Construction Marketing Awards names 2026 finalists ahead of 19 November dinner

The organiser of the Construction Marketing Awards (CMA) has published the finalists for its 2026 competition, with winners to be revealed at a gala dinner in London on Thursday 19 November.

The list, published on Monday 5 October, covers 21 categories ranging from strategic planning and brand positioning to use of artificial intelligence, social value and emerging talent. The organiser said the finalists would now "go head-to-head" for the 2026 titles.

Balfour Beatty appears in two categories, Best Low Budget Campaign (under £50k) and Best Integrated Campaign. Other names appearing across multiple categories include Milwaukee, Knauf, Sika, wienerberger, BMI UK & Ireland, Topcon Positioning Systems and Wavin.

The categories

Team of the Year finalists are the Milwaukee UK Marketing Team, Knauf UK & Ireland, Promat by etex, Sika and the Wolseley Marketing Team.

In Emerging Talent of the Year – Client Side, the finalists are Aieshia Agnew of Sika, Daisy Bradford of Pick Everard, Livvey Wadsworth of Siniat by etex and Lucy House of Donald Insall Associates. The agency-side equivalent lists Anastasia Moore of Lesniak Swann, Ben Sachs of WAA Chosen, Oliver Sargent of Cartwright and Tom Roalfe of Unsworth Sugden.

Agency of the Year will be contested by Fabrick, Lesniak Swann, SLG Agency and WAA Chosen. Small Agency of the Year finalists are Ing Marketing, SBK Marketing and Unhooked.

Other finalists include Premier Modular in the mid-range budget category, Legrand and Vaillant in the big budget category, and BSI, Galleon Fixings and Topek Southern Limited for Best Social Value Campaign.

How judging works

According to the organiser, the 2026 judging panel brings together 22 senior client-side marketing and communications leaders, responsible for marketing, communications, brand, digital and business growth within their own organisations. Ross Sturley, principal of Chart Lane Consultants, chairs the panel.

The organiser describes judging as a two-step process. Judges first review entries online against set criteria, then a formal judging meeting reviews that assessment for fairness. Some categories add a face-to-face judging interview, and the 2026 interviews are scheduled for 14, 15 and 16 October.

Judges can only see entries in their allocated category at any stage, which the organiser says keeps the process impartial.

Entries and timeline

Entries opened on Monday 20 April 2026 at £120 plus VAT each, with no limit on the number of categories an entrant could enter. The awards are open to any team or individual responsible for marketing or business development strategy within the construction and built environment supply chain.

When entries opened in April, the published entry deadline was Friday 11 September. The organiser's homepage timeline now records an extended deadline of midnight on Wednesday 16 September.

The awards are endorsed by the Chartered Institute of Marketing Construction Industry Group and, the organiser says, exist to raise the profile of marketing professionals in the construction sector.

The venue

The 2026 dinner moves to the Bloomsbury Ballroom in London. The organiser said the building was built in 1926 as the South Ballroom for the Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society and was renamed the Bloomsbury Ballroom in 2006. The evening there can run until 2am, it added.

The 2025 awards marked the event's 25th anniversary.

Agency League background

The results on 19 November will also feed into the CMA Agency League, which tracks agency performance over a rolling four-year period, awarding five points for a win, three for a highly commended entry and one for a shortlist.

After the 2025 awards, SLG Agency took the top spot in the league, ending Ridgemount's five-year run at the top, with Ridgemount second and The Think Tank third, according to the organiser.

Judging interviews begin on 14 October, with winners announced at the Bloomsbury Ballroom on 19 November.