The One Club Launches The One Show Indies To Celebrate Independent Agencies

The One Club for Creativity has today announced the most significant change to its global One Show awards in decades: the launch of The One Show Indies, dedicated to celebrating the work of independent agencies, design firms, production houses, and creators.

Debuting this year within The One Show 2026, The One Show Indies is open exclusively to agencies with truly independent ownership: a minimum 51% owned by founders or staff, and no more than four physical offices.  

The goal is to make the global spotlight of a prestigious One Show Pencil win even more accessible to a larger playing field of independent agencies, studios, freelancers, creators, and other creative companies.  

“Independent agencies and creators are some of today’s most dynamic drivers of creative excellence,” says Kevin Swanepoel (pictured below), CEO, The One Club.  “We want to rally them by offering a more accessible way into The One Show, and a dedicated space for them to compete and be celebrated on the world stage.  The One Show Indies is like a new rebel wing inside The One Show, created to recognize independent shops and creators who make powerful work without holding company budgets and restraints.” 

Rules for entry are designed to be simple, easy, and cost-effective: 

• • Eligible agencies, studios, and creators can submit no more than 10 entries in total.
• • Each piece of work can be entered into no more than three categories.  
• • Limits on where costly and time-consuming case study films can be used as judging media.
• • Entry fees at a 20% discounted rate off the regular fees for The One Show 2026.   

These guidelines are designed to make entry easy and affordable for independent agencies, help level the playing field, and allow a greater range of work to shine.  

Regular deadline for entry is January 23, 2026, and final deadline February 20, 2026.  

The One Show Indies entries will be judged by a dedicated global jury made up entirely of top creatives at independent agencies, using the same high-integrity judging platform and criteria for which The One Show is known.  

In addition to awarding Gold, Silver, and Bronze Pencils and Merit awards, the jury will also present a prestigious Crystal Pencil to an overall “Best of Indies” winner. 

Plans are also in the works to host a One Show Indies celebration in a more casual setting separate from the formal One Show 2026 awards ceremony in May during Creative Week.

About The One Show 2026

Entries to the overall One Show 2026 can be submitted now, with fees increasing after each deadline period.  Super-early entry deadline for the greatest savings is October 30, 2025.  Early entry deadline is December 12, 2025, with the regular deadline January 23, 2026.  The extended deadline is February 6, 2026, and final deadline February 20, 2026.

The One Show 2026 Jury Presidents and full juries will be announced shortly, with early judging starting in January 2026 and finalists announced in May 2026.  Crystal, Gold, Silver and Bronze Pencil and Merit winners will be announced in May during Creative Week 2026 in New York.

All winning entries are showcased in the archive, and viewable for free for one year.  All One Show winners also receive a complimentary one-year membership to The One Club, as well as full access to the complete One Show archive, made up of more than 250,000 award-winning entries from the past 25 years.

Agencies, brands, production companies, and individuals responsible for winning work each year are highlighted in The One Show Creative Rankings, as well as The One Club’s Global Creative Rankings, which combines points won at The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Type Directors Club TDC competition, Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) Awards, and ONE Asia Creative Awards.  Winners are ranked globally, regionally, and by country. 

As a nonprofit organization, The One Club puts revenue generated from The One Show entries back into the industry to fund programming under the nonprofit organization’s four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality, and Creative Development. 

For more information and to enter, please visit The One Show 2026.