Before you
The questions agencies ask most often about eligibility, judging, fees and the result. Anything not answered here is worth an email before you write.
Start here.
What does an entry cost?
At the current window, work and campaign entries are ₹17,499 + GST, agency awards are ₹34,999 + GST and brand awards are ₹39,999 + GST. Grand honours carry no fee.
What counts as South?
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Puducherry. For an Agency Award the agency is headquartered in one of those, or entering through a substantive South office that is the subject of the entry. For a Work Award the lead team must be based in an eligible South office.
Our client is in Delhi and the campaign ran nationally. Can we enter?
Yes, if the lead agency team was based in an eligible South office. The client's location does not decide eligibility.
Can one piece of work be entered in more than one category?
Yes, where it genuinely belongs in each. A separate fee applies per category entry, and the form can duplicate an entry so the writing is not repeated.
Is the fee refundable?
Not once a submission has entered evaluation. Duplicate payments, confirmed platform errors and exceptional cases approved by the Awards Admin are refunded.
Entries.
( 01 — 06 )We made the work in-house. Do we need an agency to enter?
No. A brand can enter directly and no agency details are required. Credits are optional on every entry, so an in-house team can submit without naming an agency at all. Set your organisation type to Brand or in-house team when you create the profile.
Which categories can a brand enter?
All of them that fit the work. Brand Excellence of the Year and Emerging Brand of the Year are built for brands, In-House Creative Team of the Year is for the team itself, and work and campaign categories are open to in-house work on the same terms as agency work.
Can one piece of work be entered in more than one category?
Yes, where it genuinely belongs in each. A separate fee applies per category entry, and the form can duplicate an entry so the writing is not repeated.
Can several colleagues work on the same entry?
Yes. An organisation profile holds the agency or the brand, and colleagues are invited into it, so a team shares drafts rather than each starting their own.
Can an entry be changed after submission?
No. It locks at submission. If the screening team needs something, they reopen only the specific fields they have asked about, and it re-locks when you resubmit.
Is there a limit on how many entries an organisation can submit?
No.
Eligibility.
( 02 — 06 )What counts as South?
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Puducherry. For an Agency Award the agency is headquartered in one of those, or entering through a substantive South office that is the subject of the entry. For a Work Award the lead team must be based in an eligible South office.
Our client is in Delhi and the campaign ran nationally. Can we enter?
Yes, if the lead agency team was based in an eligible South office. The client's location does not decide eligibility.
What period does the work have to fall in?
Work first launched or materially active between 1 September 2025 and 31 August 2026.
We are a network agency. How do we enter?
Through the South office, and the entry must identify that office and the team responsible.
Payment.
( 03 — 06 )Can a brand pay directly, without going through an agency?
Yes. The fee is paid by card at the end of the entry, by whoever holds the account, and the invoice is raised in your own organisation's name. Add your GSTIN to the organisation profile first if you need the invoice to carry it.
When is the fee fixed?
At successful payment, not when the draft was created. A draft started in one window and paid for in the next is charged at the later rate.
What does an entry cost?
At the current window, work and campaign entries are ₹17,499 + GST, agency awards are ₹34,999 + GST and brand awards are ₹39,999 + GST. Grand honours carry no fee.
Does entering several pieces reduce the fee?
No. Every entry is charged at the rate in force when it is paid for, and a piece of work entered in more than one category is charged for each one. What you save is the writing: enter the same work in up to 8 categories and it is copied across them, so it is written once and judged separately in each.
Is the fee refundable?
Not once a submission has entered evaluation. Duplicate payments, confirmed platform errors and exceptional cases approved by the Awards Admin are refunded.
Do we get a GST invoice?
Yes, once payment is confirmed. Your billing state determines the place of supply.
Assets.
( 04 — 06 )What if our case film is on a private link?
Video links must be public YouTube or Vimeo links; the form checks each one plays when you add it. If the film cannot be public, upload the file itself instead: MP4, MOV or WebM, up to 200 MB.
Is a case film required?
No, but for most categories it is the fastest way for a juror to understand the work.
What happens to confidential material?
Jury-only sections are separated from the public summary. Only the public summary may be published if the entry wins.
Jury and results.
( 05 — 06 )Can a category have no winner?
Yes, and it is a normal outcome. If the panel does not believe any eligible entry meets the standard, the category closes as No Award on a recorded vote.
Does paying more improve our chances?
There is no way to pay more. There is one fee per entry type per window, no upgrade, no priority tier, and no payment information inside the jury workspace.
Will we see our scores?
No. Jury comments and scores are confidential, and are not shared verbatim with entrants.
Can we appeal?
You can query an administrative eligibility decision or a factual error. There is no appeal against jury judgement.
How is Agency of the Year decided?
From the published points model applied to the final locked results, then ratified by the Grand Jury, which may withhold the honour.
The event.
( 06 — 06 )When is it?
Thursday 3 December 2026. Entries close 15 November 2026, which leaves screening and the jury the time the process actually needs.
Do winners get a trophy?
The first trophy for a winning entry is covered. Duplicates for other credited parties can be ordered after results.
Where is it being held?
In Hyderabad, on Thursday 3 December 2026. The venue is announced closer to the date.
A question about eligibility or a category is always worth asking before you write rather than afterwards.
Replies within two working days, and same day during the week entries close.