Judging Process

Entries are reviewed over a two-stage judging process by a highly skilled and experienced panel of judges, including senior creatives, brand, marketing and comms managers, agency leaders, filmmakers, design and copy experts and representatives from other stakeholder groups.

We recognise and understand the sensitive nature of the information submitted in your entries; therefore we require all judges to sign a legally binding conﬁdentiality agreement before appointment.

Each judging group will have a neutral facilitator, who will ensure all processes are adhered to and that judging is fair and balanced.

Verification stage

The Awards Steering Group assess all entries for eligibility before judging begins. At this stage you may be contacted if there are questions surrounding eligibility for the PM Awards (e.g. dates, audience) and for specific categories.

Judging phase 1: Online review

Judges are divided into subgroups according to their expertise and experience and these separate judging panels will review all entries in their relevant categories online.

No single judge reviews more than three separate categories. Last year, more than 70 judges took part in order to give a range of perspectives.

Judging phase 2: Judging day

A number of entries from each category will be shortlisted based on the first round judging scores.

Over the course of three/four days, the judges will gather online or face to face to review, individually score, debate and ultimately decide the winners, from the shortlist. This culminates in awarding Gold, Silver and Bronze accordingly. Every category will have a winner (Gold) and judges will reserve the right to award Silver and/or Bronze depending on how close to the winning standard finalists are.

For both rounds, your entry will be judged on the judging criteria outlined on the website.

The winners will be announced at the PM Awards, held in London in March.

Creative Champion (agency or pharma)

This award will be judged using the different elements as described on the category page. The written entry will be assessed by the judging panel, who may contact nominees by email with additional questions. Shortlisted finalists will then be invited to present to the judging panel.

Pharma Marketing Pioneer (pharma individual)

This award will be judged using several different elements as described on the category page. The written entry will be assessed by the judging panel, who may contact the nominee by email with additional questions. Shortlisted finalists will then be interviewed by a judging panel.

Cross Functional Excellence (pharma team)

This award will be judged using several criteria as described on the category page. The written entry will be assessed by the judging panel, who may contact nominees by email with additional questions. Shortlisted finalists will then be interviewed by the judging panel.