Podcast Awards: A List of Opportunities to Enter Each Year

There’s a lot of ways to judge success in podcasting, awards happen to be one of them. They’re not just nice-to-haves. For brands, they can be a seriously strategic move.
These industry awards give you social proof, build trust, and boost visibility. We’re going to talk about why podcast awards are important and share a few you may want to enter.

Why Podcast Awards Matter

Podcast awards offer more than bragging rights (though those are nice to have, too). For brands, they can validate the investment you've made in content. A win (or even a shortlist) gives your show credibility with both your audience and your internal stakeholders. It’s easier to justify a budget increase when you’ve got the trophies to prove the podcast is being done right.

They also boost visibility. Awards typically come with PR opportunities, cross-promotion, and even increased listenership. They get the name of your show in front of a big audience. And by winning, you get mentions in media you may not have otherwise. That, in turn, brings more eyes, and more ears to your brand podcast. It’s especially effective if you're operating in a niche or B2B space.

Plus, awards give your hosts, producers, and creative teams something to rally around. That recognition goes a long way when you’re asking people to commit to a long-term content strategy.

Podcast Awards to Know About

There are more podcast awards out there than you might expect—some focused on storytelling, others on production, innovation, or brand impact. Here’s a selection worth looking at when planning your content calendar:

The Big Ones

People’s Choice Podcast Award – These are the longest-running premier podcast awards, open to shows worldwide. Since the beginning, they are designed to allow fans to show their appreciation by nominating their favorite shows. 

Webby Awards – The gold standards in the digital world. The Webby Awards are the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. These awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS)—a 3000+ member judging body. To get a little inspiration for which shows get nominated, have a look at our Crafted and We The Children case studies. 

ADWEEK Audio Awards – These awards honor the most outstanding podcasts and podcasting pros across various categories. They especially celebrate innovation, diverse storytelling and creativity in audio aimed at professional audiences. Ideal for brands with something out-of-the-box and creative to show off.

The Ambies – Also known as The Awards For Excellence in Audio, these are one of the major industry awards. The awards celebrate talent both in front of and behind the mic. They’re on the lookout for excellence in podcasting while honoring podcasts as a unique and personal medium for entertainment, information, storytelling, and expression. 

Anthem Awards – From the creators of the Webby Awards, these awards focus on mission-driven content.  By amplifying the voices that spark global change, they’re defining a new benchmark for social impact work that inspires others to take action in their own community. If your brand podcast has a larger impact focus, this is your arena.

Lower Street’s own We The Children won three Anthems in 2024, find out how they did it in this case study. 

The Signal Awards – Fairly new, but these awards are rapidly becoming a must-enter. They are mission-focused on uplifting podcasting by recognizing the most potent, meaningful, and unprecedented audio projects.  Once a year, the judging academy collectively listens closely to thousands of hours of audio, selecting the strongest work to be elevated to the status of award-winning.

Shorty Awards – An international awards competition dedicated to honoring purpose-driven work that drives positive change. They accept work by brands, agencies, nonprofits, and individuals across digital and social platforms.

iHeartRadio Podcast Awards – High profile and great for public-facing brands. They love brilliant storytelling, inspiring us to think differently, making us laugh, and helping us learn. 

Marketing Focused Awards

CMI Content Marketing Awards & Corporate Content Awards – Not podcast-specific, but both include audio storytelling as a category. CMI is the longest-running content marketing awards and celebrates creative and high-quality projects in marketing. The Corporate Content Awards are made specifically for brand content efforts, and can give your brand podcast professional recognition.

MarCom – Honoring excellence in marketing and communication while recognizing the creativity, hard work, and generosity of industry professionals. MarCom has evolved into one of the largest, most respected creative competitions in the world.

AVA – An international competition that recognizes excellence by creative professionals responsible for the planning, concept, direction, design, and production of digital communication. Work ranges from digital campaigns to audio and video production, or even website development and social media engagement.

W3 Awards – General digital excellence awards that include podcasting categories. The W3 Awards celebrate digital excellence by honoring outstanding work across Websites, Marketing, Video, Mobile Sites & Apps, Social, Podcasts, and Emerging Tech. At the W3 Awards, we aim to honor the unsung heroes of digital creativity who create imaginative and boundary-blazing work day after day. 

Many Lower Street shows have won W3 for their creative brand storytelling. This includes BCG’s Climate Vision 2050 and In Her Ellement, which has won multiple W3 awards, including Gold for Best Branded Podcast and Silver for Innovation & Sustainability. This is a great example of the power of narrative storytelling for brand podcasts.

Niche Podcast Awards

The Gracies, International Women’s Podcasting Awards  & Women in Podcasting Awards – All three of these podcast awards focus on bringing the spotlight to women in podcasting. They have awards across categories, celebrating those behind the mic, and behind the scenes.

Australian Podcast Awards, British Podcast Awards, Canadian Podcast Awards – If you aren’t based in the US, take a peek at country-specific awards. These are open to a mix of branded and independent work. A local award can really raise your position in your own country and help you gain local visibility. 

UK Content Awards – Specifically designed to celebrate great content marketing from across the United Kingdom. So, if you work with words, images, video, audio, or social to create content to enhance the customer journey and create business, a UK Content Award is waiting for you.

Black Podcasting Awards – These awards are specifically to celebrate, spotlight, and bolster Black podcasts. They want to share more recognition for Black individuals behind the mic.

Golden Crane Awards – To recognize Asian Americans specifically in the podcasting industry, the Asian American Podcasters Association has launched these awards celebrating show excellence across categories. 

Ready to Win your Podcast an Award?

These are just the start. Dig into your podcast niche and you’re sure to find more awards that fit your category, format, style, and demographic. 

If you're already putting in the work to make a valuable, well-produced podcast, it’s worth thinking about awards from the start. Planning for eligibility deadlines, category fits, and promotional moments can take your show from a brand initiative to an industry-recognized success.

Plus, it’s a great excuse to throw a little internal celebration when your name ends up on a shortlist. Who doesn’t love a good win?