How Entries are Judged

All Mark Award entries are judged by cable's finest marketing professionals during two rounds. Here is the impressive 2011 list.

You must be a CTAM member and work for a cable company, network or agency to serve as a judge. 

The two preliminary rounds will be held May 30-31, 2012 at the CTAM office in National Harbor, MD and June 6-7 at the Fox Studios in Los Angeles. Judges for this round must have a minimum of three years of cable marketing experience, and professional experience at the level of Director or equivalent. (Managers may qualify, depending on job responsibilities and industry tenure.) Of course, higher level, more experienced judges are welcome.

The final round will be held in New York City August 8-9, 2012. These judges are professionals at the Vice President level or higher, with at least five years of cable marketing experience, and serve by invitation only.

Interested and qualified volunteers for 2012 should send an email to Denise Motlagh.

Judging Criteria

Each Mark Award entry is judged against a standard of excellence, rather than against the other entries. This is not a “best of” competition. Winning entries must meet or exceed a predetermined score, set annually by the Mark Awards Committee.
In both rounds, entries are judged equally on:

• Sound or innovative strategy and tactics

• Strength of creative execution against the strategy and tactics, and

• Measured results (campaigns only*).

For a detailed look at how a judge scores an entry, see the Mark Awards Scoring Grid.

*Qualitative and quantitative results are considered for campaigns only, because multiple media tactics allow for more accurate measurement than a single medium. The only exception is Direct Response Marketing, which also requires results reporting.

If you have any questions about the judging process, email the Director of Awards and Recognition Denise Motlagh, or call 301.485.8911.