Meet The Elephants
Visit Kyoorius Creative Awards

Important Dates

23 February 2026
Call For Entries

5 April 2026
First Chance Deadline

26 April 2026
Final Last Chance Deadline

01 May 2026
Judging Begins

23 May 2026
Awards Night

For nearly two decades, Kyoorius has stood for credibility, transparency, and world-class standards.

In response to an industry that increasingly demands measurable impact and strategic accountability, Kyoorius introduces the Kyoorius Marketing Awards.

Presented by Zee and powered by The Clio Awards, the Kyoorius Marketing Awards recognise marketing that delivers measurable results and is built on strong strategic thinking.

In keeping with the philosophy of all Awards by Kyoorius, the Kyoorius Marketing Awards use a non-hierarchical award structure, with no Golds, Silvers, or Bronzes. The Elephant remembers the work — even when the rest of the world forgets.

About
#KMA26

Rules

Meet The Elephants

Categories

Meet The Elephants

    • Marketing Effectiveness recognises marketing that delivered measurable business and brand results.

    • This category celebrates how a marketing strategy was realised through the disciplined integration of creative execution, media decisions, channel orchestration, timing, and optimisation to drive tangible impact.

    • It honours work where results are central — where strategy and execution combined to produce demonstrable, sustained outcomes.

    • Integrated campaigns, brand platforms, performance-led initiatives, full-funnel programs, and sustained brand-building efforts that demonstrate measurable commercial or brand impact.

    • Work may originate from any discipline — advertising, media, PR, digital, experience, content, or beyond — provided it clearly proves effectiveness and shows a direct link between strategy, execution, and measurable results.

    • Work must have been released in South Asia (India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka) between 1 January 2024 and 31 March 2026.

    • The work must have been actively implemented in market during the eligibility period.

    • Measurable business or brand results must be demonstrated. Results may fall outside the eligibility period, provided they are directly attributable to the entered marketing activity.

    • Purely speculative proposals, unexecuted work, or limited test efforts that did not reach the intended audience at scale are not eligible.

    • Clarity of the business or marketing objective

    • Strength and relevance of the strategy

    • Coherence of execution across channels

    • Logical connection between objectives, deployment, and outcomes

    • Clear, credible evidence of measurable impact

    • Judges will look for proof that the marketing moved performance — not just perception.

Marketing Effectiveness

    • Marketing Strategy recognises the clarity of thinking that defined the direction of a marketing initiative — before execution or results are evaluated.

    • This category celebrates how the business challenge was framed, how meaningful audience insight was uncovered, and how the core strategic direction — including idea, channel roles, and investment priorities — was determined. It honours the blueprint that guided execution.

    • Entries must demonstrate a clearly articulated strategic foundation.

    • This includes defining the business objective, identifying opportunity, and establishing a coherent plan that aligns brand intent with audience behaviour.

    • Work should show how insight, research, and analysis shaped key decisions — informing both creative direction and media approach.

    • Work must have been released in South Asia (India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka) between 1 January 2025 and 31 March 2026.

    • The strategy must have been actively implemented in market during the eligibility period.

    • Measured results are not mandatory; however, the strategic approach must have been applied in a live marketing context.

    • Purely speculative proposals, unexecuted strategies, or limited test efforts that did not reach the intended audience at scale are not eligible.

    • Clarity of problem definition

    • Depth of insight

    • Strength of strategic framework

    • Logic of channel and investment decisions

    • Quality of articulation

    • Results may be referenced but are not primary judging criteria.

    • The focus is on upstream thinking — the decisions that made execution possible

Marketing Strategy

Pricing & Payments

For all entries to Marketing Effectiveness
and Marketing Strategy tracks
> First Chance: INR 20,000 + GST per entry
> Last Chance: INR 25,000 + GST per entry


All payments must be made in Indian Rupees.

Please read the Terms & Conditions for more information on the Pricing Policy, the Refund Policy, and more.

The Steps To An Elephant

  • Log on to entries.kyoorius.com to begin!

    • Check Eligibility

    • Check the category where your entries fit.
      Remember, you can duplicate entries across categories.

    • Log in to entries.kyoorius.com, and create your entry accordingly.

    • By submitting your entries, you acknowledge and agree to the following terms and conditions, as listed here.

    • The Four-Round Judging Process begins 1 May 2026, and lasts till 15 May 2026!

    • The First List is the list of entries that make it through our first round of judging. Those who make it to the first list, are one step closer to winning an Elephant.

    • All First List winners will be revealed after judging finishes on kyoorius.com

    • All First List winners get ONE pass each to attend the Awards Night!

    • Stellar work that meets all of the stringent judging criteria is honoured with The Baby Elephant. This is work that deserves to sit at a higher notch than the mass of advertising, design, marketing communications or visual communications work seen by one and all.

    • Traditionally, only 10% to 15% of all entries submitted are deemed worthy of a Baby Elephant.

    • All entries that win a Baby Elephant are nominated for the Blue or Purple Elephant.

    • Baby Elephant winners will be announced on kyoorius.com a few days before the Awards Night.

    • Scheduled for 23 May 2026
      at the Jio World Convention Center, BKC, Mumbai.

    • Find out if your work wins a Blue or Black Elephant at a night that celebrates South Asian creative excellence.

The Marketing Effectiveness Jury

Marco Venturelli
CEO/CCO, Leo Constellation + Publicis Conseil & CCO, Publicis Groupe France

Kavita Chaturvedi
Chief Executive, ITC
(Biscuits & Confections)

Divya Karani
Chairperson of the Board,
Kulfi Collective

Harsh Deep Chhabra
Global Lead Media,
Godrej Consumer (GCPL)

Sukesh Nayak
CCO, Ogilvy India

Sumeli Chatterjee
Senior Director - Sparkling Flavours, Coca-Cola India & SouthWest Asia

Virat Khullar
Head - Marketing,
Hyundai Motor India

Pulkit Trivedi
MD, Snap Inc. India

The Marketing Strategy Jury

D. Shiv Shivakumar
Operating Partner,
Advent International

Sangeeta Tanwani
CEO, Pantaloons & OWND
Aditya Birla Fashion
& Retail Ltd.

Anirudhha Haldar
Senior VP - Marketing,
TVS Motor Company

Anusha Shetty
Chairperson & Group CEO,
GREY Group India

Mayur Hola
VP - Brand,
Swiggy

Prem Narayan
Chief Strategy Officer,
Ogilvy India

Sunil Suresh
CMO / CBO,
Air India Group

Arun Iyer
Founder & Creative Partner,
Spring Marketing Capital

Ashwin Padmanabhan
COO,
WPP Media South Asia

Rana Barua
Group CEO - India,
South East & North Asia,
Havas

How does
the Jury work?

The Kyoorius Marketing Awards follow a comprehensive multiple-round judging process, where jurors base their decisions on multiple criteria.

All decisions pertaining to judging and winning are solely the responsibility and onus of the jury.

The jury is looking for answers to the following questions…

  • This section establishes the scale and difficulty of your case.

    Judges need sufficient context to evaluate the ambition of your objectives and the significance of your results.

    The Challenge / Cheat Sheet:
    Consider including:

    • Your brand’s position (leader, challenger, new entrant, declining brand).

    • Competitive pressure or spend.

    • Category norms or benchmarks.

    • External conditions (e.g. regulation, economic shifts, societal trends).

    • Audience barriers or behavioural realities.

    • Help the jury understand why this was a meaningful challenge.

    The Objectives / Cheat Sheet:
    Ensure objectives were defined before results. You may structure them across:

    • Business: Commercial goal (e.g. increase market share, defend price, drive growth).

    • Marketing: Audience change (e.g. increase penetration, shift perception, drive trial).

    • Campaign: Specific activity goal (e.g. increase website visits, grow CRM base).

    • Keep them clear and measurable.

  • This section explains the thinking that bridged the challenge and the results.

    Judges want to understand how you moved from problem to solution.

    The Insights / Cheat Sheet:
    An insight is not a statistic. It is a meaningful understanding that shaped direction. You might explain:

    • What tension or behaviour unlocked the opportunity?

    • What belief or unmet need shaped the approach?

    • How research or data informed this insight?

    • Avoid surface observations.

    The Strategy / Cheat Sheet:
    Outline the overarching plan that guided your response. Consider:

    • What strategic shift or positioning anchored the effort?

    • How audience, channel, and messaging decisions aligned.

    • Why this approach was right given the challenge.

    • At its simplest: what sat at the heart of the success?

  • This section demonstrates how the strategy was translated into market action.

    Judges want to see deliberate orchestration — not just what was produced, but why it was executed that way.

    The Execution / Cheat Sheet:
    When outlining execution, consider:

    • What forms did activation take? (e.g. communications, retail, CRM, partnerships, performance marketing).

    • Why were specific channels or formats selected?

    • What were the key building blocks (messaging, format, call-to-action)?

    • How were touchpoints coordinated or sequenced?

    • How did the elements work together to deliver results?

    • Focus on rationale and integration.

  • This section proves the impact of your work.

    Judges are looking for clear causality between objectives and measurable outcomes. To demonstrate significance:

    • Provide historical comparison or benchmarks.

    • Show competitive context where possible.

    • Explain what engagement metrics meant for the business.

    • Clarify whether results were short-term or sustained.

    • Acknowledge external factors that may have influenced performance.

Top tips to make your entry shine

  • Judges will evaluate several cases. Therefore, shorter, well-written entries stand out. Clear storytelling that connects every aspect back to the core idea and results will help your case stand out.

  • Judges may not work in your category and may not know your brand. Provide context to convey the degree of difficulty of your challenge and the significance of your results. Entries should show awareness of external factors that could have influenced the outcome. Acknowledging these factors demonstrates a deeper understanding of the broader market environment and adds credibility.

  • Write your entry with your audience — the jury — in mind. Judges are looking for an engaging, clear story that links each section of the form together. They will evaluate your work with a critical eye — address the questions you think they will have.

  • Clearly articulate strategic insights rooted in genuine business needs and consumer understanding. Demonstrate why certain strategies were chosen and how they directly addressed the objectives.

  • Focus on a few key performance indicators directly linked to business outcomes, rather than presenting a wide array of metrics without clear relevance to the work’s success.

  • Ask colleagues who do not work on the brand to review the entry. Ask what questions they have — what was unclear? Where did the case fall flat? Ask a strong proofreader to review the entry.

FAQs

Eligibility

  • Professionals, brands, and agencies who have worked on a piece of work released for a corporate, brand or business in South Asia (India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka) can enter.

  • No. You can enter as many entries as you like.

  • For the Marketing Effectiveness category, any work launched between 01 January 2024 and 31 March 2026 may be submitted.

    For the Marketing Strategy category, any work launched between 01 January 2025 and 31 March 2026 may be submitted.

  • Yes.

  • Absolutely not.

  • No. Two different entrants cannot enter the same work in the same category / sub-category.

    In case of duplicate entries, we will only accept the entry that was paid first.

    However, the same project may be entered by two different entrants across the two different tracks.

  • Yes. As a client you are eligible to enter a piece of work that has been either created by an internal team or an external agency. This work cannot have been entered in the same category by two separate entrants.

  • Yes, you can enter self-promotional for your own company, but only if it was released commercially and made available to potential customers.

Supporting Information

  • By large, all projects, across the various disciplines and categories, would need to submit the following information:

    • Entry Title: The name of the work. Keep it memorable, descriptive, and short. Do not include the brand name, agency name, or medium type.

    • Brand: The brand, organization, or individual the entry represents.

    • • Client: The company responsible for the brand. Do not include individual names.

    • Description: (1000 characters max) Describe the project clearly and concisely. State the primary objective and provide relevant context. Relevant context may include the market situation, cultural background, competitive landscape, business challenge, or any key conditions that shaped the strategy. If entering the same work in multiple categories, tailor the description to reflect the focus of that category.

    • Entrant Company: Enter the name of the company submitting this work. This will typically be your organisation, though entries may be submitted on behalf of another company. This information will not be visible to the jury and is collected solely for administrative purposes, awards night credits, and the winner showcase.

    • English Translation: We strongly encourage entrants to dub non-English language entries into English or include English subtitles. If this is not possible, please provide a written English translation in this section.

    • Company Credits: List all collaborating companies.

    • Individual Credits: List all key team members and contributors and individual collaborators. 

    • Reference Image: All entries require high resolution digital images. This image serves as the cover image or thumbnail for your entry and will not be evaluated by the jury.

    • Media: This refers to the material and content that the jury will be reviewing. This can include videos, audio files or URLs.

    • Additional Information: Check the next question.

  • The following questions are designed to help the jury better understand your work and the thinking behind it.

    Unless otherwise specified, responses must not exceed 1000 characters (including spaces).

    • Activity Dates: Enter the start and end dates of the work (DD/MM/YYYY).

    • The Challenge: Outline the problem or market situation the brand needed to address. Provide enough context for the jury to understand the situation.

    • The Objective: State the specific goal the brand set out to achieve.

    • The Insight: Describe the key insight that informed your approach.

    • The Strategy: Outline the overarching plan or thinking that guided the brand’s response to the challenge.

    • The Execution: Describe how the strategy was brought to life.

    • The Results: Outline the measurable outcomes delivered by the marketing initiative.

    • Investment Overview: Provide a summary of the total expenditure for this work. This should include paid media spend, production and other non-media costs, and indicate whether owned media was part of the effort. Please also mention any sponsorships or media partnerships that contributed to the work.

    • Statement of Effectiveness: Outline the success of the work. You may highlight the most significant result, why the effort was effective or meaningful to the brand, a key learning from the case, or any noteworthy aspect of the work. The intention of this statement is to help the jury understand why your work deserves recognition by the industry.

    Note: These fields are visible only to jurors.

  • Yes please. The Entry Site allows you to enter credits during the time of submitting your entry. Please assure you’ve filled in the correct details since these credits will be used for the Winners Gallery if the entry goes on to win any honour.

  • Please remove the following before uploading any media:
    > Agency Credits
    > Individual Credits
    > Agency Logos
    > Slates


    ENTRY TRANSLATIONS
    For entries not in English please provide an English language translation. For video uploads, please provide a subtitled version of the video, ideally. Else, use the “English Translations” section of the entry form to add translations.


    IMAGES & REFERENCE IMAGE SPECS
    File Size: ≤15MB
    File Formats: jpg/png
    Dimensions: Longest side ≤ 5000px


    CASE STUDY VIDEO SPECS
    File size: ≤ 500MB
    Duration: ≤ 120 seconds preferred
    Format: mp4/mov

    Preferred:
    Aspect Ratio: 16x9
    Resolution: 1920 px x 1080 px
    Codec: AVC (H.264 / H.265)

    All bars, slates and black must be removed from all videos.


    CONTENT  VIDEO SPECS
    File size: ≤ 500MB
    Format: mp4/mov

    Preferred:
    Aspect Ratio: 16x9
    Resolution: 1920 px x 1080 px
    Codec: AVC (H.264 / H.265)

    All bars, slates and black must be removed from all videos.


    AUDIO
    File Size: ≤ 250 MB
    File Format: mp3

    PDF
    > Please format PDFs in horizontal orientation, preferably 1920 × 1080px
    > Ensure PDFs are compressed and rasterised.
    > File size must not exceed 100MB.
    PDFs may be single-page or multi-page.
    > 300dpi resolution is not required.

  • Yes, if your work was not originally released in English. Ideally, your media should have embedded subtitles. Else, submit translations through the online entry form, and not as a separate document or film.

  • Including a concise, yet sharp Description is strongly recommended not only by Team Kyoorius but also by our jurors, as they often use the provided copy when additional context is needed. This can include cultural background, insights on the creative process, and/or specific notes on what makes the entry unique in the discipline or category entered.

    Make it concise, crisp and as clear as possible!

  • If your entry needs to be experienced by the jury via any physical material, you are most welcome to share it with the jury!

    First, carefully package all materials. Kyoorius will not be liable for any damage or faulty packages received.

    Please mail all physical materials for your entry to Kyoorius at:

    Kyoorius Communications Pvt Ltd
    2nd Floor, Kohinoor Estate,
    165 Tulsi Pipe Road, Lower Parel,
    Mumbai - 400013, Maharashtra

    Material should reach the office no later than 26 April 2026.

Important Dates

  • Entries open on 23 February 2026.

  • The First Chance is the first phase to receive entries. Entries submitted by 5 April 2026 will attract a reduced fee of just INR 20,000 + GST per entry for both categories.

    The Last Chance is the final phase to receive entries. Entries submitted after 5 April 2026 and till the final entry deadline will attract a fee of INR 25,000 + GST per entry for both categories.

  • The First List will be announced after judging finishes.

    Baby Elephant winners will be revealed a few days before the Awards Night.

    The Blue and Black Elephant winners will be revealed at the Kyoorius Awards Night, scheduled for 23 May 2026 at the Jio World Convention Centre, BKC, Mumbai.

Tracks, Disciplines & Categories

  • Please refer to the list above or create an account at entries.kyoorius.com to know more and to better understand entry requirements.

    Or, download the KCA26 Submission Guide.

  • This work must be submitted in the relevant professional category and subject to rules, regulations and pricing of the professional categories.

  • Pro-bono work may be entered in the relevant category. The entrant must have a professional relationship with the organisation and the work has been approved to be published by the same organisation. If the media/airtime was provided pro-bono, we reserve the right to ask for confirmation from the media owner.

Submission & Pricing

  • Start by downloading the KMA26 Submission Guide.

    Have a look at the section on Eligibility to know if your entry is eligible.

    Once you’ve identified where you want to enter your work – proceed to signup at entries.kyoorus.com and create a new entry.

  • The submission requirements vary from category to category. Know the specific requirements by creating an account at entries.kyoorius.com.

    Or, download the KMA26 Submission Guide.

  • Yes. But each entry will require its own dedicated entry submission and will count as a new entry.

  • Each entry to the Kyoorius Marketing Awards, in either category, costs only INR 20,000 + GST per entry, as applicable till 5 April 2026, under the First Chance phase.

    Entries submitted between 6 April 2026 till the entry deadline will cost INR 25,000 + GST per entry as applicable, under the Last Chance phase.

  • You can either pay online using your credit or debit card or pay offline via cheque or bank transfer. Pro-Forma Invoices will be raised through the entry site, and Tax Invoices will be emailed later.

    For bank transfers or cheque payment, the total amount has to be transferred before the entry deadline for your entry to be accepted into the Awards.

  • These will be on your pro-forma invoice, and will show in your online account once you specify you are paying by bank transfer.

Results & Winning

    • The First List is the list of entries that make it through our first round of judging. Those who make it to the first list, are one step closer to winning an Elephant.

    • All First List winners will be revealed after judging finishes on kyoorius.com

    • All First List winners get ONE pass each to attend the Awards Night!

    • Stellar work that meets all of the stringent judging criteria is honoured with The Baby Elephant. This is work that deserves to sit at a higher notch than the mass of advertising, design, marketing communications or visual communications work seen by one and all.

    • Traditionally, only 10% to 15% of all entries submitted are deemed worthy of a Baby Elephant.

    • All entries that win a Baby Elephant are nominated for the Blue Elephant.

    • Baby Elephant winners will be announced on kyoorius.com a few days before the Awards Night.

  • All Blue and Black Elephant award winners will be announced at the awards ceremony at the Kyoorius Awards Night scheduled for 23 May 2026 at the Jio World Convention Centre, BKC, Mumbai.

  • The winning entry in each category will receive a gorgeous Blue or Black Elephant respectively, which you pick up at the Kyoorius Awards Night, an entry feature in the Winner’s Gallery, and the right to use the relevant Elephant Mark.

    Entries that only win a Baby Elephant winners will receive a cute and cuddly Baby Elephant trophy, which will be couriered to them 6-12 weeks after the Kyoorius Awards Night, and an entry feature in the Winner’s Gallery.

    Work that appears only in the First List will be featured in the Winner’s Gallery.

Judging

  • The intent is to reward all work that deserves recognition. Hence, unlike other award shows, there is no hierarchical award structure - no Golds, no Silvers, no Bronze. The best work wins a Baby Elephant, and the very best work wins a Blue Elephant. Do note that there might be multiple winners in a particular discipline or category, or no winner in a discipline or category either.

  • All Awards by Kyoorius follow a comprehensive multiple-round judging process, where jurors base their decisions on multiple criteria.

    All decisions pertaining to judging and winning are solely the responsibility and onus of the jury.

Cheat Sheet

  • Summary of key rules for entering

    This is a helpful summary of key information.

    It is not a substitute for reading the full entry rules, terms and conditions, which can be found here.

    1. The Entry has been submitted exactly as published/aired/released and has not been modified for entry into the 2026 Kyoorius Marketing Awards.

    2. The entry has been created within the context of a normal paying contract and genuine brief from a brand – or, if it’s a case of self-promotion or a non-profit organisation, the brand has approved all the media/production/implementation.

    3. You have permission to enter this work from the commissioning brand/ brand-owning company. We may request proof of this permission directly from the brand.

    4. You have included the brand contact details in the entry including name, position and full contact details.

    5. The entry is not speculative or conceptual advertising and has not been banned or withdrawn from the market.

    6. A duly authorised senior officer (CD, CEO or Chairperson) from the Entrant has given permission for the work to be entered.

    7. The entry was not entered into the same award last year.

    8. There is no reference to your Company or any contributing creative Companies in any digital or physical materials (except in the case of self-promotion or if the reference existed in the original execution).

    9.  The entry, and/or digital or physical materials can be understood in English.

    10.  All media included in your entries must be the final version at the point that you complete and pay for them. No replacement or additional media can be accepted after an entry has been finalised and received by the Festival without exception.

    11.  By submitting an entry you confirm that you own all applicable legal rights for all media included in your entry.

    12. By submitting an entry you agree to pay the relevant entry fee. 

    If you’re unable to meet all the requirements on this list, your entry may be ineligible for the Kyoorius Marketing Awards.

    Failure to meet all these requirements could see your entry being disqualified or withdrawn without a refund.

  • Go ahead and download the KMA26 Submission Guide.

    Till then, use the resources on this page or create an account at entries.kyoorius.com and check there.

  • Please remove the following before uploading any media:
    > Agency Credits
    > Individual Credits
    > Agency Logos
    > Slates


    ENTRY TRANSLATIONS
    For entries not in English please provide an English language translation. For video uploads, please provide a subtitled version of the video, ideally. Else, use the “English Translations” section of the entry form to add translations.


    IMAGES & REFERENCE IMAGE SPECS
    File Size: ≤15MB
    File Formats: jpg/png
    Dimensions: Longest side ≤ 5000px


    CASE STUDY VIDEO SPECS
    File size: ≤ 500MB
    Duration: ≤ 120 seconds preferred
    Format: mp4/mov

    Preferred:
    Aspect Ratio: 16x9
    Resolution: 1920 px x 1080 px
    Codec: AVC (H.264 / H.265)

    All bars, slates and black must be removed from all videos.


    CONTENT  VIDEO SPECS
    File size: ≤ 500MB
    Format: mp4/mov

    Preferred:
    Aspect Ratio: 16x9
    Resolution: 1920 px x 1080 px
    Codec: AVC (H.264 / H.265)

    All bars, slates and black must be removed from all videos.


    AUDIO
    File Size: ≤ 250 MB
    File Format: mp3

    PDF
    > Please format PDFs in horizontal orientation, preferably 1920 × 1080px
    > Ensure PDFs are compressed and rasterised.
    > File size must not exceed 100MB.
    PDFs may be single-page or multi-page.
    > 300dpi resolution is not required.

2026 KYOORIUS MARKETING AWARDS

PRESENTING PARTNER

POWERED BY

SUPPORTED BY

SUPPORTING PARTNER

SUPPORTING PARTNERS

VENUE PARTNER

EVENT PARTNER

CELEBRATION PARTNER