The results are in! The top 2026 winners represent the pinnacle of content marketing excellence, demonstrating how strategic storytelling, innovation, and measurable impact continue to transform the industry.
Watch the winners announcement:
The 2026 top honors go to:
Agency of the Year: Pace Communications
Pace is helping brands rethink what great content marketing looks like in the age of AI, combining audience insight, creativity, and human judgment to drive measurable business impact for clients including Hackensack Meridian Health, Brighthouse Financial, and Verizon.
Content Marketer of the Year: Zari Venhaus, Vice President, Global Marketing Communications, Eaton
A leader, mentor, creator, and champion of content marketing at Eaton for more than a decade, Zari built the foundation for award-winning content programs that engage and convert Eaton’s global audience — and inspire teams to do their best work.
Project of the Year: The Action Plan: Making Retirement Active by Lincoln Financial
Lincoln Financial’s four-part docuseries reframed retirement planning around the life people want to keep living. Through authentic, emotional storytelling, it connected financial planning with purpose and passion while changing the conversation around retirement.
Stephanie Stahl, CMI’s managing director, shares her excitement: “This year’s top winners are true content innovators, showing how pairing meaningful audience insights with human judgment can transform creativity into results. The future of content marketing balances innovation with authenticity, and these winners show that emotional storytelling still earns attention. Their work sets the standard for excellence and inspires marketers everywhere to push boundaries and deliver content that truly matters.”
But they aren’t the only winners worth celebrating … more than 50 individual category winners were announced in July. Explore them in the winners gallery, where you can dive into all the standout campaigns, creative approaches, and winning strategies.
These winners will also be recognized at Content Marketing World this fall in Denver, where they’ll join thousands of marketers, creators, and strategists. If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time to secure your pass.