB. Provide URLs for website entries. For websites that require password access, please create a guest user account login for the purpose of AMASF judging.

Don’ts:

-For campaign splash screen – please limit video files to < 30 seconds.
-Do not place artwork images into a PPT.
-Do not place company logo(s) into the artwork file.
-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

AWARD CATEGORY DESCRIPTIONS:

Best in Show - Any Marketing Achievement:
The best overall strategy and execution of marketing and advertising for the year. The best of the best.

Cause Marketing / Community Enrichment:
Demonstrates outstanding marketing work for a cause. May include a partnership between for-profit business and a nonprofit organization, social or charitable campaigns sponsored by for-profit brands, or a campaign fully funded and executed by a community or charitable organization.

Most Innovative Marketing Campaign:
Demonstrates the innovation, disruption, forward thinking and capabilities that San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley are known for through its strategies, concepts, tools, and/or execution in a way that other brands will be looking to follow.

Agency of the Year:
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.

Marketer of the year:
Celebrates an individual or team San Francisco Bay Area marketer 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.

Rising Star of San Francisco:
Recognizes an individual or team 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.

Bootstrapped Campaign of the Year:
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.

Student Achievement:
Recognizes excellence in marketing projects created by an individual or group of college/graduate students for academic purposes or as part of developing a portfolio. Some examples of projects considered:
Marketing Research & Strategy: Individual or group projects that represent strategic plans, data & analytics, and consumer behavior.
Creative: New brand or rebrand, graphic design, web design.
Digital Marketing: SEO, social media, paid media.

Presidents Awards:
Honors individuals who have shown outstanding contributions to the American Marketing Association San Francisco chapter, selected by AMA SF Board President Eric Weidner.