Zalando Partner Marketing Awards 2026: The campaigns that raised the bar

Hosted by Natalie Frieb and Heike Lari, the show saw all four winners accept their awards live on stage. This year's campaigns showed how many forms partner success can take, from meme-inspired storytelling and an honest take on running to a new-market launch and data-driven scaling.

The winners were chosen by a jury of Zalando and industry experts: Pedro Roche (Director Strategy & Offering, ZMS), Sara Spannar (VP Global Marketing, Zalando), Matthias Haase (VP Zalando Content Solutions), Nina Kong (VP, Head of Strategy EU, Highsnobiety), and Natalina Manni (Director Creator & Content Partnerships, Zalando). They assessed each submission on criteria including campaign strategy, execution, and the KPIs it achieved.

This category recognises campaigns that stand out for exceptional creativity and remarkable storytelling. It is open to content produced by Zalando as well as by the brands themselves.

Nominees: The North Face, Levi's, UGG

Winner: The North Face

Case Study: The winning campaign, "Touch Grass," was built around the idea of "Brainrot meets Biology." Together with ZMS and Highsnobiety, The North Face turned a well-known internet meme into a positive brand message. The campaign follows a city-bred protagonist into nature, bringing an urban streetwear audience into the brand's outdoor world.

It ran as two episodes, footwear in October and outerwear in November, across Highsnobiety, Zalando, and talent channels. Episode two beat its revenue forecast by 18%, increased ROAS by 530% and achieved a new-customer share of 56.8%. The campaign had already been named "Ad of the Day" by The Drum.

This category honours campaigns that make the most of key moments in the e-commerce calendar, such as Season Start, Cyber Week, Back to School or the holidays. It also recognises campaigns tailored to specific categories such as beauty, sports, outdoor, streetwear, designer or kidswear.

Nominees: ASICS, Hugo Boss, Polo Ralph Lauren

Winner: ASICS

Case Study: Instead of polished victory moments, the winning campaign, "Run For You," showed the honest reality of running, true to the brand's belief that "when you move your body, you move your mind." It followed one runner through a real training season in two phases: first to the Rotterdam Marathon, then to the Berlin Marathon.

Both phases combined on-site placements, off-site activations and physical activations at the marathons themselves. Phase one beat its forecast by 37% with a new-customer share of 80%. Phase two beat its forecast by 41% with a new-customer share of 68%.

Introduced last year, this category celebrates innovation and entrepreneurial courage. It is open to brands that are new to working with ZMS, or that successfully expanded into new categories or markets in 2025.

Nominees: Brooks, LeGer x OH APRIL, WRSTBHVR

Winner: Brooks

Case Study: Brooks used the Barcelona Half Marathon to open up a new market. The brand launched a dedicated campaign page on Zalando featuring real runners in an urban setting, along with race-prep content in the lead-up to the event, supported by influencer collaborations and paid social.

During the campaign, Brooks' market share in Spain nearly tripled. Its Spanish brand followers grew by 600% and its followers overall by 83%, while GMV rose by 193% between January and March.

Previously our Self-Service Award, this category has broadened its focus. It now recognises partners who independently build and run data-driven, holistic marketing strategies using tools such as the Ad Manager or the Customer Journey Compass. This might be a unified multi-campaign approach, or in-depth funnel analysis to boost performance.

Nominees: NEXT, Timberland, Tommy Hilfiger

Winner: NEXT

Case Study: NEXT's "2025 Expansion" is a strong example of this approach in practice. Rather than a single creative campaign, the brand focused on self-managed, data-driven scaling. It chose its SKUs strictly by return rate and profitability and optimised its budget every week instead of every month.

In 2025, NEXT expanded from 13 to 21 markets and brought eight new brands onto Zalando. Attributed revenue grew by 121%, while cost per click stayed almost unchanged.

This year's winners show the full range of what ZMS offers, from creative storytelling to data-driven scaling. A huge thank you to every brand that submitted its work, to our nominees for their achievements, and to our jury for their time and expertise. Congratulations to all the winners of the Zalando Partner Marketing Awards 2026. We can't wait to see what you create next year.