Agency of the Year
Recognising the most innovative and inspiring agencies, individuals, and teams shaping the creative, media, and PR landscape.
Brand Experience Agency
This award recognises the best agency specialising in providing experiential marketing solutions.
Creative Agency
This category recognises the most creative advertising agencies.
Digital Innovation Agency
This award recognises agencies specialising in providing the best digital solutions.
Independent Agency (Media & PR)
Open to independent media or PR agencies and agencies that are not majority owned by a holding company or network (less than 49%). Agencies not eligible are those who are either majority, fully backed by or sharing resources with a holding company, or using a holding agency brand name.
Influencer / Creator Agency
This award recognises the best agencies specialising in influencers and creators.
Media Agency
This award recognises the very best agencies specialising in media including but not limited to planning and buying.
Multicultural Agency
This category is for any specialist agency, or specialized team within a larger agency, that focuses entirely on helping brands reach and connect with new Canadians and those with a strong ethnic connection and identity.
PR Agency
This category recognises the achievements, performance and excellent work of pr consultancies in Canada.
Small Agency
Any agency based in Canada with 20 or less full time staff. These small agencies are not only undersized threats to the larger players in their category, but in many ways set standards in terms of work quality and craftsmanship, operations / culture.
Social Media Agency
This award recognises the best agencies specialising in delivering social media solutions for brands. The judges will be looking for innovative use of social platforms and effective engagement strategies in the social space.
Start-Up Agency
Open to agencies that are within their first two years of operation. All disciplines are welcome. Open to agencies that are not backed by or affiliated with an existing holding company, agency or network.
Branding/ Design Studio Agency
This award recognises the best agencies specialising in creating, launching and repositioning brands. The judges will consider how the agency has planned, executed and evaluated branding projects for its clients. This is open to all agencies part of a network or independent.
People & Teams
Account Person
This award recognises professionals responsible for account management who have displayed the most innovation, skills and enthusiasm in bringing the benefits of advertising to their clients’ businesses resulting in the development of solid business relationships.
Agency Producer or Team
This award recognises agency producers who have displayed the most innovation, skills and enthusiasm when executing agencies’ campaign ideas.
Creative Leader
The award recognises creative directors working (largely) from Canada who have overseen the best work during the review period. The winner will have not only set the standard for creative excellence but have also raised the bar for innovation and disruptive big ideas.
Creative Team
This award recognises the Canadian team behind the best work during the review period. The winning team will have not only set the standard for creative excellence but have also raised the bar for innovation and disruptive big ideas. Ideally, the team will have created campaigns for more than one brand.
Head of Agency
This award recognises the heads of Canadian agencies nationally who have individually done the most to advance their agency/network in the industry.
Media Planner
This award is for the media planning and media strategy leaders who have made the biggest impact on their clients’ marketing and business results through the creative use of media during the review period. This person will be responsible for spearheading the agency’s planning and strategy efforts more broadly, even if they do not formally run a separate department.
New Business Development Team/Person
This award is for the new business development person/team who has proven to have built and developed a new account or expanded the services of an established client relationship. Judges will consider solid examples of leadership in new business development initiatives that contributed to the success and financial growth of the agency. This can be an individual or a team.
Strategist
This award will celebrate the planner/strategist who has helped to deliver the best results for their clients through insightful, original and evidence based thinking.
Campaign BIG
Unlike other awards that focus on results, Campaign BIG Awards shine a spotlight on bold ideas and exceptional executions.
Audio & Radio
Awarded to the best creative idea in audio and radio advertising. Includes any form of radio broadcast, internet advertising, streaming audio content, downloadable content and podcasts.
Best Idea for a Social and/ or Environmental purpose
This category will reward creative ideas that raise awareness or positive sentiment towards a social
cause/ issue or environmental cause/ issue, and/or help shift culture or change behaviour.
Best use of AI
The category will recognize executions and campaigns that represent innovation only possible through the use of artificial intelligence tools and platforms.
Best use of Influencers/ Creators
This category awards the most creative campaign that uses one or more social media influencers or a celebrity’s social platforms to increase the brand's reach. This can be as a standalone initiative or as part of a wider campaign.
Experiential
Awarded to the best creative experience idea. Includes live events, pop-ups, brand activations, festivals and immersive experiences.
Film
Awarded to the best creative idea in film advertising. Includes TV ads, cinema, idents, branded documentaries and brand films.
Integrated
Awarded to the best creative idea across multiple channels.
Campaigns into this category must make use of at least two different media channels.
Out of Home/ Print
Awarded to the best creative idea in out of home advertising. Includes 6-sheets, 48-sheets, 96-sheets, giant posters, digital and interactive posters, cross tracks, bus sides, taxis, ambient posters and special builds.
Campaign Media
Celebrating the boldest media campaigns that are shaping the future of our industry, driving change and setting new standards for creativity and impact.
Best Social Strategy
This award recognises a company that uses social media to inform a brand’s media strategy and execution.
Branded Content
The category rewards a company that uses branded content at the heart of a media
campaign.
Data & Creativity
The category recognises innovative media activity underpinned by a creative, audience-focused use of data.
Digital Innovation
New ideas in the use of digital media that deliver something tangible for an advertiser, including but not limited to insights that break new ground in digital, a new digital or social networking application, or new use of gaming (including console games, PC games, social or mobile gaming).
Media Innovation
This award recognises the clever use of new ideas in media that deliver something tangible for an advertiser such as a clever media insight, a new digital or social networking application, a buzz or viral marketing campaign, or a new piece of technology.
Judges will be looking to see how the innovation led to business results.
Best Media Partnership
These categories celebrate a company or companies that used a media partnership at the heart of a media campaign.
Total Communications Strategy
The category looks to award a company for a total communications campaign, with particular recognition for work that caters for the whole customer experience.
Best Creative and Media Agency Partnership
This award recognises projects or campaigns that have only been made possible by the close collaboration between a creative agency and a media agency or the work of an integrated creative and media agency team.
Borealis Award
This award was introduced to honour the biggest
idea(s) of the year in Canadian advertising and
commercial creativity. Borealis is not about
category, media or budgets. There are no welldefined criteria, other than inspiration and
innovation.