Nominations announced for The Drum Awards for Marketing EMEA 2026

Judging came about yesterday at Huge Sky Studios in London and was presided over by jury president Nicole German, international chief advertising and marketing officer, company & institutional banking at HSBC, alongside vice-president Patrik Hansson, chief advertising and marketing officer and government vice-president at Arla Meals. In whole, 85 advertising and marketing leaders made up this year’s jury.

The winners of the awards, that are supported by Kantar, might be revealed at Evolution London on Wednesday June 3, 2026.

From main shopper names resembling Lidl, Nike, Asics, Mastercard, Vodafone, Marriott Bonvoy, Specsavers, NatWest, HSBC UK, Common Footage and Mars Snacking UKI, to businesses and inventive companies together with The Romans, Initiative UK, M+C Saatchi Group UK, Rapp, Ketchum, Golin and Publicis London, the nominations seize the breadth of contemporary advertising and marketing throughout EMEA.

Essentially the most hotly contested classes this 12 months embrace Content material, Social Goal and Reside or In-Individual Expertise, underlining how strongly the trade is leaning into storytelling, cultural relevance and viewers participation.

In Content material, shortlisted work ranges from Meeting’s marketing campaign for P&O Ferries and Burson’s work for Henkel to Golin for Specsavers, Ketchum for Mars Snacking UKI and Publicis London for Moxy Resorts, reflecting a class the place model storytelling is more and more anticipated to ship each distinctiveness and measurable industrial worth.

In Social Goal, nominees together with Channel 4, The Samaritans, British Purple Cross, Mastercard and The Archewell Basis present how manufacturers and organizations are persevering with to make use of advertising and marketing as a instrument for conduct change, consciousness and public engagement.

The shortlist additionally factors to continued momentum in experience-led work. Reside or In-Individual Expertise options campaigns for Magnum, Mastercard, Nike x Zalando, Absolut Vodka and Allwyn, signaling the rising function of immersive activations in constructing model consideration and cultural influence.

Elsewhere, classes resembling AI, Knowledge/Perception, Expertise Innovation and Retail Media display how advertising and marketing sophistication is being formed by sharper measurement, smarter concentrating on and new functions of automation and intelligence. Shortlisted work for manufacturers together with NatWest, Shell, Lidl, Cathay Pacific, Arla Meals and Common Footage means that innovation is now being judged not simply on novelty, however on tangible enterprise impact.

The shortlist additionally displays the energy of public-facing work throughout the area. Campaigns for the Monetary Conduct Authority, Division for Work and Pensions, Macmillan Most cancers Help, NHS, Community Rail and British Transport Police sit alongside industrial model work, reinforcing how broad the definition of selling excellence has change into.

In PR and Influencer Advertising and marketing, manufacturers resembling Asics, Jaffa Muffins, Adobe UK, Pepsi Max, Unilever and Trussell seem alongside agency-led and creator-led work that reveals how affect is continuous to shift past easy attain and into credibility, participation and earned cultural consideration.

Amongst sector classes, journey, finance, meals and beverage, leisure and retail are all properly represented. Shortlisted work for P&O Ferries, Icelandair, Rail Supply Group, HSBC UK, Lloyds Banking Group, Jason’s Sourdough, Jaffa Muffins and JBL reveals the number of organizations utilizing advertising and marketing to unravel very completely different enterprise challenges.

Trailblazer in Advertising and marketing, which acknowledges these serving to outline advertising and marketing’s subsequent chapter, might be contested by Lizzie Earl, founder, Stakked; Mae Reddaway, managing director, Seen Connects; Michael Rozanov, senior advertising and marketing effectiveness analyst, The7Stars; Mick Rigby, CEO, Yodel Cellular and Olivier Billon, CEO & founder, Ykone.

With nominations now introduced, consideration turns to the reside ceremony in London, the place one of the best work from throughout EMEA, and the groups and other people behind it, might be celebrated on June 3. Get your tickets here.