All entries that achieve an Award of Excellence are considered for:
Best of the Best
Recommended by evaluators and reviewed by the Gold Quill Awards chair, vice chair and past chair, the Best of the Best winners represent the very best entries seen across the globe. Best of the Best winners receive special recognition and a special trophy at the IABC Excellence Gala at the annual IABC World Conference.
Jake Wittmer Research Award
Presented to the entry that shows outstanding research that was commissioned or developed by a communicator and was instrumental in ensuring the success of a communication program.
Business Issue Award
Presented to an entry that addresses a critical business issue that threatened the well-being or viability of an organization and shows strategic involvement while presenting and effective, innovative resolution with measureable results.
Sharon Berzok Student Award
Presented to the student achieving the highest standard of communication excellence in the student categories. The winning entrant will receive a US$500 scholarship to use for professional development, education or training.
IABC Gold Quill "Agency/Team of the Year" Awards
Imagine your team or organization being named the IABC Gold Quill Team or Agency of the Year! The “of the Year” special awards, first introduced in 2015, highlight the highest-scored entries in the program submitted by an agency or organization. The awards are evaluated based on the number of winning submissions from a particular entrant.
- Boutique Agency of the Year (five or fewer employees)
- Small Agency of the Year (six to 20 employees)
- Mid-Size Agency of the Year (21--50 employees)
- Large Agency of the Year (51 or more employees)
- Corporate Communication Department of the Year
- Nonprofit Communication Department of the Year