D&AD Rankings 2025 methodology

Design agency rankings are calculated using design agency credits across all award categories.

Note: Only design-focused companies will be considered for these Design Agency rankings (i.e, companies such as brand-side design agencies, advertising agencies, VFX or post-production studios, motion design companies, tech companies or content agencies will NOT be included in the rankings).

Production company rankings are calculated using production agency credits across all Awards categories.

Note: The Production Company ranking will only include registered production companies. Production departments or divisions of advertising agencies will not be included.

Client rankings are calculated using client credits across all Awards categories.

Country rankings are calculated based on the location of all ranking credits submitted at the time of submission across all Awards categories. This information is provided by the entrant via the D&AD entry site.

For each piece of work:

• If the agencies are from the same country, the points are only counted once
• If multiple agencies are credited for a piece of work, or in instances of collaboration, each country will receive the full points due

Network rankings are calculated based on ranking credits submitted at the time of submission across all Awards categories. This information is provided by the entrant via the D&AD entry site.

For each piece of work:

• If the agencies are from the same network, the points are only counted once
• If the same agency is credited multiple times, the points are only counted once

Independent agency rankings are calculated based on the companies of the year credits for advertising agencies across all Awards categories.

Note: independent agencies aren’t owned by a larger holding company or group, but may still belong to a network.

Independent Network of the Year rankings are calculated using network credits across all Awards categories.

Note: Independent Networks aren’t owned by a holding company and are independently owned and operated.

Brand-side (In-house team) rankings are calculated using all ranking credit information across all Awards categories.

Individual Creative Rankings are calculated using applicable credit roles across all Awards categories as collected once the shortlisted results are announced.

Note: Rankings are based on the credits submitted at the time of Award results announcements. If any individual creative credits are missing or incomplete, they will not be retroactively counted, and rankings will not be adjusted after the submission deadline. It is the entrant's responsibility to ensure that all relevant credits are submitted correctly and on time.