Pinnacle Awards names 2026 marketing and communications winners

The Pinnacle Awards announced its 2026 Marketing & Communications winners on August 5 in Irvine, California, recognizing campaigns and teams across marketing, PR, social media and communications. The annual program highlights work the awards group says is driving measurable results, with winners spanning brands including The Hershey Company, Link Logistics, TiVo and AM Best.

Why it matters: - The Pinnacle Awards are highlighting the campaigns and teams shaping how brands market, communicate and engage audiences across industries. - The winners reflect where marketing is heading, including AI-driven strategy, integrated campaigns, influencer work and internal communications. - The awards program is framed around measurable results, which puts more weight on business impact than creativity alone.

What happened: - The Pinnacle Awards announced its 2026 Marketing & Communications winners on August 5 in Irvine, California. - Winners were recognized at three levels: Platinum, Diamond and Emerald. - Kate Lang, executive director for Pinnacle Awards, said the winners set new benchmarks for creativity, strategy and measurable impact. - Judges included industry executives, media professionals and consultants.

The details: - In Marketing, Orange Marketing won Platinum for AI-Powered Marketing Innovation, with Sonaria taking Diamond and Gretchen Lowery/Link Logistics taking Emerald. - TiVo won Platinum for Best Integrated Marketing Campaign, while Ledger won Diamond and 8x8, Inc. won Emerald. - Gifthealth won Platinum for Brand Launch of the Year, and The Hershey Company won Diamond. - AH Datalytics: The Crime Index won Platinum for Content Marketing Excellence, and Sonaria won Diamond. - The Hershey Company won Platinum for Experiential Marketing Campaign. - Accenture Federal Services - The Forge won Diamond for Experiential Marketing Campaign, and Authenticom Group of Companies won Emerald. - NeoSol won Platinum for the Helados Sarita Influencer Campaign. - SYZYGY Global won Platinum for Video Marketing Achievement, and Link Logistics won Diamond. - In Public Relations, Look Left Marketing won Platinum for Media Relations Excellence, and Herman Miller won Diamond. - C-Further won Platinum for Nonprofit PR Program. - Kickstand- Hapax (HumanX 2026 Product Launch) won Platinum for Product PR Launch. - Segway won Diamond and The Hershey Company won Emerald in Product PR Launch. - Trinity won Platinum for Technology PR Campaign, The Devon Group won Diamond and Marvell Technology won Emerald. - In Social Media, Vintage Modern won Platinum for Best Use of Instagram. - Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority won Platinum for Social Media Campaign of the Year, and Pretzl won Diamond. - In Communications, AM Best’s Video & Marketing Teams won Platinum for Best Corporate Communications. - A/Z Corporation's Anchor Point Internal Communication Platform won Platinum for Employee Communications Strategy, and Link Logistics won Diamond.

Between the lines: - The category mix shows how broad the communications field has become, with awards spanning everything from AI marketing to employee communications. - The repeated appearance of companies such as The Hershey Company and Link Logistics suggests those organizations had especially strong programs across multiple disciplines. - The awards also reinforce the growing overlap between marketing, PR and internal communications as companies try to reach both customers and employees with more coordinated messaging.

What's next: - The Pinnacle Awards will continue evaluating entries annually across marketing, communications and other business categories. - More information is available at the Pinnacle Awards website. - The organization also listed a LinkedIn profile for Pinnacle Awards: Pinnacle Awards on LinkedIn.

The bottom line: - The 2026 Pinnacle Awards show which brands and agencies are setting the pace in modern marketing and communications, with measurable impact now as important as creative execution.