Q: Why has PRovoke Media made these changes to the Agency of the Year process?
A: We recognize that the agency business has evolved. Different agencies excel for very different reasons. Not all fit neatly into a single category like consumer or digital. We wanted to be sure that we were recognizing excellence in all of its dimensions, without forcing agencies into a pre-determined template.

Q: What has happened to the old geographic categories and specialist agency categories?
A: We have abandoned those categories as unnecessarily restrictive (sometimes, more than one agency in a specialist discipline, or more than one agency in a particular market may be worthy of an award) and also ill-suited to recognizing agencies that offer a wide range of services spanning different specialties and different geographies.

Q: What about the large, midsize, and small categories?
A: Size will not be a major criterion, and we expect our Best Agencies lists to include firms of all sizes, from the giant global agencies to tiny boutiques. Excellence in our profession comes from firms of all sizes: smaller firms that punch above their weight creatively or offer a standout workplace culture, as well as large agencies with big names clients and a volume of thought leadership.

Q: What about New Agency of the Year?
A: We will still name at least one New Agency of the Year in the UK, Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific. To qualify as new, a firm should be less than three years old on December 31, 2025.

Q: How do I submit my firm for inclusion on the Best Agencies list?
A: There are two ways to submit your firm for inclusion. The simplest is to submit your case for inclusion via this website. You can submit a PDF, Word document, PowerPoint or similar that provides us with the information we need (see above) to evaluate your agency. 

Firms may also request in-person or virtual meetings with members of the PRovoke Media editorial team. We will honor as many of these requests as time allows. These meetings should include documentation (a summary document or presentation deck).

Q: what supporting materials should I provide with my entry?
A: for our Best Agencies research, a summary document on its own is usually enough. However if you are referencing specific campaigns and would like to include a case history as an attachment, that would be helpful. You can also include testimonials as supporting documents.

Q: How many Best Agencies will there be in each region?
A: We are aiming to include roughly the same number of agencies that we have recognized in previous Agency of the Year competitions. Last year:

• We named 80 agencies in the US
• We named 10 agencies in Canada
• We named 50 agencies in the UK
• We named 50 agencies in continental Europe
• We named 10 agencies in Africa
• We named 12 agencies in the Middle East
• We named 36 agencies in Asia
• We named 15 agencies in Latin America

However, these numbers might expand or contract based on the volume and quality of entries we receive.

Q: Will Agency of the Year write-ups still follow the same format, with separate sections on backstory, locations, performance, people and culture, work and thought leadership?
A: No. One of the reasons we are making these changes is that this format seemed too restrictive when it came to capturing what makes each agency special. The new agency profiles will be a simple narrative, seeking to capture all the things—culture, creativity, financial performance, thought leadership, innovation, specialization—that make each agency special.

Q: What will Best Agencies receive?
A: All agencies appearing on our Best Agencies lists will be profiled by our editors, the write-ups based on both agency submissions and our knowledge of the business.
In addition, all of our Best Agencies will receive certificates, recognizing them as being among the best in their region, and badges that can be displayed on websites, social media, email signatures etc.

Q: Will the Best Agencies be ranked?
A: No. We will publish a gallery of all our Best Agency honorees, alphabetically but also searchable by geography, expertise, and more.

Q: How are the Agencies of the Year selected from among the Best Agencies in the region?
A: Our editors will evaluate the totality of the submissions, and will select the best of the best on all of the criteria (performance, creativity, culture, leadership). There will be an effort to balance geographies and sectors, but there will be no artificial restrictions (i.e., there won’t necessarily be only one healthcare firm among our Agencies of the Year, or one German firm among our Continental Europe honorees).

Q: How many Agencies of the Year will there be in each region?
A: In the past, we have typically shortlisted five agencies in each geographic or specialist category, and selected a single winner. The ratio of Best Agencies to Agencies of the Year will be roughly similar, so that about one in five of the agencies on each list will receive an Agency of the Year award.

Q: What will Agencies of the Year receive?
A: As always, our Agencies of the Year will be announced during our annual awards ceremony. They will receive a trophy, and will also receive collateral that they can display on their website, social media, and email signatures.

Q: Will the Agencies of the Year be ranked?
A: The Agencies of the Year will not be ranked, but we will be naming one Agency of the Year in each region.

Q: How does this impact the Best Agencies to Work For survey and rankings?
A: We will continue to recognize the Best Agencies to Work For in each region, separate from this process, and based—as always—on an employee survey. However, results in our Best Agencies to Work For survey will be factored into the Best Agencies process.

Q: When will the Best Agencies be announced?
A: Best Agencies for North America will be announced on March 30. Best Agencies for EMEA will be announced on April 17.

Q: When will the Agencies of the Year be announced?
A: Agencies of the Year for North America will be announced at our awards ceremony in New York on May 5. Agencies of the Year for EMEA will be announced at our awards ceremony in London on May 21.

If you have questions about the Agency of the Year process that are not answered above, please contact us at research@provokemedia.com and we will add the answers to this page as soon as we