The Adwanted Media Research Awards (AMRAs) are honouring the late AMRAs judge and leading media research figure, Denise Turner, with a dedicated award, as they introduce six additional categories for 2027.
Turner was announced as head judge for the 2026 awards, but passed away before the ceremony in November 2025.
In Turner’s memory, the AMRAs have introduced The Denise Turner Award for Best Use of Joint Industry Data in a Research Project, in partnership with the IPA.
The winner of the award will receive a £2,000 bursary from the IPA to support training for the next generation of media research leaders.
The other new categories for 2027 are Best Regional Project Outside of London, Best Media Research Project – Independent Agency, Best Custom Media Research Project – Adtech, Research Collaboration of the Year, and Research Thought Leader of the Year.
The Best Regional Project Outside of London and Best Media Research Project – Independent Agency categories have been introduced to address what the AMRAs describe as the underrepresentation of regional and independent agencies, with the latter often overshadowed by larger networks with greater scale and budgets.
The AMRAs said the need to recognise independent agencies will only accelerate following the Alliance of Media Independents’ recent partnership with Evorra, which gives its members access to audience capabilities previously available only to holding groups.
Alliance of Media Independents partners with Evorra to bring audience capabilities to indies
Meanwhile, the Best Custom Media Research Project – Adtech category recognises the impact adtech has had on the media industry in recent years and its contribution to media research.
The Research Collaboration of the Year category recognises collaboration between media owners, agencies or trade bodies, highlighting projects that demonstrate the impact of working towards a common goal.
The Research Thought Leader of the Year award, developed with support from The Media Leader‘s research newsletter Research Radar, will recognise an individual who has made a significant contribution to research thinking within the industry. The award is open to researchers working client side, at media owners, or within media or research agencies.
This will mark the AMRAs’ 12th annual awards ceremony, which champions media research and recognises its contribution to marketing and commercial success.
The 2027 awards will feature 22 categories, with the number of judges increased to 20. Entries open on 1 September.
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