Back to the DARE Awards homepage for the full category list, entry fees, and ceremony dates.
The PRCA DARE Awards split the UK into six regions and nations so entries are reviewed alongside work that faced similar media markets, stakeholders, and travel patterns. Choosing the right bucket keeps judging fair and helps your team plan which ceremony you would attend if shortlisted.
How to choose your region in five steps
1. Fix the lead office for the work. Use the postcode of the team that owned the account day to day, not a holding company address in London unless that team genuinely delivered the programme.
2. Map the geography to the list below. If activity crossed borders, pick the region where most budget was spent or where most outcomes were measured.
3. Check category fit. Open the homepage categories section to confirm the award names you plan to enter, then mirror that focus in your written submission.
4. Read the rules pack. The Rules to Enter page links to the toolkit PDFs, which spell out file types, word limits, and payment steps.
5. Ask early if you are split across sites. When two regions could apply, choose the one that matches the majority of staff time on the campaign and say so plainly in the first page of your entry.
The six DARE regions and nations
Midlands covers the West and East Midlands conurbations. Enter here when your core delivery team sits in cities such as Birmingham, Nottingham, Leicester, or Coventry.
North England and North Wales is for work led from the north of England plus the Welsh northern coast and border counties when your hub sits in that belt rather than in the southern Welsh panel.
Northern Ireland is for entries where the lead agency or in-house unit is based in Northern Ireland and the outcomes were tracked there.
Scotland is for programmes planned and reported from Scottish bases, including campaigns that ran UK-wide but were steered from Edinburgh, Glasgow, or other Scottish offices.
South East England covers Greater London neighbours and the wider south-eastern counties when your lead team is outside the capital but still anchored in that economic region.
South West England and South Wales covers the south west of England together with south Wales. Use this region when Cardiff, Bristol, Plymouth, or nearby cities are the main operational home.
After you pick a region
Align your case study with the judges for that area, name the metrics they will recognise, and keep annexes tight. If you also want visibility with partners, see the sponsors page for the brands attached to specific categories.
When the PDF toolkit for your season is published, download it before you pay, because deadlines and fees can change year to year even when region names stay the same.