CALL FOR ENTRIES
Awarding ideas that deliver results
Effie Australia celebrates the power of great ideas that drive real, measurable success, along with the brilliant strategies that bring them to life.
Each year, the Effie Awards spotlight the most impactful achievements in advertising and marketing effectiveness. The focus is on campaigns that not only deliver outstanding results but also meet the objectives they were designed to achieve—all within the Australian market.
What’s new for 2025?
This year, all recent new categories will be available.
- Business To Business
- Youth Marketing
- Performance Marketing
- CX
- AI
In addition, Insight and Strategic Thinking will be split into two categories based on budgets over and under $10 million. Food and Beverage, Long-Term Effects and ROI will also be split. More to come in the entry kit.
Entry guidelines
- Entrants must select one industry category from List A and up to four specialist categories from List B per campaign.
- To qualify, campaigns must have run in Australia between 1 April 2023 and 31 May 2025. Campaigns introduced earlier are eligible, but entries will be judged based on results achieved in Australia during the eligibility period.
- International data may be included for context where necessary.
Tips for a winning entry
- Submit entries online and plan ahead to meet deadlines.
- Keep your storytelling concise and impactful—stick to the word count!
- Showcase a clear connection between your strategy, execution, and effectiveness.
Join us in celebrating the ideas that truly make a difference!
MENTORSHIP
DOWNLOAD THE 2025 Entry Guide – 2026 coming soon
The essential how-to-enter guide will help you prepare for the Effie Awards. Download today and get familiar with what’s required.
To help with offline entry creation and approvals, we’ve developed an Effie Entry template for you to collate your entry before uploading it to the entry portal. This is purely for draft purposes and you must answer the precise questions for the category you’re entering. You can also download the entry forms to read outside the entry portal. All entries must be made online.
ENTRIES OPEN SOON
WATCH LAST YEAR’S WEBINAR
Give yourself the best chance of winning a gold Effie. Watch the free webinar with Effie judges.
Key takeaways
- Introduction to the Effie Awards and learn about new categories
- Get tips from Effie judges on writing an award-winning entry
- Find out how to fill in missing data using the Ideally research platform. For more information on the Effie Credit System, email effies@goideally.com
- Find out how to enter with key tricks and tips for using the online portal
- Have the opportunity to ask the team direct questions about entry into this year’s Effie Awards
2025 Key Dates
Call For Entries Open: Monday 9 February 2026
Effie Entry Webinar: Tuesday 24 March 2026
On-Time Entries Close: Monday 4 May 2026
Extended Deadline: Monday 18 May 2026
Late Entry Deadline: Monday 1 June 2026
Round 1 Online Judging: Wednesday 17 June – Wednesday 1 July 2026
Finalists Announced: Monday 13 July 2026
Round 2 Online Judging: Wednesday 22 July – Wednesday 5 August 2026
Round 2 In Person SYD: Tuesday 18 August 2026
Round 2 In Person MELB: Thursday 20 August 2026
Round 3 Executive Judging: Tuesday 1 September 2026
Awards Night Fri 9 October 2026
Categories
LIST A: INDUSTRY CATEGORIES
– Only one category can be entered
A01. Retail/Etail
A02. Food and Beverage Brands
A03. Restaurants and Food Delivery
A04. Other Consumer Goods
A05. Health And Wellbeing
A06. Financial Services and Insurance
A07. Telecommunications and Other Services
A08. Travel, Leisure And Media
A09. Government
A10. Not-for-Profit Organisations
y LIST B: SPECIALIST CATEGORIES
– Maximum four categories can be entered
Specific Challenges
B01. New Product or Service
B02. Challenger Brands
B03. Small Budget
B04. Positive Change
B05. Social Media First
B06. Business to Business Marketing
B07. Youth Marketing
Innovation
B08. Most Original Thinking
B09a. Insight & Strategic Thinking – under $2 million
B09b. Insight & Strategic Thinking – over 2 million
B10. Innovative Media or Channel Solutions (inc Media Partnerships)
B11. Innovative Marketing Strategy
B12. CX
B13. Clever Use Of Research / Or Data
B14. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Metrics
B15. Return On Investment
B16. Short-Term Effects
B17. Long-Term Effects
B18. Brand Value
B19. Performance Marketing
2026 Entry Fees
2
| Member On-Time Entry Fee | $1,155 |
| Member Extended Deadline Fee | $1,525 |
| Member Late Entry Fee | $1,185 |
| Non-Member On-Time Entry Fee | $2,100 |
| Non-Member: Extended Deadline fee | $2,415 |
| Non-Member Late Fee | $3,140 |
| Ex GST |
| New Entrants On-Time Entry Fee | $945 |
| New Entrants Extended Deadline Fee | $1,155 |
| New Entrants Late Fee | $1,575 |
| Small Budget Category On-Time Entry Fee | $630 |
| Small Budget Category Extended Deadline Fee | $685 |
| Small Budget Category Late Fee | $845 |
| Changes to entry after Ext. Deadline | $200 |
| Ex GST |
2026 Eligibility
Advertising campaigns that ran in Australia during the period 1 April 2024 and 31 May 2026 are eligible for entry. Campaigns may have been introduced earlier but must have run during this period and have data relative to the qualifying time.
More eligibility requirements regarding previous entries and case criteria can be found in the entry guide when entries open.
Missing data?
If you’re missing crucial data for your entry, the Ideally research platform can help fill in the gaps with free credits* for Effie entrants.
- Insight validation
- Category entry point validation
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Strategic or creative idea/platform response
*For more information and conditions on the Effie Credit System, email effies@goideally.com
Highlights
ThinkTV takes a look at the new Australian Effies Database
Explore the Case History Database and download case studies
8 tips on writing a winning entry