Ad Age Breakout Brand Leaders award—what to know before you enter

Do you know someone who deserves recognition for driving the marketing success of up-and-coming brands? Ad Age’s newest award program is aimed at telling these stories.

The Breakout Brand Leaders award program will recognize the leaders at brands who take a smart—and maybe unusual—approach to marketing and advertising. This is for the savvy founders, the one-person marketing department or the social media manager who breathed new life into a forgotten staple. We're not just looking for leaders at direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands—we're also looking for the people driving success and shaking up dusty categories.

Submissions opened April 11 and the final deadline for all entries is 5 p.m. ET on June 5.

Honorees will be notified in August and profiled in a special feature publishing in November 2023.

Below, more about the award, which you also read about here. 

What is the Breakout Brand Leaders award?

The new honor is designed to identify individuals who are influential in driving up-and-coming brands to sales and market-share success. This includes people leading challenger brands, those creating innovative brands in new categories and folks who have turned around older companies currently experiencing a burst of growth and popularity.

What counts as a “Breakout Brand”?

Breakout Brand Leaders is not just for leaders at DTC or startup brands. Executives at older brands that are currently experiencing a renaissance or have recently seen a surge in sales and consumer awareness are also eligible.

There are also no requirements on the age of the brand; however, entrants should demonstrate the recent success of their brand with metrics including sales figures, market-share gains, growth in investment or similar data.

Who is eligible?

We are looking for leaders at brands, companies, or startups that have experienced business success in the past 12 months where marketing and media strategies have played a significant role. Individuals can reside and work anywhere in the world, but must work in-house at the brand/company.

Executives may have a marketing or media title, but may also be founders or people who significantly contribute to the marketing and media strategies.

Ad agency executives and independent consultants are not eligible for Breakout Brand Leaders.

How much does it cost to enter?

The entry fee for Ad Age Breakout Brand Leaders is $350. You may nominate multiple executives from one company, but each must be a separate entry. No team entries will be accepted.

What does the entry form require?

To enter, you'll need to summarize why your nominee is a breakout brand leader and how they have had a direct impact on the company's marketing and advertising strategy and, in turn, how that has impacted growth and success. You'll need to demonstrate recent success with data—any way you can illustrate the health and momentum of the brand.

You'll also be able to include examples, such as case studies from work, creative pieces (images, videos) or links to product demos. However, these supporting pieces must be from the past 12 months.

When is the deadline?

The final deadline to enter Breakout Brand Leaders is Monday, June 5 at 5 p.m. ET.

When will the honorees be announced?

The honorees will be notified in August, celebrated at the Ad Age Business of Brands event in November and featured in a special report.