Celebrate the Best Campaigns of the Year

GALA: MAY 18, 2026 | MGM GRAND, LAS VEGAS

Welcome to the world’s largest recognition program for experiential marketing.

For 24 years, the Ex Awards has shined a global spotlight on the power of brand experiences and the best use of face-to-face marketing. The biggest brands and agencies in the world compete each year, and the program is judged entirely by brand-side marketers. Enter your events, your experiences, your integrated live campaigns and more into the only recognition program of its kind.

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RULES AND REGULATIONS

ELIGIBILITY RULES

The Ex Awards are open to brand marketers, agencies, partners, properties, and suppliers involved in event and experiential marketing campaigns.

  • Categories span both b-to-c and b-to-b experiential marketing
  • International entries are welcome
  • Campaigns must have launched or debuted between February 16, 2025 – March 1, 2026
  • Entrants may submit as many campaigns into as many categories as they want (easy copy and paste options available!)

Download the FAQ here.

JUDGING CRITERIA

The Ex Awards is the only marketing recognition program scored entirely by brand-side marketers. In each category, a gold winner, silver and bronze finalists will be selected. New for 2026, select categories will feature honorable mentions. 

Judges will score all entries on:
  • Creative and relevant idea
  • Succinct and deployable strategy
  • Flawless execution
  • Tangible results

Winners will be honored at the 24th annual Ex Awards Gala at the Experiential Marketing Summit, on Monday, May 18, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Purchase your tickets today!

Categories

Review the full category list below. Our “copy and paste” entry system allows you to easily enter your campaigns into multiple categories.

  • Activation Categories

    • The best philanthropic or community event campaign. A tie to a charity or community cause must be at the heart of the program. Judges will look for integration of causes into the experiential program and the benefits that the campaign brought to both sides (the brand and the cause).
    • Awarded to the most innovative brand-driven experiential program connected to a movie, celebrity,music or television partnership/sponsorship.
    • Awarded to the most creative, unexpected, and bold experience that generated buzz and viral attention from the media and consumers alike.
    • Awarded to the best mobile marketing campaign, where a vehicle is at the heart of the program—not the fact that a tour moves around. Judges will look at the marketing vehicle and its design, and the overall strategy, footprint, and experience. Open to b-to-c or b-to-b campaigns.
    • The best event-powered campaign hatched to reach a non-Caucasian audience. Judges will focus on the idea and execution, but also the attention to detail, messaging, and ethnicity-specific elements.
    • From night markets to bar or on-premise experiences, this category awards the brand experience that best took advantage of the after-hours for maximum engagement.

    • Honors the best brand experiences from the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games.

    • Recognizes activations that best leveraged the great outdoors to create magic with attendees. Judges will weigh how the outdoors was central to the effectiveness of the campaign with creative installations and engagement.  
    • Awarded to the temporary storefront, in-retail, lobby, indoor or outdoor experience that turned a client’s objective into a must-attend, limited-time engagement. Judges will be looking for a clever concept, new approaches and unconventional ideas.
    • Awarded to the best trial-based campaign that used a live engagement to get a consumer to try a product. 
    • Awarded to the most innovative brand experiences leveraging a sports sponsorship (motorsports and marathons welcome). Judges will rate the programs and activations (of all sizes and length) on creativity, results, message, and method.

  • Tentpole Experiences

    • Awarded to the experience that knocked the socks off superfans in any category, from sports to comic-cons. (Activations or booths welcome.)
    • From food and wine festivals to music festivals, we honor the brand experiences that solvedattendee pain points or offered a vital service or commanded attention in a crowded landscapewith the design and functionality.
    • The event, booth, activation or campaign that best connected a brand to the red-hot esports and gaming sectors with strategy, creative, reach, and results.

  • Trade Show Categories

    • Recognizes the experiential activations, installations, eye-catching engagements, photo-sharing moments and more that take place within a trade show or a trade show exhibit environment. This category focuses on the interaction with attendees rather than the design/look of the exhibit.
    • Small is the new big. Handed to the footprint that went beyond stoic space and used the show floor as a canvas to paint an experience. Judges will look at the overall immersion, visitor experience, functionality, creativity, materials, and use of media.
    • The best big exhibit. Handed to the footprint that went beyond stoic space and used the show flooras a canvas to paint an experience. Judges will look at the overall immersion, visitor experience,functionality, creativity, materials, and use of media.

  • Strategy & Execution

    • Awarded to the event that best took the message out of the board room. Includes sales meetings, user groups, annual shareholder events, proprietary events, conferences, road shows, conferences, summits, and proprietary events.
    • Awarded to the campaign that achieves all stated objectives while adhering to a budget under $500,000. Judges will consider innovation, creativity, execution and results.
    • Awarded to the best partnership that leveraged the reach and power of an influencer (or influencers) via a live and in-person or virtual event to drive interest in a brand or product.
    • Recognizes events that used creative tactics to get the press to show up, and then delivered onsolid messaging, thematics and an A+ presentation. Note: Journalists must be the primary target.Virtual experiences welcome.
    • Awarded to b-to-c event programs that involved multiple targeted events across different markets, within a region, or as a series within a single market. (For programs that took place on a mobile vehicle, where the vehicle was central to the experience, refer to the Best Mobile Marketing Tour category.)
    • Behind the scenes and way in the back of the backstage, there is a helluva lot going on. This category’s Ex considers the lighting, the music, the script… the entire ensemble. Judges will look for you to take them through the actual production with insights into the long process between idea and execution.
    • This category’s Ex will go to the most creative, extensive, outrageous, ambitious and delicious production of a consumer event. Judges will look for you to take them through the actual production with insights into the long process between idea and execution.
    • Awarded to the event program that connected with audiences in different markets and venues. Think: Multiple targeted events across different markets, within a region, or as a series within a single market.
    • Awarded to the most strategic, most creative, best-performing single-market event program. Did you make it memorable? Will the attendee ever forget?
    • Honors the big ideas, big creative, and big thinking, shared by b-to-b events bringing together 5,000 attendees or fewer.
    • Recognizes the most effective use of artificial intelligence in an event campaign, from streamlining operations to attendee engagement. Judges will look for how AI tools enhanced the event—designed, created and experienced by humans, of course.
    • From projection to touchscreens to virtual platforms, some of the most innovative technologies, and uses of technologies, are coming out of the event industry. Awarded to the consumer event, b-to-b show or trade show program that effectively leveraged technologies to take the experience to the next level.
    • Awarded to the best event campaign that served as a platform for content creation. From events used for YouTube videos to events used for TV spots to events used for social media content… and beyond. Open to both b-to-c and b-to-b programs.

2026 Judges

  • Melissa Andrykowski

    Senior Director, Brand, Creative & Expression
    Abbott Laboratories

  • Steve Calandra

    VP, Creative Studios
    Disney Advertising

  • Matthew Calkins

    Global Creative Director, Events & Environments
    IBM

  • Devin Cleary

    Marketing & Global Events Leader
    CyberArk

  • Lori Davis

    Vice President, Integrated Marketing
    Jack Link's

  • Mark Doumet

    Vice President, Originals Marketing
    HBO Max

  • Jill Kazanjian

    Vice President, Experiential Events
    WorkHuman

  • Melissa Rush

    Global Events Director
    Aptiv

  • Annie Thompson

    Director of Experiential & Global Merchandising
    Bumble Inc.

CONTACT US

For category questions contact:

KAIT SHEA
kshea@accessintel.com

For all other questions contact:

JULIA KIM
jkim@accessintel.com

   

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