Marketing Week begins search for 2021’s most effective marketers

Marketing Week’s hunt for the Top 100 most effective marketers is back and more important than ever as we look to celebrate great marketing leadership through what has been one of the most challenging years in recent times.

Leadership has been under the spotlight like never before as businesses were forced to make difficult decisions to ensure their brands not only survived the immediate impact of the pandemic but could weather the storm in the long term too.

Now in its third year, Marketing Week’s Top 100, sponsored by Salesforce, aims to build a picture of what makes an effective marketer. As in previous years, we will be showcasing 100 marketers across 10 sector groupings who will be chosen by an elite judging panel.

The final 100 marketers will be chosen based on a number of factors, including business success, such as company results, brand health scores and alignment of marketing to business strategy; and their impact and influence both within their business and the wider industry.

Innovative thinking and leadership through crisis will also be key, including the introduction of new initiatives, product development and digital transformation, particularly in light of the pandemic.

Russell Parsons, editor-in-chief of Marketing Week says: “I have seen first hand the challenges marketers in all sectors have faced in the past year. I have also seen resilience, inventiveness and effectiveness in testing and trying circumstances. The Top 100 is a celebration of the amazing talent we have in the industry, and of those who have stepped up and shown what true marketing leadership looks like.”

A long list for 10 vertical sector groupings will initially be chosen by senior members of the Marketing Week editorial team. Names and justifications will then be given to the judges who will rank them according to the criteria outlined above and a final 10 for each group will be determined.

Those considered for the long lists will be the most senior marketer at a brand, company division or unit. They must have worked for a UK brand or company, or had responsibility for the UK market and must have achieved against the criteria over the past year.