The Californer - e.l.f Beauty, Netflix, PayPal earn top honors in AMA SF's relaunched Excellence in Marketing Awards

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Kristy LoRusso, Marguerite Moran, photo Justin Chu

Beauty, fintech, entertainment and AI drove a standout list of Bay Area winners in the American Marketing Association San Francisco's first awards show in 15 years.

SAN FRANCISCO - Californer -- Whether selling lipgloss with a side of board diversity, promoting robots through fortune cookies, or putting Will Ferrell "Everywhere," Bay Area marketers did not disappoint in last week's Excellence in Marketing Awards from the American Marketing Association, San Francisco.

After a 15 year hiatus, the awards kicked off with an outdoor party on July 24 at Spark Social SF. Judges included CMOs Kristy LoRusso of Kaiser Permanente and Rachel Heit of the SF Giants along with local and national marketing experts across, B2C, B2B, VC and non-profit sectors.

Co-chaired by Kristin Young and Melissa Grimshaw-Vargas, the event focused on community over exclusivity, allowing the industry members to nominate their favorite work from any of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties.

"San Francisco and Silicon Valley are known for our innovation both technically and culturally, and that's exactly the caliber of work we are seeing this year," Eric Weidner, President, American Marketing Association San Francisco. South Bay winners included Netflix and PayPal, San Francisco winners included Waymo and Gold Bar Whiskey, and East Bay winners included e.l.f. Beauty, Dialpad, and Taelor AI.

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Oakland-based e.l.f. Beauty was the only brand to take home two awards, both from community nominations. Judge and 3x CMO Jakki Geiger noted, "e.l.f. isn't just a fast-growing brand—it's a cultural force redefining what innovation looks like in marketing. They've pushed boundaries in every direction: creative courage, technological adoption, channel experimentation, and brand purpose."

As to Marketer of the Year Netflix, judge Rachel Heit noted, "Netflix tapped into a key consumer insight as it relates to FOMO and the social impact of trending entertainment. They created campaign creative and partner integrations that were global in scale and differentiated based on Netflix's core brand values."

This year's honorees join previous winners including Apple, Google, Levi's, YouTube, Wells Fargo, Old Navy, Williams-Sonoma, and many other iconic San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley brands.

2025 Excellence in Marketing Awards Winners:

Next Big Thing
- e.l.f. Beauty
Marketer of the Year

Netflix

Best in Show

PayPal: "Everywhere" with GSTV

Most Innovative Marketing Campaign

Waymo

Bootstrapped Campaign of the Year

Taelor AI

Best Cause Marketing

e.l.f. Beauty

Best Performance Campaign

Dialpad

Best Local Campaign

Gold Bar Spirits Company

President's Awards

Irene Sanchez and Sukriti Khosla

Event Sponsors: Workbox, Lyft Media, Nativo, Media Now Interactive, StackAdapt, Seedtag, Kargo, GSTV, Justin Chu, Peakbound Studio, Ad Venture Promotions, One Way Media Solutions, Taelor, Spark Social SF, Content Marketing Institute

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Official Rideshare Partner: Lyft Media

Photography by Justin Chu

Full list of finalists and judges at https://www.amasf.org/eima/

About American Marketing Association:

Since 1938, the American Marketing Association, San Francisco (AMA SF) has fostered and promoted professional learning and career advancement opportunities for members and the community. The non-profit organization serves the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties with monthly programs, events, workshops, and discussions that introduce the latest industry trends and developments, along with networking events that bring together the best marketing minds in the region.