2026 CJ Excellence Awards Finalists

The finalists for the 2026 CJ Excellence Awards are here! Winners will be revealed live at the CJ Excellence Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at CJU 2026 in Santa Barbara, CA.

The CJ Excellence Awards celebrate the best in performance partnerships—recognizing CJ clients who deliver real growth through innovative strategies and set the bar for industry peers. In 2026, we enlisted an outside panel of industry judges who evaluated each submission independently, submitting their vote in secret.

Interest in the Awards reached an unprecedented level in 2026 and the quality of the entries was the highest we've ever seen. We updated the categories and added an exciting new set of individual awards for Commerce Trailblazers: people who are leading industry transformation across advertisers, publishers and agencies. All Trailblazers will be recognized at CJU 2026.

Congratulations to the finalists!

2026 CJ Excellence Award Finalists

Best Creator Strategy

• Intuit TurboTax
• Madewell
• Woot! and Howl

Best Channel Expansion & Activation Strategy

• SPRNV x ANTONIOLI
• Expedia Group x VEVE & SitePlug by Affinity 
• Google Workplace and Adneto

Best use of CJ Technology or Solutions

• Autodesk and tvScientific by Pinterest
• Klarna
• Life Extension

Best Global Growth Strategy

• EssilorLuxottica
• Google Workplace and Adneto
• IHG Hotels and TopCashback

Most Innovative Collaboration

• Macy’s and Capital One Ad Solutions
• Minty
• Walt Disney Travel Company

Publisher of the Year

• Capital One Ad Solutions
• Chase Media Solutions
• Forbes Digital Marketing Inc
• LTK
• tvScientific by Pinterest
• VEVE & SitePlug by Affinity

Agency of the Year

• Acceleration Partners
• Assembly Global
• Gen3 Marketing
• Magic Little Giants

Advertiser of the Year – SME

• • EF English Live
  • ESET
  • IBEROSTAR HOTELS & RESORTS
  • Namecheap
  • Replacements

Advertiser of the Year - Large Enterprise

• AT&T Internet
• Bank of America
• Intuit Brands

• Xfinity
• Zoro

We can’t wait to celebrate with you at CJU 2026, our flagship event, bringing together 1,000+ leaders from across the global performance marketing ecosystem.

Congratulations to all our finalists – we'll see you on the stage!