Effie entries are judged by some of the brightest and most experienced business leaders. We draw on their experience to not only judge the work of their peers but to highlight learning for the industry overall. Entries are judged in two phases:

Round One Judges individually review up to 15 cases across a range of categories. Cases that score high enough become finalists and move on to Final Round Judging.

Final Round Judges review all finalists within a category and discuss each case before finalising scores.

In both rounds, judges evaluate the written case and creative executions. Scoring is done anonymously and confidentially. Judges provide feedback on each case for the Insight Guide.​

Grand Effie Judging
The Grand Effie represents the single best case entered in a given year. There will likely be something 'breakthrough' about it with the express purpose and proven capability of delivering outstanding effectiveness. As the Grand Jury is so senior and they express their collective opinion, the winning case represents both the most effective case of the year and a message that will be sent to the industry about learnings for the way forward. Only a select number of the highest-scoring gold winning cases are considered contenders for the Grand Effie award.

Confidentiality
Judging events are led by Effie moderators. All judges are required to sign confidentiality agreements before judging begins. Judges cannot remove materials from the judging session and are specifically matched with cases that do not prove a conflict of interest. For example, a judge with an automotive background would not review automotive cases. For this reason, it is critical that entrants provide market and category context in their entries. Give judges a clear understanding of the category situation and explain what your KPIs mean in the context of your category.

Scoring Criteria
Judges are asked to evaluate a case's effectiveness using the following scoring system:
Challenge, Context & Objectives......23.3%
Insights & Strategic Idea......................23.3%
Bringing the Idea to Life.......................23.3%
Results.........................................................30%

The judges’ scores determine which entries will be finalists and which finalists are awarded a gold, silver, or bronze Effie trophy. The finalist level and each winning level – gold, silver, bronze – have minimum scores required in order to be eligible for finalist status or for an award. Effie trophies are awarded in each category at the discretion of the judges. It is possible that a category may produce one or multiple winners of any level or perhaps no winners at all – no matter the number of finalists.

The following will result in disqualification and entry fees will be forfeited.

1. Failing to adhere to the Effie Eligibility rules.

Data presented must be isolated to Europe, and the Effie eligibility period is:
-Multi-market & Special categories: 1 January 2025 - 31 March 2026
-Best of Europe: 1 January 2024 - 31 March 2026

Results that illustrate the effectiveness of the case can be collected outside of the eligibility period but must be tied directly to the marketing activity within the eligibility time frame. Results directly tied to work are eligible throughout the entry season (no date cut-off).

2. Entry does not meet category definition requirements.

Entries are judged based on effectiveness within the entered category.

3. Data not sourced.

All data, claims, facts, etc. presented anywhere in the entry form must reference a specific, verifiable source. Sources must be as specific as possible in documenting all evidence, while not citing specific agency names. Provide source of data, type of research, and the time period covered. The Entry Portal is set up to encourage sourcing via footnotes.

4. Directing Judges to External Websites.

Entrants are judged solely on the materials presented in their written entry and creative examples (creative reel + images). Entrants are not permitted to direct judges to websites for further information or for further examples of work.

5. Missing Translation.

All entries with non-English creative materials must include a translation page at the end of your entry form or via subtitles within the creative materials.

6. Violating Creative Example (Reel, Images) Rules.

Entrants must follow all creative reel rules as outlined in the entry kit. This includes, but is not limited to: competitor logos/creative work and results may not be included in the creative examples; time limits must be followed.

Please review the Entry Kit for more information on rules and guidelines.

7. Not paying the entry fee before the first round of judging begins on 25 September 2026.

Be direct and concise. Present your story in an easy-to-follow style with minimum hyperbole. The link between the strategic challenge, the objectives, big idea, the creative executions, and results should be clear.

Be compelling. Your entry should be stimulating to read. Share your story with passion and personality – with facts to back it up.

Include clear, simple, relevant charts and tables. If done correctly, charts and tables allow judges to easily assess the success of the marketing initiative.

Proofread. Ask a strong writer to review your case for spelling, grammar, logic flow, and mathematical errors.

Know the rules. Review the formatting requirements, entry requirements, and the Reasons for Disqualification before submitting your entry.

Provide context. Identify the competitive landscape. Context is key. Do not assume that the judges reviewing your entry are aware of the marketplace ins and outs of your particular category. Be sure to provide a clear picture of the marketplace situation, category and competitive context. Judges frequently down score entries that fail to give this context as it is not possible to evaluate the significance of the objectives set or results achieved without it.

Tell judges why it was successful. For every objective provide clear, sourced results and provide context for judges to judge those results and objectives. Restate your objectives and KPIs in the results section. For example, what was spend for your brand in the prior year, for the competition, etc.? What were results prior year vs. now for your brand and the competitive landscape, etc.? Explain the significance of your results – what did they mean to the brand?

Eliminate other factors that could have led to the success of the brand. Prove that it was the marketing communications effort that led to the results presented in the case.

We respect that entries may have information deemed confidential. Within the online entry area, entrants are asked whether or not publishing permission is granted for the written entry.

Indexing Data in Your Entry

Companies across the full spectrum – from large to small and across all industry sectors enter the Effie Awards. The Effie Award’s confidentiality policy, the ability to index data, the ability to set publication permissions, etc. are all established to ensure that any company can enter their effective work without hesitation.

While judging is confidential and entrants may select publication permissions for their written case, Effie understands some entrants may still have concerns regarding sensitive information. When presenting numerical data within the entry, entrants may choose to provide those numbers as percentages or indexes, so that actual numbers are withheld. Additionally, unless the entrant opts to allow Effie to publish the entry as it was submitted if it becomes a finalist or winner, only judges will see the written entry as it was submitted.

Judging

We recommend nominating your client and agency team members for judging. Participating as a judge is one of the most valuable ways to learn about the award, understand how judging works, and experience our security and confidentiality rules firsthand. To nominate a judge, please complete our Judge Application Form.

Effie Steering Committee members are senior, well-respected professionals in the industry on both the client and agency side. If you are interested, we would be happy to set up a time for them to talk to you about confidentiality during judging; how to involve key team members in the judging process; and how you can submit indexed data. If you would like to have a further discussion about confidentiality, please email kasia.gluszak@eaca.eu.

Effie Europe stands for effectiveness in marketing, spotlighting marketing ideas that work and encouraging thoughtful dialogue about the drivers of marketing effectiveness.

In order to help fulfill this mission and provide learning to the industry, Effie relies on entrants’ willingness to share their finalist and winning case studies with the industry.

By providing permission to publish your written case, you are:

• Bettering the industry.
  By allowing other marketers to learn from your success, you are inspiring the industry to raise the bar and make their marketing better.
• Bettering the future leaders of our industry.
  Schools and universities use Effie case studies in their courses to teach students about effectiveness.
• Showcasing your team’s success in achieving one of the top marketing honors of the year.
  Effie wins help attract new talent, prove the importance of marketing in business, and strengthen agency-client relationships.

Publication of Your Written Entry

In the spirit of learning that Effie represents, we ask you to share your case studies so that we may "Make Marketing Better".

We respect that entries may have information deemed confidential. Within the entry portal, entrants may select from the following options:

• Publish the case as it was submitted
• Publish an edited version of your case

The written case is the only portion of the entry that should contain confidential information, and therefore, the only portion of the entry that is included in the above publication permission policy. The creative work (reel, images), public case summary, and statement of effectiveness should not include confidential information and will be showcased in various ways if your entry becomes a finalist or winner.

The Edited Written Entry must be submitted to Effie within 60 calendar days of receipt of a finalist notification email from Effie. To learn more about publication permissions, please review the Entry Kit.