AdWheel Awards

What are the categories and subcategories?

To align the AdWheel Awards with organizational and industry strategic goals, awards will be presented in the following three (3) categories. Each category has five (5) subcategories for entries to be submitted under.

• Best Marketing and Communications Workforce Development Initiative (e.g. staff recruitment or retention)
  • ​Print Media (e.g. brochure, newspaper ad, billboard)
  • Electronic Media (e.g. online video, TV/radio/podcast ad, web content)
  • Special Event (e.g. community activity, press conference)
  • Social Media (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram efforts)
  • Comprehensive Campaign (A campaign is an effort with multiple components that are used together to achieve your goal​)
• Best Marketing and Communications to Increase Ridership or Sales
  • ​Print Media
  • Electronic Media
  • Special Event
  • Social Media
  • Comprehensive Campaign
• Best Marketing and Communications Educational Initiative (Non-Workforce Development [e.g. Highlighting funding needs, general public information,​ improving safety or security, courtesy, or other transit objective])
  • ​Print Media
  • Electronic Media
  • Special Event
  • Social Media
  • Comprehensive Campaign

How and when will 2026 winners be honored?

First Place winners and non-winners were notified January 27, 2026 and will be honored in-person at the 2026 APTA MCX Workshop, February 22 – 25, 2026, in Savannah, GA.

Grand Award winners will then be selected from the First Place winners, notified in mid-summer 2026, and honored at APTA TRANSform & EXPO in Chicago, October 4-7, 2026.

Eligibility:

All APTA members in good standing may submit entries. Entries may be submitted by individual members, or two or more members working on the same project. For answers to membership questions, call APTA’s Membership Department at 202-496-4800.

Eligible Entries: Elements or campaigns must have been used in whole or in part between October 16, 2024 and November 30, 2025, and that particular entry element/campaign may not have previously won an AdWheel Award.​

NOTE: All materials entered become property of APTA and may be used in promotion of both APTA and the AdWheel Awards.

All entries must have been submitted via the online entry portal by Friday, December 12, 2025 at 11:59pm PT.

Fees:

The AdWheel Awards Program is a self-sustaining program. Entry fees are used to cover the costs of running the program. You are allowed to enter in as many subcategories and categories as you like. The 2026 entry fee is $125 per entry.

• ​You may pay by credit card after you complete your entry.
  • After clicking to view your entry, click on the red balance due at the bottom of your entry portal.
• You can also pay by check. Please remember to send a copy of your invoice with your payment. Many checks are sent to APTA and we need to know where the funds should be allocated.
• Payment is due by January 9, 2026.
• Purchase Orders are not allowed as a form of payment for this awards program.

Make checks payable to: American Public Transportation Association and mail to:

APTA
AdWheel Awards-c/o Stephen Kendrick
1300 I Street NW, Suite 1200 E
Washington, D.C. 20005

Entry Tips:

APTA has created a list of tips to help you submit your AdWheel Award entry.

• Avoid the Rush Hour Traffic Jam: The submission portal receives a lot of activity the last four (4) business days before the deadline. To avoid overloading the site, be sure to submit your entries in advance.
• Group Selection: Verify your 2024 ridership statistics before selecting a group category. APTA reports this data, and you can find it in the Q4 2024 report.
• File Upload Limits: The maximum file size is 20 MB. Please do not upload zip files.
• Video Files: All video files must be submitted as YouTube or Vimeo URLs.
• Advertising Agency Submissions: If you are an advertising agency, be sure the transit agency’s name that you are representing is clearly listed on the submission. If you are unsure which category to select for the entry, ask the transit agency.
• Category Selection: Double check the category you have selected to make sure it is the correct category for your entry.

The Written Part of the Entry is the “Effectiveness Statement”

Submit clear and concise effectiveness statements, maximum 800 characters in length per question, including spaces and punctuation. (Judges read this statement, view files you have uploaded, and follow links you have attached, in order to determine the score of the entry.)

1. Who was the target audience for this entry?
2. What was the situation that necessitated creating this entry?
3. What was the strategy of this entry?
4. What results did this entry have? (e.g. increased ridership, higher sales, greater public awareness, etc.)
5. Please tell the judges why this entry was submitted and why it should win an AdWheel Award.

Group determinations are based on your parent organization’s 2024 data:

• Group 1: Providing 3 million or fewer annual passenger trips
• Group 2: Providing more than 3 million but fewer than 15 million annual passenger trips
• Group 3: Providing more than 15 million but fewer than 50 million annual passenger trips
• Group 4: Providing 50 million or more annual passenger trips
• Group 5: Business members and affiliate members not operating transit service

Judging Criteria:

Each entry is judged on the following measures:

• Goals Achieved
• Overall Impact
• Message Clarity

The two highest scoring subcategory winners and the campaign subcategory winner will be considered for the overall category​ Grand Award.

Have Additional Questions?

Please contact Stephen Kendrick, APTA Senior Program Manager, Marketing & Communications at skendrick@apta.com.