Eligibility

The Summit Marketing Effectiveness Award (Summit MEA) allows marketing and advertising companies to demonstrate their ability to influence consumers’ knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs.

  • Summit MEA is open to individuals, and companies of any size.
  • All work submitted must have been completed within the last 3 calendar years up through the final deadline.
  • Entries may not have been previously entered in the Summit MEA competition unless 51% of the work has been revised.
  • All entries must be submitted for judging exactly as published, aired, or implemented and may not be modified for awards. The Summit Awards may request proof of initial production, publication, and/or air date.
  • A written translation or adaptation must accompany non-English entries.
  • There is no limit to the number of entries a contestant may enter.
  • Some entries may qualify for multiple categories; if so, treat them as separate submissions.
  • The Summit Awards and its jury reserve the right to reclassify entries if incorrectly entered or are deemed to be more competitive elsewhere.
  • Judges reserve the right to make no award in a category if submissions do not meet their expectations.
  • We respect and acknowledge the intellectual copyright of the entering firms’ creative work and we will fully protect those rights.

Entry Definitions

  • Single Entry is one piece of creative execution, ie. brochure, website, annual report, commercial, logo, outdoor, direct mail.
  • Campaigns consist of at least two separate executions in one or more media.

Winner announcement

  • October/November

Entry Preparation

For each Summit MEA entry, please share a project overview. For specific overview information, log in to the Summit Awards’ Entry Platform.

Project details may include: Background/Overview/Historic details, Project Story, Audience, Competitive landscape, Constraints/Limitations, Objectives, Strategies, Creative execution, Results.

Optional Guidance
To help entrants shape their project overviews, we provide two frameworks below. These are not required, but they can help present work in a way that gives judges the right context. Choose the version that best fits your project. Judges value clarity and strategic insight over length.

Extensive Entry Framework

  • Project Name – Provide a clear, recognizable title.
  • Background / Overview – Define the challenge that led to the project. What circumstances (competition, launch, rebrand, shifting market) made this initiative necessary?
  • Objectives – Outline the goals. What outcomes, shifts in perception, or benchmarks was the project designed to achieve?
  • Target Audience – Describe the intended audience. Include demographics, roles, or behaviors that shaped your approach.
  • Strategy & Insight – Summarize the guiding insight and overall strategy. Explain how it connected to the objectives and shaped the creative direction.
  • Resources – Identify resources applied. This may include general budget level, talent, partnerships, or tools. Highlight how they were used effectively.
  • Challenges / Constraints – Describe hurdles such as timing, regulations, competitive saturation, or economic forces. Explain how they influenced your approach.
  • Competitive Landscape – Outline what was happening in the market or category. Show how the project stood out and created relevance.
  • Execution – Explain how the strategy came to life across channels, media, or touchpoints. Show how each element supported the overall objective.
  • Results – Present the outcomes. Include quantitative measures (conversions, engagement, sales) and qualitative impacts (attitude shifts, brand relevance, loyalty). Tie results directly to the stated objectives.

Quick Entry Framework

  • Project Name – Give the project a clear title.
  • Challenge – What problem or opportunity led to the project?
  • Objective – What did you want to achieve?
  • Approach – What strategy or idea guided your work? How was it carried out?
  • Results – What happened as a result? Share outcomes that connect back to the objective.

Download the Entry Brief Frameworks as a PDF for offline use [link]

Size: Keep uploads under 100MB.

Accepted files:

Images: jpeg, jpg, gif, png
Documents: pdf, doc
Audio: mp3, aac, amr, wma, wav, m4a, m4p
Video: flv, mp4, mkv, 3gp, mpg, mpeg, mov, avi, wmv

Unaccepted files:

Do not submit files that force judges to install or locally download including exe, psd, zip, tar, tgz, taz, or gz. Whenever possible, do not link Drive, Dropbox, or another cloud repository that requires the judges to maneuver through files. Email us with questions or to suggest workarounds.

Video/Television/Commercials/Radio/Audio

  • Upload screenshot (for visual thumbnail) and
  • Upload file or provide public URL ie YouTube, Vimeo, etc. Keep uploads under 100 megs. If larger, please host on an outside server.
  • Do not provide links to Google Drive or Dropbox files.

Print-oriented Items

  • One-sided creative (ads, logos, posters, etc.) upload jpg.
  • Two-sided or multi-page creative samples, send multiple jpg or combine them into one multi-page pdf.
    (Provide all pages of the item vs a photo taken to display it. Juries need the option to read and not just view it as a presentation.)

Websites, Online Entry, PR, Online Application Preparation

  • Upload screenshot of homepage/open screen (for visual thumbnail) and
  • Input URL in the provided field.
    (For Apps/Interactive – Do not require judges to download and/or launch. Alternatively, provide a short video, screen capture, or other visual presentation (video, pdf, ppt), to demonstrate app/interactive. Provide any needed UN and passwords.)