Introducing the Earned First Awards

The Earned First Awards are open for entries today, launching across Asia-Pacific — the first region in what will become an international programme.

I want to explain why we built this, and why we built it the way we did.

Across the industry, awards have multiplied, in terms of categories, shortlists, ceremonies. But recognition has not kept pace with the kind of work that increasingly defines and elevates serious public relations practice: work that solves business problems, shapes reputations, influences decision-making and builds trust in complex environments, often without paid amplification or fanfare.

The Earned First Awards exist to recognise communications work where credibility is earned, not bought. Where strategy, judgement and trust matter more than scale, spend or spectacle.

How we evaluate

What makes this programme different is not just what it celebrates, but how it evaluates. Entries are assessed specifically on: strategic problem-solving, the role of earned and owned media in achieving outcomes, degree of difficulty, and the credibility of results. Campaigns that succeeded because they were well-funded or structurally advantaged are not favoured over those that navigated resistance, scrutiny or complexity.

How we judge is published openly, before you enter:

• Impact, outcomes and measurement: 35%
• Earned first thinking and execution: 25%
• Creativity and strategy: 25%
• Degree of difficulty: 15%

The jury brings together senior industry leaders from across Asia-Pacific, representing diverse markets, sectors and career experience. Their standard of scrutiny will bring focus and gravity.

22 categories

We have structured 22 categories across five groups — Campaign & Craft; Innovation & Measurement; Trust, Reputation & Strategy; Confidential & Specialist; and, Leadership. Each one exists because it reflects a real and under-recognised dimension of modern communications practice: from behavioural change and corporate transformation, to cross-border cultural intelligence, crisis credibility, leadership and high-stakes specialist work.

We also appreciate that some of the most influential communications work today never appears on a stage. For that reason, selected categories allow for confidentiality — and one award is judged solely by the Earned First editorial team, with no public disclosure of client or campaign details.

The Grand Prix cannot be entered; it is selected from all category winners, after deliberation. There is just one per edition.

Why winning signals something specific

An Earned First Award signals that the work stood up not just creatively, but strategically. That it delivered impact without shortcuts. That it reflects the kind of communications capability increasingly valued by boards, CEOs, regulators, investors and societies, not just by juries.

For agencies, it is recognition that goes beyond volume or visibility. For in-house teams, it is validation of influence at the decision-making table. For leaders, it is acknowledgement that earned communications can shape organisations, not just narratives.

Enter now

There are 22 categories. Early Bird pricing is open: US$250 per category until 6 June. From 7 June, the regular rate is US$300.

Full entry guidelines and category criteria are at earnedfirstawards.com. The final entry deadline is 7 July. Shortlists will be announced on 31 August. The ceremony, more of a reception than a formal dinner, takes place in Singapore on 6 October.

The Earned First Awards are intentionally selective. Not everyone will take home a trophy. Because recognition, like trust, only matters when it is genuinely earned.

Enter now: Africa Consultancy Performance Index 🔬

Earned First's Consultancy Performance Index is now accepting submissions from PR consultancies across Africa, as part of its landmark initiative to identify and recognise the industry's most innovative and impactful PR consultancies — which will culminate in Earned First Index Champions being recognised across specific markets and categories. 

The Index addresses the industry's need for transparent, comprehensive benchmarking that goes beyond traditional criteria to evaluate the full spectrum of consultancy performance, including client impact, innovation capabilities, business growth and industry leadership. Asia-Pacific Champions and MENA Champions have already been revealed, alongside crucial data and trends produced from the research.

Submissions, which do not carry any cost, will be evaluated across five key performance areas, informing published scorecards for consultancies that are shortlisted for further recognition. The deadline for Africa submissions is 1 May 2026. More details here.