Yesterday, the winners of the 2026 US Partnership Awards were unveiled, showcasing how strong partnerships deliver impact and breakthroughs, powering the next chapter of the industry.
Delivered for the first time in our digital-first format, this 2026 edition of the USPAs spotlighted the best and brightest across everything from tech and full funnel to influencer marketing and programme optimisation.
Commenting on the awards, Matthew Wood, Founder of Hello Partner, said: “The quality of entries this year set a new bar, not just in results, but in the depth and discipline of the work behind them. Incremental proof, sophisticated measurement, and a willingness to rebuild channels from the ground up were the hallmarks of the strongest submissions.”
Here are the highlights…
Tombras showed up with a stand-out performance, walking away with five gold trophies, including for Best Full Funnel Strategy, Best Performance-Based Partnership, Best Lead Generation Campaign, Partnership of the Year, and Affiliate Marketing Team of the Year - Brand.
From a partnership with LaserAway, which launched a high-performance affiliate program tailored to elective healthcare, to a team that worked together to drive incredible revenue growth and results, the full service advertising agency proved that results come from hard work, daring to be different and working as a unified team.
CJ grabbed the gold for Best Platform for Partnership Success and Best Use of AI / Automation in Partnership Marketing, with CJ 360-AI, while Rakuten Advertising also secured first place in two categories: Best Content Partnership, which delivered results setting new standards for content-driven affiliate marketing and Best Health, Beauty and Wellness Partnership with Bluemercury — a partnership which achieved significant growth in traffic, revenue, and new customer acquisition.
Linkbux Media won gold for its Media Buying Affiliate Campaign, which created a compliance-first programmatic affiliate media buying framework that delivered across revenue, sales and conversions, and Partnerize won for Most Innovative Technology with VantagePoint, which established a neutral "System of Record”.
Gen3 Marketing came out top for Best Performance PR/Commerce Content Campaign, which resulted in a performance-focused editorial program that created measurable commercial impact and strengthened credibility, while Influencer was crowned the winner of Best Influencer Marketing Partnership for centring authentic, platform-native narratives and elevating engagement.
Round Barn Labs also seized first place for Best B2B Partnership Campaign, for taking Remote.com’s affiliate program from stagnation to scalable success.
For Best Data-Driven Strategy, Partner Commerce scooped gold, exceeding all targets and bringing on new partners to drive scale. Meanwhile, Best Affiliate Programme Optimization went to Acceleration Partners for its work with TikTok — the programme met aggressive goals and exceeded targets by over 160% in North America.
Best Travel & Hospitality Partnership was won by Trafalgar, working with Capital One Ad Solutions, which improved relevance for high-intent travellers and delivered a 161% year-over-year revenue increase in Q4 2025. Finally, Best Partnership Problem Solved went to Upsellit, which worked with Splits59 on dynamic personalisation and actual shopper intent, driving a conversion lift of 21%.
Raising the industry standard
A huge congratulations to all of our Gold, Silver and Bronze winners and those who made it in the shortlist — there were some incredible submissions.
Speaking on the submissions, Wood said: “What stood out most was how many entrants had moved AI from a talking point to a commercial reality, deploying it across attribution, fraud prevention, partner discovery, and conversion optimisation in ways that delivered measurable returns.”
“Alongside that, some of the most compelling entries showed that the biggest gains still come from getting the fundamentals right,” he added. “We're proud to continue to provide a platform to celebrate incredible work that has raised the standard for the whole industry.”
Keep your eyes peeled for winners’ walkthroughs and gold case studies that break down what makes a winning entry and how to stand out from the crowd amongst stiff competition.
