When a new professional award is launched, the typical response is polite curiosity – followed by a wait-and-see attitude. But the ECDMA Global Awards, launched earlier this year by the E-Commerce & Digital Marketing Association, didn’t follow that script. Instead, it landed with surprising weight – and with it, a clear message: this is not another generic badge-for-sale program. This is a professional benchmark for the digital economy.
With more than 350 entries across over 30 countries in its first year, the ECDMA Global Awards positioned itself immediately among the most respected new marketing awards worldwide. But beyond the numbers, the strength of the initiative lies in its structure, tone, and intent. It’s an awards program for professionals who care about systems, outcomes, strategy, and scale – not just visibility.
A Judging System That Professionals Actually Trust
What makes the ECDMA Global Awards stand apart is not only its international scope or its cross-industry reach, but its refusal to mimic shallow practices common in award culture. No public voting. No pay-for-placement. No tiered pricing. Instead, the team built its own award management and scoring platform to support blind review, multi-expert scoring, and full conflict-of-interest disclosure.
“Each application was assessed independently and in parallel by multiple expert jury members. We excluded judges from any categories where they declared even a potential conflict of interest,” says Eugene Mischenko, President of ECDMA. “This was never about popularity. It was about identifying work that reflects discipline, clarity, and real business value.”
Nearly 100 jurors – drawn from a curated pool of digital commerce leaders, agency heads, CMOs, product strategists, and technical marketers – participated in the evaluation process. The final results were based purely on scoring thresholds, not quota systems or internal jury debates.
A Very Different Kind of Participation
The most notable difference from many other programs was who showed up. According to Mischenko, the biggest surprise of this year’s edition wasn’t the volume of applications – it was the quality and profile of the applicants.
“What stood out was the number of serious, deeply engaged professionals applying individually – marketers, founders, strategy leads, heads of CRM,” he explains. “It was very different from the Armenia Digital Awards we ran the year before. That one had great momentum too, but it was driven mostly by company applications and corporate comms teams. The ECDMA Global Awards had a much more practitioner-led dynamic.”
From solo consultants to in-house innovators and regional startup teams, many submissions came from professionals who typically operate behind the scenes. Their work wasn’t always flashy – but it was well-documented, grounded, and insightful. Some detailed growth programs built on retention models, others focused on optimization experiments, localization tactics, and end-to-end funnel redesigns.
“It’s not that we ignored scale or polish,” Mischenko adds. “But what we really valued was evidence. A good result, a thoughtful roadmap, a willingness to share the ‘why’ behind the success.”
Why It Resonates – and Why It Matters
For years, digital professionals – especially outside of major tech hubs – have lacked access to serious recognition programs. Many either submit to expensive global awards that feel out of reach, or participate in local competitions that lack credibility outside their region. The ECDMA Global Awards appear to have hit a nerve by offering something in between: a rigorous, global recognition platform that actually takes work seriously.
Entries were eligible for Gold, Silver, or Bronze status depending on how they scored – not based on a top-three format. This allowed strong projects to be recognized on their own merits, rather than being forced into head-to-head comparisons across wildly different business models and goals.
The approach seems to be working. Feedback from both applicants and jury members has been overwhelmingly positive. Several professionals described the application process as “useful,” “professionally clarifying,” and “something we’d do again.”
What’s Next
E-Commerce & Digital Marketing Association has already confirmed that the next edition of the Awards will expand its thematic categories, introduce regional spotlights, and include an annual Jury Insights Report. The association also plans to explore structured feedback options for participants who want a more consultative experience.
“We’re not here to hand out trophies. We’re here to define standards,” says Mischenko. “I want ECDMA to be the place where serious digital professionals – whether they’re in Bejing or São Paulo or Berlin – can find recognition that actually reflects the depth of their work.”
As marketing and digital commerce continue to evolve, so too must the way we recognize those driving that evolution. The ECDMA Global Awards may be new, but if its first year is any indication, it’s already setting a pace others will need to follow.
