Judging Criteria
Entries are judged according to ten criteria: Design, Content, Functionality, Usability, Innovation, Attention to Detail, Technical Difficulty, Impact, Message/Branding and Standards Compliance/Cross-Browser Compatibility. Each of these ten criteria is worth a maximum of ten points, for a total point value of 100 points possible for each entry.

Within each Category, there are (3) award levels: Gold, Silver, and Bronze. All Gold award winners will qualify to win a Best in Category award. Only (1) Best in Category award will be given for each Category. Each Best in Category award winner will qualify for the EMA™ Best in Show Award - the ultimate and highest honor bestowed by the Electronic Media Commission. There is only one Best in Show winner for each annual Electronic Media Awards™. It's the equivalent of winning the Superbowl for digital media on the Internet and all forms of electronic media. The Best in Show winner will be selected from all Categories, so any entry can win from any category. What counts is the quality of the work.


EMA™ Best in Show Award
The EMA™ Best in Show award is the ultimate and most exclusive honor bestowed by the Electronic Media Commission. There is one and only one Best in Show winner for each annual Eletronic Media Awards™ event. It is the equivalent of winning the Superbowl for digital media on the Internet. While overall score is important in determining the EMA™ Best in Show Award Winner, it is not the single determining factor. Since each candidate at this level is already a Best in Category Winner and thus has a very high score as well, the winner of this award is simply the one entry who stands clearly above the rest. It is a work of art. It has passion. Vision. The WOW! Factor. Subjective, perhaps. Like trying to describe Quality, it may be hard to put it into words, but you will know it when you see it. Try to impress us, we dare you.

EMA™ Best in Category Award
The EMA™ Best in Category award is the highest honor bestowed by the Electronic Media Commission to all eligible Gold Award Winners in a given category. The winner of the EMA™ Best in Category Award represents the Best of the Very Best, because it is. Only Gold Award winners qualify to win a Best in Category Award. The Gold Award winner with the highest score within each category will be awarded an EMA™ Best in Category Award. One (1) Best in Category award will be given for each Category. Each Best in Category award winner will qualify for the EMA™ Best in Show Award.

EMA™ Top Shop™ Award
The EMA™ Top Shop™ Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Electronic Media Commission to the agency, web designer, firm, studio, producer, programmer - what have you - who earns the most overall EMA™ Awards Points. Gold Awards are worth 5 points. Silver Awards are worth 2 points. Bronze Awards are worth 1 point.

EMA™ Gold Award (95-100 points)
The EMA™ Gold Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Electronic Media Commission. The winner of this award has excelled in all areas of the judging criteria and achieved a perfect, or near perfect, overall score. This entry represents the highest standards of professionalism, standards compliance and impeccable planning and execution. This is one of the world’s most well executed and compelling eletronic media projects. All EMA™ Gold Award winners are qualified to win an EMA™ Best in Category Award.

EMA™ Silver Award (90-94 points)
The EMA™ Silver Award is an extremely challenging award to win and represents excellence and great design, execution and professionalism. Recipients of this award have achieved a high level of success in most of the criteria but may have fallen just shy of scorecard perfection.

EMA™ Bronze Award (85-89 points)
The EMA™ Bronze Award is given to outstanding electronic media that have achieved commendable merit while striving to innovate and push the state-of-the-art forward.