Amazon Ads has held its first Partner Awards ceremony in India, using an event in Mumbai to recognise the agencies and technology firms that help brands run campaigns on its platform.
The awards highlight how much the advertising arm of Amazon relies on outside partners to reach businesses of all sizes, from large consumer brands to smaller sellers looking to turn ad spending into measurable sales.
According to a report by Adgully, 14 partners in India were named country-level winners across five categories.
How the Winners Were Chosen
The Amazon Ads Partner Awards is positioned as the company's main recognition program for agencies and technology providers that show strong results for advertisers using its tools.
Entries were assessed on four criteria: how well the partner understood the customer's challenge, the strategy and implementation of Amazon Ads, the strength of the results achieved, and how relevant the work was to the chosen award category.
The 2026 edition in India spanned five categories intended to reflect the talent and impact of the country's advertising partner community.
Named Winners in Two Categories
In the Brand Storytelling category, the winners were BM Consulting, Evitamin Business Consulting Pvt Ltd and O3M Directional Marketing.
The Challenger Strategy category recognised Hector, HiveMinds Innovative Market Solutions Pvt Ltd, Mindshare Fulcrum India (part of WPP Media India) and RB2F.
The mix of names includes both specialist consultancies and a unit tied to one of the world's largest advertising holding groups, suggesting the partner ecosystem spans firms of very different sizes.
Amazon's View of the Indian Ad Market
Girish Prabhu, Vice President of Amazon Ads India, framed the awards as recognition of partners that are pushing brands beyond simple reach toward measurable customer connections across the full purchase journey.
"India's advertising landscape is evolving rapidly, and our partners are at the centre of that transformation," Prabhu said.
He added that the company continues to invest in AI-powered tools, full-funnel capabilities and ad products for brands that sell on Amazon as well as across other apps and websites, and that it intends to equip partners to help brands of every size grow.
Inside the Amazon Ads Partner Network
The awards sit on top of the Amazon Ads Partner Network, a self-service hub where agencies and tool providers register, earn accreditation, access marketing and learning resources, and list their capabilities in a directory advertisers can browse.
Amazon says more than 700 partners currently support over 25,000 advertisers in India through the network.
The company also offers certifications, education events and training programs aimed at keeping partner teams current on new advertising products and AI-driven features.
A Measurable Edge for Top Performers
Amazon Ads pointed to data suggesting that recognition correlates with growth. Award-winning partners saw a 14% increase in both total advertisers and advertiser spend over six months, compared with average partner growth.
For agencies competing for client budgets, that kind of figure may make the awards a useful credential when pitching brands that are expanding their retail media spending.
What It Means for Brands and Agencies
Retail media has become one of the fastest-growing parts of digital advertising, and Amazon is clearly betting that a strong partner network will help it capture more of that spend in India.
For founders and marketers, the takeaway is that working with accredited, specialised partners is increasingly central to how brands navigate Amazon's growing set of ad tools. For agencies, formal recognition from the platform could become another way to stand out in a crowded market.
Source: Adgully
