How the Dragons of Asia is judged

The task of the Dragons of Asia Judging Panels is to select the very best Marketing Communications Campaign, in each Entry Category, as well as the Best Campaigns by Country and the Best Campaign in Asia.

Each Winning Campaign will need to reflect the highest industry standards of strategic relevance, originality, creative execution and effectiveness, bearing in mind the diversity of Marketing Communications throughout Asia, and the issues Marketers all face, such as:

  • Varying levels of market maturity

  • Cultural, religious and legal issues.

  • Differing target audiences.

  • Allocated Budgets.

Judges will be asked to judge each entry against four criteria and award scores on the following basis:

CRITERIA 1: CAMPAIGN STRATEGY: OUT OF 20 POINTS

Look at the strength and relevance of the strategy which was developed to meet the stated objectives of the campaign.

  • Is the strategy sound for the brand and the target audience?

  • Is it an appropriate strategy given the objectives and any market factors?

CRITERIA 2: THE CONCEPT: OUT OF 30 POINTS

  • Is the concept strong and fresh? Does it stand out?

  • Is there a high degree of originality and innovation?

  • Does the concept work for the brand, against the campaign Marketing Objectives?

CRITERIA 3: EXECUTION: OUT OF 30 POINTS

  • How well was the concept executed?

  • Did the collateral material communicate the activity in an understandable & motivating manner?

  • If you were a target consumer, would you understand the concept and participate in the Promotion?

CRITERIA 4: THE RESULTS: OUT OF 20 POINTS

You are all experienced in your fields and will know if the campaign you’re judging was successful in matching results to the Objectives, Strategy and Execution:

  • How well did the promotion fare against the set objectives?

  • Are the stated results credible?

Don't make assumptions if the evidence doesn't match the objectives, or if you are given general statements like "exceeded all expectations", or "too early to judge" or "Sales were fantastic".

In some cases some clients may not allow actual results to be entered. In these cases, Judges will need to make their own decision regarding their score.

HOW ENTRIES WILL BE JUDGED

All entries will be judged 4 times, by 4 different Judges in the International Judging Panel.

The Dragons of Malaysia 

The highest scoring entries from Malaysia in the 17 Entry Categories, will each win a Gold, Silver or Bronze Dragons of Malaysia, Trophy.

Black Dragons of Malaysia Certificates will be awarded to those Entries whose final scores settle just below the Bronze recognition level, but are deemed worthy of acknowledgement. These will be distributed online as PDFs, free of charge, to Winners. 

The Dragons of Pakistan

The highest scoring entries from Pakistan in the 17 Entry Categories, will each win a Gold, Silver or Bronze Dragons of Pakistan, Trophy.

Black Dragons of Pakistan Certificates will be awarded to those Entries whose final scores settle just below the Bronze recognition level, but are deemed worthy of acknowledgement. These will be distributed online as PDFs, free of charge, to Winners. 

The Dragons of Sri Lanka

The highest scoring entries from Sri Lanka in the following 10 entry Categories: Best Integrated Marketing Campaign, Best Digital Campaign, Best Innovative Idea or Concept, Best Brand Building & or Awareness, Best Event or Experiential Campaign, Best Brand Loyalty Campaign, Best Social Media Campaign, Best use of Public Relations, Best Cause, Charity Marketing or Public Sector Campaign and Best Small Budget Campaign), will each win a Gold or Silver or Bronze Dragons of Sri Lanka Trophy.

Black Dragons of Sri Lanka Certificates will be awarded to those Entries whose final scores settle just below the Bronze recognition level, but are deemed worthy of acknowledgement. These will be distributed online as PDFs, free of charge, to Winners. 

The Dragons of Asia 

The highest scoring entries in each of the 17 Categories, will win Gold Silver or Bronze Dragons of Asia Trophies. 

The highest scoring entry in each Country will win the Best in Country Blue Dragon. There must be a minimum of 6 Campaigns entered from a Country for this Award to be awarded. A Blue Dragon may be awarded at the discretion of Dragons of Asia Management. 

Black Dragons of Asia Certificates will be awarded to those Entries whose final scores settle just below the Bronze recognition level, but are deemed worthy of acknowledgement. These will be distributed online as PDFs, free of charge, to Winners. 

The 2025 Red Dragons

The campaign which reflects the best work carried out in Asia within the entry period, judged by our Grand Jury, will be awarded the 2025 Best Campaign in Asia, Red Dragon.

A Red Dragon will also be awarded to the 2025 Agency of the Year based on the total Category points scored.

Note: The Network of the Year Red Dragon has now been retired.

Industry Sector Rankings. Asia, Malaysia, Pakistan & Sri Lanka

Category Winning Campaigns will earn Industry Ranking Points: Gold: 10, Silver 7, Bronze 5 and Black 1. New eMail ranking footers will be distributed to Winners.

2025 Winner Announcements.

2025 Finalists. All dates are to be confirmed.

These Entrants will be shortlisted winners of metal Dragons. Their names and brands they’ve entered will be announced on Finalist Releases uploaded on: dragonsofasia.org

2025 Dragons of Pakistan: Mid-June.

2025 Dragons of Sri Lanka: Mid-June.

2025 Dragons of Malaysia & Dragons of Asia: Mid-September.    

All dates are to be confirmed.

Black Dragons.

Entrants not included in a Finalist Release could still be awarded a Black Dragon Certificate, if their Campaign scores are just below the Bronze Dragon score threshold. Black Dragon Winners will be announced on the day of the Winners Announcement.

2025 Winner Announcements. All dates are to be confirmed.

  • 2025 Dragons of Pakistan Winners will be announced in Karachi at the Awards Event, in August. 

  • 2025 Dragons of Sri Lanka Winners will be announced in Colombo at the Awards Event, in August. 

  • 2025 Dragons of Asia and Dragons of Malaysia Winners will be announced at the Awards Event in Kuala Lumpur in October.

Winner Releases for all Programmes will be available from: dragonsofasia.org 

NEW. This year we will include up to 6 Teams members and 3 Clients who worked on each Gold Winning Entry, Best by Country Blue Dragons and the Best Campaign in Asia in all Winner Releases. The Secretariat will request this material from Winners before artwork commences.