All judges sign a comprehensive NDA covering entries and deliberations.
How Judging Works
Evaluated by practitioners. Governed by process.
Designed to find genuine excellence.
South Africa's marketing leaders
Not theorists. Practitioners who've solved the same problems you're submitting entries about.
Who Judges
75+
Leading industry professionals
CMOs, senior brand strategists, and agency principals. They know what good looks like - and what mediocre dressed up as good looks like too.
Judges to be announced soon...
25
Strategic Council members
Senior industry leaders who govern the judging framework, manage escalations, and ensure standards remain uncompromised season on season.
Meet the Council →]Evaluation criteria
What judges evaluate
Every entry is scored across three dimensions. The weighting is deliberate: strategy matters most.
50
points
Strategy
Business context, insight quality, and the logic of your approach.
25
points
Execution
Quality and consistency of implementation against the strategy.
25
points
Results & Learnings
Business impact, measurement rigour, and attribution of outcomes.
Section D: Code, Culture & Commerce (C³) - not scored
This section captures how your marketing initiative engaged with the three forces of C³. Responses are not scored but contribute to the MAA Industry Intelligence Benchmark Report - a sector-wide view of how South African marketing is navigating Code, Culture, and Commerce. Complete it thoroughly.
The process
Three phases. Rigorous by design.
Thorough. Deliberate. Consistent
1
Online Judging
June - August
Individual scoring and commentary by assigned judges.
2
Calibration
August
Scoring consistency verified across all categories.
3
Final Adjudication
August - September
Top entries reviewed in person by the full panel to decide on winners.
All entrants receive basic scoring feedback on request. Winners receive full judge commentary and a citation as part of their recognition.
Integrity