Published by Sue Johns-Chapman
Published Date 28.01.2026 
The European Search Awards are obviously about great campaign results, but how you present them in the entry form matters too. With hundreds of high-quality submissions each year, even strong campaigns need a clear, strategic story to stand out from the competition. Awards Judge, Laura I. Abreu, breaks down five essential tips to help you sharpen your entry and impress the judging panels.
Over to Laura…
Standing out at the European Search Awards 2026 isn’t about working with the biggest brands or having the largest budgets. It’s about telling a simple, credible story backed by strategic reasoning and real data.
Judges don’t just want to know what you did or how you did it. They want to understand why you did it, the context behind it, and what changed as a result. We love good storytelling!
Here are my five recommendations for all participants:
1. Provide context
Write it as if you were explaining it to a neighbour who works in a completely different profession. Share the context in a clear and linear way, making sure you address the most relevant questions:
- Where was the brand (or client) starting from?
- What challenges or limitations existed?
- What made this situation complex or interesting?
Your story should clearly explain:
- The initial problem or opportunity
- The strategic thinking behind your approach
- The outcome and how it moved the business forward
Judges want to see how well you understood the situation and how intelligently you responded with what you had.
2. Strategy first, tactics second
What differentiates a winning entry is the reasoning behind your choices. Judges want to understand why you followed a particular strategy in the first place:
- Why this channel and not another?
- Why this structure, this message, this targeting?
- What insight or hypothesis led you in that direction?
Judges want to see your strategic thinking, not a checklist of actions. Make it clear that every tactic served a purpose within a broader plan.
3. Show progress
Even modest improvements can be powerful if they are well contextualised. A +20% growth from a difficult starting point can be more impressive than a +200% increase on an already high-performing account.
4. Data is essential
Be explicit about the timeframe and the conditions of the comparison.
Strong entries use: clear metrics, transparent baselines and consistent variables.
This helps build trust and credibility.
5. It’s all about the business impact
At the end of the day, judges want to understand why this work mattered, why your strategy helped the business grow and in what way.
Where possible, connect performance metrics to revenue, leads, profitability, or long-term growth.
Final thoughts:
A well-written, well-structured story often outperforms a technically complex but poorly explained one. Explain your reasoning. Use data responsibly. And show judges how your work genuinely made a difference.
About the author:
Laura I. Abreu | Lead Generation, Ads and SEO Manager
Connect with Laura on LinkedIn
Laura I. Abreu is a Lead Generation, Ads and SEO Manager with more than 12 years of experience across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in Hong Kong and Australia.
Based in Barcelona, Laura is a member of the Australian Marketing Institute, Women in Tech SEO, and PPC Chat (US). She is a speaker at international conferences, including International Search Summit, Search London, and Tourism Innovation Summit, and a mentor at the Freelance Coalition for Developing Countries, supporting professionals in emerging markets.
