About

Agency of the Year (AOY) is an annual competition where agencies across different disciplines vie for the title of Canada’s top shop based on a portfolio of work.

The awards program was launched in 1989 by strategy magazine to recognize brilliant creative agencies within the country’s ad industry. To demonstrate bench strength, each agency submits a body of work for different clients which is assessed for creativity, strategy and impact by a jury of brand marketers and agency execs.

Over the years, the program has opened up to recognize media, digital, PR, design and small agencies within their own respective categories. NEW this year strategy is introducing a small design agency of the year. 

The AOY winners are revealed at an awards show gala, which takes place in Toronto every year in the Fall. The Gold, Silver and Bronze trophy-takers in each category are also profiled across the pages of strategy's Fall issue. 

Below are the seven categories that fall under the AOY umbrella:

Agency

The O.G. competition that started it all. The main AOY category launched almost three decades ago, recognizing creative agencies and their impressive body of work. The competition calls for shops to enter five (5) creatively-led advertising campaigns that launched in Canada within the last year.

Small

Participating shops must have a total headcount of fewer than 50 staffers, this includes all staff across the agency in its entirety, not just those in creative roles. Shops must be majority independently owned and must identify as a general creative ad agency.

Small Design: NEW

The newest category on the block, launched in 2026 the Small Design AOY category recognizes shops with a diverse range of visual work that hits all of the right notes: impact, creativity, craft, technical prowess and innovation.  Covering work that ranges from packaging and visual identity to brand platforms and interactive websites, design studios with a headcount under 25 can enter three (3) projects that launched within the past year.  

Design

The Design AOY category was launched in 2017 to recognize shops with a diverse range of visual work that hits all of the right notes: impact, creativity, craft, technical prowess and innovation. Covering work that ranges from packaging and visual identity to brand platforms and interactive websites, design studios can enter three (3) projects that launched within the past year.  

Media

The category geared toward agencies behind the planning and buying of media was launched in 2008. It calls for shops to enter three (3) pieces of work that were driven by clever targeting tactics and the integration of various media channels. Work can range from single, brilliant one-off buys to fully-fledged cross-platform campaigns that launched within the last year.

Digital

First launched in 2011, Digital AOY awards agencies with a body of work that's predominantly digitally-led. The three (3) campaigns that ad shops enter should demonstrate the creative and strategic integration of online media – digital should be the driving force. The work must have launched within the last year.

Public Relations

Launched in 2014, this category recognizes the smart strategic communications work coming out of Canada's top public relations shops. Participating agencies must enter three (3) programs with a particular focus on the strategy, creative execution and impact of each PR execution, which launched in the last year.