The ET Trendies Awards – Exclusive Influencer Marketing Awards, celebrate the most viral, creative, and impactful social media and influencer marketing campaigns in India. Judges look specifically at impact, brand measures, and business results which means a stunning creative idea alone won’t carry your entry. Here’s how to build a campaign that checks every box.
Start with a story worth telling
Every winning entry begins with a clear, human insight. Ask yourself: what tension, emotion, or cultural moment does this work tap into? The strongest submissions translate a brand truth into a story audiences genuinely share. Define your narrative arc, the hook, the emotional build, and the payoff before you brief a single creator or content team.
Choose your platform intentionally
The Trendies celebrate exceptional work across influencer and social media marketing, as recognized by ET BrandEquity, with distinct recognition for Instagram, short video, and YouTube. Don’t spread your campaign thin. Pick the platform where your audience is most active, then engineer the content specifically for that format, vertical video for Reels, long-form storytelling for YouTube, community triggers for X.
Nail your metrics from day one
This is where most entries fall short. Judges recommend focusing on business results when presenting measurable metrics, as it helps evaluate the power of storytelling and the campaign’s effectiveness for the brand. Capture a clean baseline. Tools like Sprout Social, Talkwalker, and native platform analytics will help you build an airtight performance story.Don’t Miss: How Winning a Trendies Award Can Transform Your Agency’s Growth Trajectory
Build a compelling case study
A brilliant case study video is a big bonus and really helps judges evaluate your work. Keep the highlights to: objective → insight → idea → execution → results, all this in under three minutes. Use data visualisations, creator testimonials, and real consumer reactions.
Entry checklist before you submit:
- Campaign ran between 1 Jan–31 Jan 2026 and targeted the Indian market
- One entry per campaign, per category
- Approvals secured from brand and agency
- Metrics documented with source references
- Case study video ready (strongly recommended)
