While the core purpose of the branded car magazine hasn’t changed in over 20 years – to compel the reader to stick with the brand next time they buy a car – the quality and range of content certainly has. Judges here will be looking at how the publication accurately reflects the brand’s values and objectives, and how well it converts reader engagement into results.

Finance titles have a huge range of jobs to perform for their brand, and the winner of this category will have to demonstrate how its creative and editorial solutions breathe life into the subject matter, engaging its audience and gaining their trust. It will also need to show how well it performs in terms of product enquiries and sales, as well as retaining the loyalty of the customer for the client brand.

This category has seen an explosion of creativity in the past few years, making these titles compelling reading for travellers. Judges therefore will be looking for high levels of innovation and creative excellence, alongside clear evidence of effectiveness. Since one of the key purposes of travel and leisure titles are to encourage repeat visits, entrants must also show clear evidence of reader loyalty, as well as the raising of awareness of other services.

The winner of this category must show a deep understanding of the client organisation and their industry sector, able to speak to the readership in their own language while retaining a large degree of accessibility and interest for the wider audience. They must also show how they have grown and strengthened the membership, and brought new ideas and initiatives to the organisation.

Public sector titles have to appeal to a wide range of readers, occupying all levels of seniority in a diverse range of organisations. So judges here will be looking for creative and research-driven evidence of engagement and action, proving that the title adds value to a department or organisation and raises awareness of its work, values, aims and objectives.

This relatively new category rewards the publication that best engages the employees of a company or organisation, keeping them up to date with news and developments while building a strong sense of community and pride. Since these titles should demonstrate a company’s commitment to its employees, the winning entry must excel in editorial quality and compelling content, providing clear evidence that the audience is engaged with the title and interacts with each issue.

Brand-generated content for a business audience must come across as a confident mix of knowledge, inspiration and accessibility, and judges of this B2B category will be looking for clear evidence of all three. They will also be looking at how the title improves awareness of the client brand or product, as well as evidence of effectiveness in terms of sales or readers taking some other form of action.

This category is always one of the most fiercely contested in the awards, so the winning entry must demonstrate a consistently high level of excellence in brand synergy, editorial and design, circulation, and – most importantly – commercial results. Judges will also look at how well the title understands its audience and distinguishes the client brand from its competitors.

This award is for the consumer or B2B publication produced on behalf of a brand trading in a non-retail sector, such as media providers, estate agents and individual products. While sales are obviously important, other results such as content quality, awareness raising, brand perception and reader research will be taken into account.

This category explores the world of loyalty magazines, where brands reward customers in their loyalty schemes with their own magazine, encouraging repeat purchases and, of course, customer loyalty. Judges will be looking for a consistency of brand message and appeal across the entire readership. Commercial results are obviously important, as is reader research into the title and the effect it has on brand perception.

The scoring for this category takes into account cultural synergy and how the agency has implemented an international strategy. The internationalism of the publication is more important than the language in which the magazine is published, as is how it’s been specifically tailored to a country. Entrants must clearly state the countries in which the content is published and if it includes any translation.

Judges here will be looking at how the entries engage with their readers, using compelling editorial content to build the relationship and drive sales. They will also be examining how the brochure reflects and enhances the brand, as well as its ability to integrate into different media channels and marketing activity.

While brand execution is key, judges will also consider effectiveness in making their decision. They will look at the way the catalogue supports or enhances the brand proposition, how much it appeals to customers, whether its content and design are appropriate to the customer profile and, most importantly, if it works as a marketing tool to drive sales and customer retention.

The annual report has come a long way since the two-sided piece of A4 of old, and this category explores the rise of editorial and design excellence in the format. The winning entry must show a desire to innovate and excite, while remaining within brand guidelines. Judges will also be looking for how the report presents data or information in a new and creative way, compelling the reader to take in every part of the content.

This category explores how original and eye-catching use of photography can bring a story and message instantly to life. You may submit any one commission in a single print publication issue or digital content for entry. Since it’s difficult to measure the effectiveness of a creative solution, the judges will only consider brand synergy and creativity.

This category rewards the illustrator that captures a brand or story, giving the print or digital content a highly creative visual entry point to the piece. You may submit any one commission in a single print publication issue or digital content for entry. Since it’s difficult to measure the effectiveness of a creative solution, the judges will only consider brand synergy and creativity.

The winner of this award will clearly demonstrate technical brilliance and limitless imagination in their work, showing the judges how their design enhanced the content and was relevant to the target audience. Entrants must also show how their design translates well across different platforms, as well as displays an excellence in the use of photography, typography, illustration and other key design factors. Entrants must be full-time agency employees editing one or more titles. In their written submission (which is not scored), entrants must state their exact role or roles.

This category rewards the content editor that demonstrates a sharp eye for excellence, fantastic ideas, a clear understanding of their client brand, an ability to turn a client’s objectives into engaging content, and a desire to develop their print publication or digital content to achieve maximum effectiveness. Entrants must be full-time agency employees editing one or more titles. In their written submission (which is not scored), entrants must state their exact role or roles.

To win this award, the digital solution needs to combine strong and relevant editorial content with a level of interactivity that proves irresistible for business or internal users. The winning entry must also provide evidence of effectiveness, clearly showing how it answers the client’s objectives and adds value to the client-user relationship. As well as websites, other digital solutions such as microsites, newsletters and blogs can be entered.

Judges will look at how the digital solution answered the client’s brief, as well as the enterprise and innovation involved in creating it. Entries needs to demonstrate an ability to integrate with other platforms and convert customer engagement into sales or involvement. As well as websites, other digital solutions such as microsites, newsletters and blogs can be entered.

Charity and public sector work demands particularly sensitive creativity and content, with powerful editorial content crucial to the impact of the work. Entrants must demonstrate all these attributes in order to win, as well as show clear effectiveness results and how the solution has successfully integrated with other marketing activity. As well as websites, other digital solutions such as microsites, newsletters and blogs can be entered.

Whether used as an entertainment portal, internal training aid or pure sales tool, video is an effective and widely-used medium for brands. Judges will be looking for innovative use of the medium and the effectiveness of the solution. Entries for this category can be created for any purpose – online or off – as long as they are produced on behalf of a client.

With mobile one of the fastest rising mediums in marketing, the winning entry must demonstrate a high level of excellence in effectiveness, innovation, usability and going beyond the client’s initial brief. It should also give a detailed explanation of how it fits into the client’s other marketing activity and how it pushes the boundaries of the medium’s capabilities.

Content marketing thrives when producing unique, bespoke solutions for specific marketing challenges, and this category rewards those bursts of creativity that break new ground in content. The winning entry will need to show an ability to innovate and provide the client with a new content-driven solution, as well as the versatility required to be used on different platforms.

Almost all content marketing campaigns now require multi-platform integration, and the winner here must display how they have used content across a number of channels to provide the client with a solution that answers their customers’ needs and retains their brand identity. Judges will take into account an agency’s strategic thinking – how they integrate a number of requirements and utilise the right choice of media to create a strong and consistent message.

B2B cross-platform solutions often require a different type of content and combination of platforms to consumer, so judges here will be looking for how appropriate the content is to the audience, as well as how that content informs and  compels the user to take the relationship further. Effectiveness results are also vital, as is the agency’s strategic thinking – how they ensure that the right content is getting to the right person at the right time and compels them to take action.

With content marketing campaigns becoming wider in scope and more complex, getting the launch right is absolutely vital, and the winner of this category must impress the judges with their immediate understanding of the brief, expert creation of an original concept and brilliant execution. The entry should also demonstrate a clear understanding of the target audience and plans for the future success of the solution.

This highly prestigious and valuable award will be chosen from the winners of all categories apart from the individual awards of Designer and Editor. The separate judging panel will choose the winner based on the single piece of work that stands above all others based on effectiveness, creativity, brand synergy, originality and strategic thinking. This is the highest award in the content marketing industry, and will be given to the solution that is the encapsulation of the industry’s high level of creativity, innovation and strategic thinking.