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B&T's Best of the Best Nominations 2026

Who is the Best of the Best in their respective roles? Tell us below. You can be as long and obtuse or as short and as pithy as you like.

All we need to get started in our deliberations is a name.
1.Project Managers

Scope: Agency, client, platform or vendor-side staff who organise and lead others towards deliverable outputs.

Considered in ranking: Consistent strength and quality of executions, as well as showing increased scope of projects over time.

Publish date: 22 July 2026
Last year's list.
2.Creative agency growth chiefs

Scope: New business leads (excl. those with CEO, CSO, etc. job titles) at Australian & New Zealand creative agencies irrespective of ownership.

Considered in ranking: New business success, size of accounts and defensibility of accounts.

Publish date: 26 August 2026
Last year's list.
3.Media agency growth chiefs

Scope: New business leads (excl. those with CEO, CSO, etc. job titles) at Australian & New Zealand media agencies irrespective of ownership.

Considered in ranking: New business success, size of accounts and defensibility of accounts.

Publish date: 2 September 2026
Last year's list.
4.Creative Agency Strategists

Scope: Chief strategy officers (or equivalent) in Australian & New Zealand creative agencies, irrespective of ownership.

Considered in ranking: Quality, consistent work for clients as well as innovation in creative executions.

Publish date: 9 September 2026
Last year's list.
5.Media Agency Strategists

Scope: External or in-house media agency strategists in Australia & New Zealand.

Considered in ranking: Quality, consistent work for clients as well as innovation in media executions.

Publish date: 16 September 2026
Last year's list.
6.Independent consultants

Scope: Independent & external consultants to agencies, brands or individual marketers offering advice and guidance on corporate strategy, marketing strategy, M&As etc.

Considered in ranking: Standing within the industry and the scale and scope of projects worked on.

Publish date: 23 September 2026
Last year's list.
7.Creator & influencer agency leads

Scope: External or in-house agency leaders focused on creators, influencers and social either as an agency or division within an agency.

Considered in ranking: Quality and consistency of work delivered for clients, as well as innovation and broader thinking within the space.

Publish date: 30 September 2026
Last year's list.
8.Creators

Scope: Social media creators whose main source of income is the content produced for brands and in partnership with brands.

Considered in ranking: Consistent, innovative work for brands and a deep understanding of social trends.

Publish date: 7 October 2026
Last year's list.
9.Consumer PR agency leaders

Scope: External PR agency leaders.

Considered in ranking: New business success, size of accounts, sway and profile in industry.

Publish date: 14 October 2026
Last year's list.
10.Experiential agency leaders

Scope: External or in-house experiential agency leaders.

Considered in ranking: New business success, size of accounts, sway and profile in industry.

Publish date: 21 October 2026
Last year's list.
11.Directors of first impressions

Scope: A list resurrected from the Best of the Best of years gone by, this list celebrates the invaluable front of house, office managers and more who are all-too-critical for setting the tone when someone arrives at an office.

Considered in ranking: Testimony from colleagues and reputation within the industry.

Publish date: 28 October 2026
12.Independent agency creatives

Scope: Chief creative officers and ECDs at Australia & New Zealand's best independently owned creative agencies.

Considered in ranking: Size and scale of accounts, as well as innovation and originality in creative executions.

Publish date: 4 November 2026
Last year's list.
13.Holding Company Agency Creatives

Scope: Chief creative officers and ECDs at Australia & New Zealand's best holding company-owned creative agencies

Considered in ranking: Size and scale of accounts, as well as innovation and originality in creative executions.

Publish date: 11 November 2026
Last year's list.
14.In-house agency leaders

Scope: The best in-house agency leaders (CEO or equivalent) from across Australia & New Zealand.

Considered in ranking: Standing within the industry, as well as originality of work and distinctiveness in the market.

Publish date: 18 November 2026
Last year's list.
15.Media agency planners

Scope: Independent or holding company media planners/buyers from across Australia & New Zealand.

Considered in ranking: Quality and consistency of work delivered for clients, as well as innovation with media placements and executions.

Publish date: 25 November 2026
Last year's list.
16.Business support execs

Scope: Staff in businesses across the industry whose primary role is to support others - roles such as personal assistants, executive assistants, etc.

Considered in ranking: Importance to the organisations that they work for, testimony from those they support and wider role within the business and industry.

Publish date: 2 December 2026
Last year's list.
17.Spin doctors

Scope: Crisis comms specialists, corporate comms leaders & government relations experts.

Considered in ranking: Scale, scope and prestige of the businesses they work for or the clients that they work with. Testimony from those in the industry.

Publish date: 9 December 2026
Last year's list.