Adobe names winners of 2026 Experience Maker Awards

Adobe has named the winners of its 2026 Experience Maker Awards, which recognise companies and executives using Adobe products in marketing, commerce and customer engagement.

The winners span travel, retail, banking, education, sport, consumer goods, automotive and technology, with organisations from several countries judged across ten categories.

Winners named

Costa Crociere won The Advocate award, which recognises a customer-focused approach to personalised journeys. The cruise operator consolidated guest data across digital and in-person channels and used Adobe products including Real-Time Customer Data Platform, Journey Optimizer, Target, Customer Journey Analytics and Commerce.

According to Adobe, Costa Crociere recorded a 97% increase in eCommerce conversions, a 76% rise in loyalty registrations and a 50% reduction in cost per lead.

Samantha Tuttle of Newell Brands won The Ambassador award, which highlights individuals who share product knowledge and best practice. Tuttle, Director of Marketing Operations and eCommerce Strategy, was recognised for overseeing content creation, management and delivery across more than 50 consumer brands, including Sharpie, Rubbermaid, Yankee Candle and Coleman.

Under Tuttle's leadership, Newell Brands adopted Experience Manager Assets, Workfront and Firefly, enabling teams to produce up to five times more content with less manual work and faster delivery, according to Adobe.

Data and content

YDUQS won The Catalyst award for using Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform to connect systems and teams. The Brazilian education group, which serves more than 1.3 million students, aimed to unify fragmented data across brands, regions and learning models.

Adobe said YDUQS used Real-Time Customer Data Platform, Customer Journey Analytics and Target to create a single customer view, support real-time orchestration and deliver personalised remarketing. It reported acquisition cost reductions of up to 30%, conversion increases of up to 97% and a 32% cut in wasted media spend.

TSB Bank received The Conductor award for changes to its content operations. The lender rebuilt its content supply chain using Workfront, Experience Manager Assets, Creative Cloud and Firefly.

According to Adobe, the bank reduced content production time by 60% and cut creative idea revision time by 50% while maintaining compliance requirements and brand controls.

M.H. Alshaya won The Disruptor award for commerce work across its retail portfolio. The franchise operator manages more than 70 brands across fashion, food, beauty and lifestyle in more than 15 markets.

It built what Adobe called the Alshaya experience platform using Adobe Commerce, Experience Manager, Real-Time Customer Data Platform and Target. The project increased session duration by nearly 11%, reduced bounce rates by 23%, raised returning visitors by more than 9%, increased content delivery by 200% and cut asset creation time by 70%, Adobe said.

Individual honours

Amit Khare of the NFL was named Experience Maker of the Year. Khare, Director of Marketing Technology, led efforts to unify data and engagement systems across the league and its 32 clubs.

Adobe said the NFL connected Adobe Experience Platform with systems including OnePass and stadium point-of-sale platforms, then used Journey Optimizer and Customer Journey Analytics to coordinate fan engagement. Draft registrations rose by 91%, ticket conversions increased by 215% and 437 million audiences were activated, according to Adobe.

Derek Gominger of Lenovo received the Experience Maker Executive of the Year award. Gominger, Chief Operating Officer of Global eCommerce, was recognised for leading changes to how Lenovo uses data, artificial intelligence and creative tools in customer engagement across more than 180 markets.

Lenovo used Real-Time Customer Data Platform and Customer Journey Analytics alongside GenStudio and Firefly, Adobe said. Production cycles fell from six weeks to hours, enabling more than 1,000 assets across more than 500 experiences and influencing more than USD $1 billion in revenue.

Dr. Tapan Sahoo of Maruti Suzuki India won The Groundbreaker award. Adobe said the carmaker connected customer data and touchpoints across web, mobile, WhatsApp, dealerships and service networks using Experience Platform, Customer Journey Analytics, Journey Optimizer and Experience Manager.

According to Adobe, the company unified more than 200 million profiles, improved personalisation accuracy by 25%, increased AI-driven test drive bookings by 640% and reduced page load times by 78%.

Consumer brands

The Coca-Cola Company won The Maverick award, the only category selected by audience vote. Adobe said Coca-Cola combined its PRISM segmentation framework with generative AI and Adobe tools including GenStudio for Performance Marketing, Experience Manager, Real-Time Customer Data Platform and Target.

That approach led to a fourfold increase in engagement, a 65% reduction in copywriting time and up to 40 times more personalised assets, according to Adobe.

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery won The Transformer award for an organisational overhaul aimed at creating a digital-first customer experience. The jewellery retailer, described by Adobe as a 95-year-old luxury brand, unified retail, eCommerce and loyalty data to create a single customer view and shared workflows across channels.

Adobe said Chow Tai Fook increased average order value by 25%, lifted repeat purchases by 40%, achieved 95% cross-channel consistency, improved return on ad spend by 28% and raised brand sentiment among younger audiences.