2025 Small Agency Awards—everything you should know

Entries are open for the 2025 Ad Age Small Agency Awards. The one-of-a-kind program celebrates independent agencies with 150 or fewer employees and their impactful work, healthy and sustainable businesses and thriving workplaces. Ad Age Small Agency Awards Showcase your agency’s creativity, business success and commitment to a thriving workplace. Enter today Why enter? This is the 17th year of the awards, and the purpose remains the same: to recognize the agility, innovation and effectiveness of agencies with small teams and few resources. The 2024 winners proved independents are a force to be reckoned with. This is a chance for tiny but mighty agencies to show off their ingenuity for clients big and small. When is the deadline for the 2025 Small Agency Awards? The final deadline is Wednesday, April 16, 2025, at 5 p.m. ET. Who is eligible? For the awards, Ad Age defines a “small agency” as an agency that is majority independently owned and has no more than 150 full-time employees. Independent means the agency must be, at minimum, 51% privately held, with no more than 49% of the company backed by a holding company, publisher, marketer, tech company, private equity firm or similar. Agencies of all marketing disciplines are eligible to enter, including those that specialize in design, PR, media buying, experiential and creator and influencer marketing. Can international agencies enter the Small Agency Awards? Yes, agencies that are not based in the U.S. are eligible to enter many of the categories. This includes Small Agency of the Year as well as Best Agency Culture, Experiential, Media and Newcomer Agency of the Year. Non-U.S. agencies can also enter Executive of the Year and all the campaign categories. Please note that all submissions should be written in English. Are there awards for people? Yes, we are still honoring the individuals driving small agency success with categories for account managers, agency producers, creatives, media planners and strategic planners. For agency leaders, we have the Executive of the Year honor. What kind of work is eligible for the Small Agency Awards? All kinds, including TV spots and campaigns, AI, experiential, branded content, design (product, package, graphic, motion, experience, retail, etc.), websites, games, apps, social media and other stuff that’s harder to define: new distribution ideas, new ways to engage a community, etc. Campaigns must have run between Jan. 1, 2024, and March 1, 2025 to be eligible. What are judges looking for? The Small Agency Awards categories don’t focus on one thing—judges want to see a mix of innovation, creativity, campaign performance and business growth. It’s not just about big-name clients, either; agencies that can build smart, effective work for a typically uninteresting category or produce outsize business results for a fledgling marketer are more likely to capture the judges’ attention. And yes, revenue is an important element in your submission as it gives judges a window into the health of your business and its trajectory. When talking about growth for the Small Agency of the Year award you should refer to 2024 financials and staff headcounts, giving as much guidance as possible for 2025. Ad Age Best Places to Work 2025 50 companies doing a standout job See the full list here Who won the 2024 Ad Age Small Agency Awards? You can see last year’s winners here. How much does it cost to enter? The fee for the Small Agency of the Year category is tiered based on size. For agencies with 1-10 full-time employees, the fee is $325; the fee for agencies with 11-75 employees is $375; and the fee for agencies with 76-150 employees is $450. For all other categories, the fee is $375 per entry, regardless of agency size. When are the finalists notified? Finalists will be notified in June. Winners will be announced at the 2025 Ad Age Small Agency Conference & Awards in Toronto on July 23. How do I enter? Instructions, criteria, eligibility and tips for entering can all be found at AdAge.com/SAA2025. Ad Age Small Agency Awards Showcase your agency’s creativity, business success and commitment to a thriving workplace. Enter today

2025 Small Agency Awards—everything you should know

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