The Advertising Club introduces new categories for Creative Abby Awards 2026

New Delhi: The Advertising Club has introduced new categories for the Creative Abby Awards 2026, alongside a series of structural changes to the award framework. The updates have been made to reflect evolving practices in advertising, marketing and digital creativity.

The revised entry form incorporating the changes has been released on the organisation’s website. The awards continue their partnership with The One Club for Creativity and its programme The One Show.

Two new categories have been added this year: Social Content and Influencer Marketing, and Creative Commerce, Use of Data and B2B. According to the organisers, these categories recognise developments in digital content creation, influencer-led collaborations, commerce-led creativity and data-driven brand engagement.

Entries eligible for participation must have been released between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026. Submissions close on April 6, and the winners will be announced during Goafest 2026.

Several structural changes have also been introduced. Seven digital sub-categories have been removed following a review of their relevance. The Mobile category has been discontinued, with organisers stating that mobile-led work is now largely integrated within digital and social formats.

In addition, three existing categories, Green Abby, Red Abby, and Diversity, Equality and Inclusivity (DEI), have been merged into a single category titled Sustainability and Inclusion.

A new recognition titled Client of the Year has also been introduced. The honour will be awarded to the client whose brands accumulate the highest points across the awards.

The methodology for selecting Creative Agency of the Year has also been revised. Earlier, the title was based on points earned across eight traditional creative categories. From this year, it will be calculated across 18 creative categories, excluding Video Craft and Young Maverick Abby.

Commenting on the development, Dheeraj Sinha, President of The Advertising Club and CEO of McCann India, said, “Goafest has always been synonymous with creativity, collaboration, and industry excellence. The ABBY Awards Powered by One Club continue to push boundaries, setting new creative benchmarks year after year. Abby Awards being in its 57th year, continue to raise the bar, and this year’s edition will be even more inspiring, bringing together the brightest minds in the industry.”

Ajay Kakar, Chairperson of the ABBY Awards 2026, added, “We have introduced two new categories and merged, rationalized and deleted some categories. For the very first time we have partnered and co-created with creative luminaries of the industry for categories. We are truly grateful to the continued support of One Club and One Show towards conducting our judging process for the last 5 years. Our thanks to the widespread participation of both agencies and client companies year after year.”