The chocolate is gone, the long weekend is in the rearview mirror, and the Q4 reality check is real.
With a short four-day work week ahead and the EOFY sprint underway, you can easily get buried in the post-holiday catch-up.
But as the media, marketing and tech industries power back up today, you need to circle one date in red: 23 April 2026.
That’s the entry deadline for the 2026 Mediaweek Next of the Best Awards.
Now is the exact moment to look up, take stock of your impact and claim your space.
Find your tribe
This year, we want more than just the usual suspects. So, we’ve mapped the industry into four tribes. We believe that these distinct, powerhouse groups actually keep business moving. The question is, which one belongs to you?
The Growth Engines: The commercial heavyweights and sales leaders driving the bottom line and controlling the flow of media investment.
Your categories are Sales & Commercial Leadership, Partnerships Leadership, Retail & Commerce Leadership, and Agency Media Leadership.
The Architects: The structural masterminds building the platforms, designing the products, and structuring the data we all rely on.
Your categories are Product & Innovation Leadership, Data and Insights Leadership, Publisher & Platform Leadership, and Entrepreneur.
The Magnets: The creative, brand, and audience powerhouses setting the cultural pulse and commanding attention at scale.
Your categories are Agency Creative Leadership, Audio & Entertainment Leadership, Influence & Audience Leadership, and Brand & Growth Leadership.
The Guardians: The purpose-led leaders reporting the truth, championing our culture, and driving meaningful impact.
Your categories are News & Journalism Leadership, People & Culture Leadership, Sustainability & Purpose Leadership, and Change Maker.
Claim your category
If you do the heavy lifting in your sector, you need to step out from behind the pitch decks, the data dashboards and the bylines.
You have 16 days to gather your details and nominate yourself or the sharpest talent in your network. Don’t let the short week and the daily grind get in the way of the recognition you’ve earned.
Stop coasting. Start claiming your category.
Mediaweek’s Next of the Best Awards are coming up, thanks to our sponsors News Corp Australia and LiSTNR.
Entries close on 23 April 2026. Submit your work here.