Early bird entries are now open to the Agency of The Year Middle East Awards 2026. Back for its fifth edition, these highly-coveted awards recognise the region’s top-performing agencies across creative, digital, media, PR, production and beyond.
The Agency of The Year Middle East Awards celebrates business performance, agency culture, innovation, and diversity. Submitting an entry to these awards allows you the chance to measure your agency’s performance against the best in the business, boost client confidence, showcase your innovative strategies and strengths and inspire future growth through a recognition of your achievements.
Judges will consider factors such as business growth, client retention, expansion of integrated offerings, leadership and innovation, demonstrable investment in R&D, influence within the industry, and commitment to talent and culture as they evaluate entries.
Entries can currently be made at a discounted rate until August 6, 2026. To download the full entry kit, click here.
To see the full list of winners from last year’s awards, click here.
Category updates for Agency of The Year Middle East 2026
Unlike traditional awards within the industry that focus on creative work, these awards stand to highlight how you drive business outcomes through exceptional client-servicing, agency culture, DE&I, new business and more.
Based on region-wide industry feedback, the 2026 edition has a grand total of 39 categories, with 12 new awards introduced and a completely refreshed geographic segment. The updates aim to shine a spotlight on every corner of the region’s marketing, creative, advertising, digital, PR, media and production agencies. This year’s awards also introduce brand new categories for gaming, esports and sports marketing.
The new categories are as follows:
Agency
Best Gaming and Esports Agency
This category celebrates agencies that help brands enter gaming, esports and interactive entertainment with credibility and measurable purpose. Entries should show expertise in gaming communities, streamer partnerships, esports tournaments, virtual environments, branded content, platform behaviour and youth culture.
Best Influencer Marketing Agency
This award is for agencies that have professionalised creator partnerships and delivered credible, measurable influence for brands. Entrants should show how they identify creators, build communities, manage brand safety, negotiate partnerships, measure outcomes and create authentic audience engagement. This is not about celebrity access or viral moments alone. It is for agencies that can prove commercial results, cultural relevance, ethical creator management, long-term client trust and a sophisticated understanding of how influence works across platforms, languages, communities and markets in the Middle East.
Best Sports Marketing Agency
This award recognises agencies that help brands, rights-holders, teams, leagues, athletes or events unlock the commercial and cultural power of sport. Entrants should demonstrate expertise in sponsorship strategy, fan engagement, partnership activation, content, athlete collaboration, event amplification and measurement. The strongest submissions will show how sport was used to build trust, relevance, community, revenue or participation.
Best Independent Digital Agency
This category recognises independent agencies delivering digital strategy, platforms, content, performance, social, experience or technology enabled marketing. Entrants should prove that they have built a commercially strong digital business without relying on network scale.
Download the entry kit
Geographic
Best Holding Company / Network – Saudi Arabia
This award recognises the strongest network owned or holding-company agency operating in Saudi Arabia during a period of rapid market transformation. Entrants should show how they have built a meaningful presence in the Kingdom, delivered client outcomes, grown commercially and contributed to the development of local marketing capability.
Best Holding Company / Network – UAE
This award recognises the strongest network owned or holding-company agency operating in the UAE during the eligibility period. Entrants should demonstrate how they have converted scale, specialist capability, regional connectivity and client access into measurable business performance.
Best Independent Agency – Saudi Arabia
This category honours the independent agency in Saudi Arabia that has delivered exceptional business progress, client trust and local market relevance during the eligibility period. Entrants should demonstrate how they have built a strong agency model in one of the region’s most dynamic and demanding markets without relying on holding-company infrastructure.
Best Independent Agency – UAE
This category celebrates the independent agency in the UAE that has shown the strongest entrepreneurial performance, client value and market influence during the eligibility period. Entrants should prove that they have built a resilient, commercially sound business without the backing of a global network or holding company.
Best Agency – Wider Middle East (excluding Saudi Arabia and UAE)
This category is for agencies operating in Middle Eastern markets outside the UAE and Saudi Arabia, including but not limited to Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. Entrants should demonstrate strong local performance, client impact, market leadership and operational excellence within their specific context.
View all 2026 categories here
People & Teams
Best Agency Producer
This award recognises an agency producer who has delivered exceptional value through production leadership, operational judgement and creative problem-solving. Entrants should show how they managed complexity, protected budgets, improved timelines, strengthened supplier relationships and helped teams deliver ambitious work responsibly.
Best Media Planning Leader
This award recognises a media planning leader who has helped clients make smarter, more accountable and more effective media decisions. Entrants should demonstrate excellence in audience strategy, channel planning, investment thinking, measurement, data interpretation and business alignment.
Independent Agency Head of The Year
This award honours the founder, managing director or chief executive of an independent agency who has shown outstanding leadership during the eligibility period. Entries should demonstrate how they grew the business, protected its independence, won and retained clients, built a strong team and sharpened the agency’s market position.
Submit your entry now
