Hermes Creative Awards

ENTRIES

Entering online is quick and easy. After registration, you will be routed through a multi-stage entry system. If your entry has a URL, you will be given a chance to enter the address after choosing a category. If you need to upload a file, you will be prompted to do so after checkout. Every time you advance a page in the system your information is automatically saved. As a result, you can abandon and return to the entry system without losing any of your work.

Since each entry is judged on its own merit, in most cases, no accompanying materials or explanations are necessary. For categories involving Campaigns or Strategic Programs, you need to upload your work product and a brief overview of what you did. An entry fee is required for each category in which an entry is submitted.

Each entry will have a box for permission to display the entry file in the winners’ list, gallery, and social media. If permission is not granted, the file or link will only be seen by the judges.

ELIGIBILITY

The competition is open to all individuals, companies, and organizations involved in producing any kind of marketing and communication materials for external or internal audiences. To be eligible, an entry must have been produced after January 1, 2022 (a 2-year window).

ENTRY FEES

The entry fee is $125 for each submission or $195 for each campaign or plan entry. If a piece is entered in more than one category, please enclose an additional entry fee for each time it is entered.

PRO BONO ENTRIES

AMCP recognizes the talents and generosity of the creative community. Entrants who submit a paid entry in the competition are eligible to enter pro bono work at no cost. This is a perk for those who help defray costs of overhead, mailings, judging etc.

Hermes entrants are also given free entry each January into the Communitas Awards, AMCP’s community service recognition program. communitasawards.com

You can have up to five pro bono clients (5 nominations). Multiple projects for the same client should be submitted as one entry. You should not have received any compensation. It is ok for the nonprofit or others to have paid for hard costs such as materials. You will be judged on creativity and the extent of your effort.

If you want to submit pro bono work only, you must enter it into a paid category before submitting it into the Pro Bono category at no cost.

CATEGORIES

Categories are divided into Print Media, Public Relations/Communications and Electronic/Social/Interactive Media.

JUDGING

Now in its fourth decade, AMCP has earned a reputation for accuracy, fairness, and credibility. A look at the list of winners is a who’s who of the creative industry. It takes about eight weeks of judging, eight hours a day, to review all the work that is submitted in each competition. Judges are senior-level, experienced professionals. They are freelancers or own their own businesses. They are selected based on experience and availability.

Entries are judged at random and not directly compared to other entries in their category. Work is judged on creativity and the judge’s perception of what you had to work with. A 2-color and a 4-color brochure in the same category are not compared to each other. A small company is not compared to a Fortune 500 entrant in the same category. There can be multiple winners or no winners in any given category. Utilizing a consensus judging system, the judges verbalize their criticisms, compliments, etc., and then agree on a score. Entries receiving scores between 90-100 points are Platinum Winners. Entries with 80-89 points are Gold Winners. Entries scoring from 70-79 receive Honorable Mention recognition.