
You can’t mark your own homework: why independence matters
The global award management market is a multi-billion-pound powerhouse. Cannes Lions alone reportedly generated over $40m in entry fees in 2025. Businesses don’t pour that kind of money into being judged out of vanity, they do it because in a market saturated with self-proclaimed ‘bests’, ‘largest’ or ‘leading’. Third-party, independent verification is one of the signals people trust.










