We aim to have a comprehensive and comprehensible choice of categories. If you feel we have missed out a category important to you, please let us know. You can also contact our team here, if you are unsure where to enter your work. We are always keen to help you understand how best to present your work and get the best out of your budget. Please note all Campaign entries must be a minimum of two items and up to a maximum of six.

The 2024 Cresta Awards is open for entries from 14 February.  If you entered in 2022 or 2023, simply login using the same username and password. 

1: Moving Image

Commercials for TV, Cinema, Social and Viral. Single or campaign entries. For short form video, see Social category. For brand funded video, see Brand Content.

  • TV or Cinema Commercial up to 30 second
  • TV or Cinema Commercial 31- 60 second
  • TV or Cinema Commercial over 60 seconds
  • Viral Video (any length)
  • Music video 
  • Film Trailers
  • Game Trailers
  • TV Trailers

2: Digital

Websites, Micro-sites, Apps, Ads, Banners, Games, etc. for any device. Single or campaign entries.

  • Campaign websites and micro-sites
  • Integrated digital campaigns (min. of 2 platforms/technologies)
  • Online display advertising (banners, pop-ups, takeovers)
  • Online video ads
  • Branded apps and games

3: Print & OOH

Newspaper, Magazine or other Publication Ads, Billboards, Posters. Single or campaign entries.

  • Print ad
  • Large format billboard poster
  • Small format poster
  • Interactive poster
  • Innovation in print or OOH 

4: Ambient & Experiential

For Ambient entries, work should be on or in unusual or unexpected places, may be known as guerrilla marketing. Experiential should be immersive, live and memorable experiences for consumers - encompassing live marketing and event marketing experiences. Single or campaign entries.

  • Ambient
  • Experiential

5: Social & Influencer

Social media and influencer creativity, including videos, reels, stories, ephemeral content and other social-based work.

  • Best use of Instagram
  • Best use of Pinterest
  • Best use of Twitter
  • Best use of Facebook
  • Best use of TikTok
  • Social Campaign (integrated use of 2 or more of above)
  • Influencer Campaigns 
  • Innovative use of Social Media
  • Real Time Advertising
    • Short-Form Ephemeral Content (Snapchat, Instagram Stories etc)
    • Short-form social video up to 10 secs

6: Audio

All forms of audio-led communication, including radio advertising, branded podcasts, and audio creativity that leads in any media. Single or campaign entries.

  • Radio advertising (any length)
  • Branded podcast (any length)
  • Innovative use of sound/audio

7: Brand Content

Film or video, AR, VR, games, print or other content made with intent to support a brand’s marketing strategy.

  • Brand-funded film/video (fiction)
  • Brand-funded film/video (factual)
  • Branded Game
  • Brand VR/AR
  • Other brand-funded content

8: Direct UPDATED

Any marketing item created with intent to produce a direct response from consumers. Can be any media. Single or campaign entries.

  • Print  
  • Film/Video
  • Online ads
  • Email newsletter 

9: Integrated Campaign

Any campaign incorporating work from at least two of the above disciplines. Campaign fees apply to this category.

Sector Categories

After choosing any categories from 1 - 9 entrants are also able to choose a sector sub-category from below when they complete details of their entry:

01: CONSUMER PRODUCT OR SERVICE
02: CORPORATE
03: PUBLIC INTEREST OR CHARITY

10: Healthcare

Health and wellness marketing is highly regulated and often requires specialist creative knowledge and skills. These categories recognise the growing importance of healthcare marketing. Entries may include work in any medium. Single or campaign entries.

  • OTC medicines
  • Prescription medicines
  • Devices
  • Healthcare services (hospitals, care homes, insurance etc)
  • Wellness (work supporting healthy life-style choices)
  • Mental health campaign 
  • Public Awareness (public health information campaigns)

11. B2B   UPDATED

Any work for this fast growing and improving specialist sector of marketing communications. Single or campaign entries. 

  • Print and OOH
  • Fim/Video
  • Games/VR/AR
  • Experiential or Ambient
  • Website/Micro-site
  • Online marketing

12: Luxury & Fashion

The creation of very high value brands is an area in which the marketing very often defines the brand as much as the product itself. These new awards reflect the specialist understanding and boundary-pushing creativity needed to build and maintain brands in these globalised and unique markets.

  • Luxury goods (Accessories, Watches, Leather goods, Jewellery, etc)
  • Fashion Apparel
  • Beauty(Perfume,Skincare,Make-upetc)
  • Luxury Retail
  • Other ( Travel & Vacations, Hotels, Property, Financial, Experiences)

13: Creative Technology

These awards look for creativity and innovation applied to established technology. From a ride-booking app to a one-click shopping experience, from a disruptive real estate website to the refined UX of a boutique brand, and more.

  • New App - Online journey (UX)
  • Digital Brand Transformation of the Year
  • Creative use of Data
  • Use of AI
  • Use of AR or VR
  • Integrated use of new technologies

14: Digital Design

Design projects primarily using digital technologies, can be online, physical installations or any other use of design in a digital environment.

  • Website or Micro-site

  • Integration of multiple technologies
  • Online identity
  • OOH digital installations
  • Data visualisation
  • Innovative use of new technologies

15: Design

All other single or mixed media design projects, covering print, identity and physical installations or spaces used primarily as part of a marketing initiative.

  • Logos

  • Brand identity

  • Brand Naming

  • Packaging

  • Annual Report/Brochure/Publication
  • Editorial design
  • Experiential/Spatial/Environmental
  • Installations or Displays
  • Brand transformation
  • The future of design

16: Film Craft

  • Outstanding Direction of a Commercial
  • Outstanding Cinematography in a Commercial
  • Outstanding Direction of a Brand-funded film
  • Outstanding Cinematography in a Brand-funded film
  • Outstanding Editing of a Commercial or Brand-funded film
  • Outstanding Production Design
  • Outstanding Scriptwriting
  • Outstanding Art Direction
  • Outstanding Sound Design
  • Outstanding Special Effects
  • Outstanding Post-Production
  • Outstanding Animation
  • Use of Music (original & licensed)
  • Use of Humour
  • Film Craft Campaign
  • Emerging Director

17: Print Craft

  • Outstanding Art Direction
  • Outstanding Copywriting
  • Oustanding Typography
  • Outstanding Photography
  • Outstanding illustration 
  • Craft campaign

18: Digital Craft

  • Innovative new techniques
  • Typography
  • Use of animation
  • Use of photography
  • User journey
  • Innovative coding
  • Outstanding digital illustration 

19: Brand Purpose

As consumers increasingly consider their purchases to be an extension of their views, beliefs and lifestyle, this category rewards those brands with strategies and creative executions that provide powerful connections with today’s evolving and more ethically demanding marketplace.

20: Brand Transformation 

Have you taken a tired, traditional brand and transformed it, making it fit for the modern age? Perhaps you’ve taken a ‘bricks and mortar’ business and made it a major online success. Or strategically and creatively re-positioned a brand so dramatically it has been completely revitalised. Work in any media accepted.

21: Social Impact

Work that seeks to have a significant, positive effect on social change within communities or nations. Can be any medium. 

  • Single entry
  • Campaign entry

22: Brand Storytelling

Work that combines fact and narrative to build a connection between brands and their markets. Can be any medium.

  • Single entry
  • Campaign entry

23: Start-Up Launch

Design, marketing and online work to launch a completely new business, can include all forms of communication and design. Any medium.

  • Campaign entry (multiple elements should be entered)

24: Long-Term Creativity

Campaigns in any medium (or mix of) that have run consistently for 4 years or more. Work in this category may have been entered into awards individually in previous years. At least 4 examples must be entered including executions across the full period of the campaign. Supporting material showing the effectiveness of the long-term approach will be used to judge entries.

25: Creative Strategy 

Entrants should demonstrate via creative examples, a case film or up to 750 word document how strategy development has shaped a new creative approach.

26: Creative Commerce

From retail shopper marketing to online store development and data driven sales optimisation,  this category is growing in importance, innovation and creativity. We have introduced new sub-categories to find the best work in the sector.

  • Shopper Marketing
  • Integrated Promotions
  • Online stores
  • Digital Activations
  • Social Commerce
  • Call-to-Action Campaign

27: The ‘Wish we’d thought of that’ Award

Innovative thinking in any medium or discipline that will impress your peers and have them wishing they’d thought of it first. Surprise us.

28: The #OMG Award 

A special new category for work that defies categorisation and simply makes us say "#OMG, how did they do that" or "how did they persuade the client to go with that". Shock us, or make us laugh out loud, or go silent in admiration. Any media accepted.

29: The Media Magic Award

The innovative use of media can be as creative as it is effective. Show us how you challenged the norm and created something special in any mix, individual or one-off media.

30: The Future

The Future category looks for innovative new ideas that show the way forward for the industry. Whether they are experimental in-house ideas or work you have actually produced for clients, we want to see it. 

  • AI assisted/generated creativity and content   NEW
  • Use of AR and VR
  • Metaverse/Web 3.0
  • NFTs and Blockchain
  • Other...

31: The Creative Effectiveness Award

In no more than 1000 words and/or a 3 minute video persuade us that your work achieved outstanding effectiveness within the objectives set by the client.

32: The Creative Business Award

To be highly creative, innovative and reliably successful, time after time, a company needs values, methods, organisation. And then... a little extra magic. What’s your company’s secret sauce? Is there a unique culture that defines your company? Is it a special workplace that inspires staff to go the extra mile? Does the company demonstrate pro-bono activism to improve society or the environment? Share what makes your creative business special and you could win this very special award.

Please enter with a submission text of between 150 and 750 words. You can attach up to six items (video or stills or sound file) and include a web link or two if appropriate.

  • Up to 50 employees
  • Over 50 employees
  • Network of more than three offices

The industry and special trophies

Following the announcement of the winners in September, we will award these major trophies. These are arrived at by analysis of the winners. They are not voted for directly by the Jury but are arrived at by reviewing the voting data. They cannot be entered directly.

Network of the Year
Agency of the Year
Independent Network of the Year
Independent Agency of the Year
Production Company of the Year 
The Jury Award (chosen by the Cresta Jury Chair)