This year’s Global Performance Marketing Awards saw big names make a clean sweep, new players grab gold, and blueprints for success.
Celebrating ten years of international innovation, Magician and Mentalist Daniel Bower brought the energy and the mind games, while our shortlisters and award winners sipped on margs and mojitos under the bright lights.
New entrants, new winners
It was a year of firsts, too, including for Awin, who walked away from the night with five golds, along with an array of first-time entrants — and winners — and new categories spotlighting the pace of industry change.
Speaking on the night, Hello Partner’s Founder and CEO Matthew Wood spotlighted the record number of entries that were submitted this year, and thanked sponsor Partnerize for its support, as well as the 2026 GPMA judges, who got into the nitty-gritty of every entry, from agency to influencer.
A year of firsts
Awin’s first win of the night was Partnership of the Year, for an entry that exemplified the impact of innovative thinking and teamwork. A three-pronged partnership solved not only the tracking problem at hand, but created an approach with wider applications across the Awin network.
Second up was Innovative Technology or Platform with Awin’s mobile app — a product that removed barriers to entry and set the company up for success in the influencer sphere. Then there was Best Influencer & Social Performance Strategy, for its ManoMano partnership, with the programme that tapped into creators’ performance potential.
The fifth and final gold in the Partnership Ecosystem category was awarded for Awin architecting a stronger ecosystem, from unifying platforms to improving trust and measurement.
Alongside Awin’s standout performance was Rakuten Advertising, who scooped three gold wins across Travel, Leisure & Experience Campaign, Measurement & Incrementality and Transparency & Compliance.
From its Emirates partnership that reversed multi-year decline into clear wins to a H&M strategy that created an incrementality-led global affiliate model, and a compliance model that raised the standard, judges applauded these entries for setting the industry benchmark.
The global perspective
Our 2026 awards also saw a wave of new entrants who placed in the top three, from CRDB Bank Plc with Bank Your Way to Ruby Digital, which won top place for its SEO and PPC work with Gelmar.
And for the first time ever, we held our Regional Grand Prix for APAC, EMEA and the Americas.
impact.com secured first place for APAC; Performics won gold in the Americas; Silverbean secured top spot for EMEA; and Publicis Media took the crown in the Global category.
“This has been a standout year for entries. We’ve seen industry heavyweights defend their titles, incredible entries from GPMA newbies and a concerted effort to raise the bar in the industry,” said Charlotte Coyle, Senior Awards Manager and the architect of the GPMAs.
“What really stood out to me this year was the quality of the entries and the rate at which the industry has transformed. From creative campaigns that broke out of the box to game-changing solutions and next-level partnerships, in our 10th year, our winners show that the next chapter of the industry is in good hands.”
As our GPMA judges have said, submissions for the 2026 edition demonstrated how sophisticated partnership marketing has become, and truly evidenced incrementality and value beyond the last click — the industry challenge of the moment.
For a complete run-through of our Gold, Silver and Bronze champions, head over here, and stay tuned for a dissection of how some of our winners — including Awin — achieved greatness.
