From an ambitious local initiative in 2023 to a record-breaking performance on the Asian stage in 2026, the Dragons of Pakistan has rapidly emerged as a powerful force in results-focused marketing communications.
When the inaugural Dragons of Pakistan was launched in 2023, the ambition was straightforward: give Pakistan’s marketing communications industry its own platform to recognise outstanding work at home, and then open the door to greater recognition across Asia.
In just three years, the results have far exceeded expectations.
What began as a carefully measured introduction to the Pakistani marketing community has evolved into a formidable awards programme, one that has helped put Pakistan firmly on the Dragons of Asia map. Entry numbers have exploded, the standard of entered work has risen, and Pakistani agencies and brand owners have continued to strengthen their performance in Asia’s elite Programme for results-focused marketing communications.
The numbers tell the story. Pakistan’s collective Dragons ranking points have risen from 81 in 2023 to 140 in 2026, an increase of more than 70% in just three years.
But the numbers alone don’t explain the rise of the Dragons of Pakistan. The story is also about participation, quality, education and a growing determination to ensure that effective marketing receives the recognition it deserves.
2023: Testing the waters … and exceeding expectations.
The first Dragons of Pakistan was designed to test the appetite of the local marketing community for a dedicated national programme.
Five of the most popular Dragons of Asia entry categories were selected to encourage participation, with specially designed Pakistani Dragon Awards featuring a mythological Pakistani Dragon. The proposition was deliberately accessible: for a single A$200 entry fee, participants could compete for national recognition and then have their work considered within the Dragons of Asia.
The programme received strong support from Dragons Partner Saad Hashmi of Adstreet Industry Organisation, whose backing across social and traditional media, coupled with his
extra-ordinary energy, passion and vision, helped build awareness. The Call for Entry was also distributed to the Dragons of Pakistan database.
Crucially, all entries were judged by members of the international Dragons of Asia Judging Group based outside Pakistan, bringing independent international assessment to the programme, from the outset.
Before the launch, Pakistani agencies and brand owners had entered the Dragons of Asia somewhat sporadically. Yet it was clear there was an opportunity to recognise the country’s best results-focused marketing work through the Dragons brand.
The first-year response confirmed that opportunity was real.
Pakistan won 15 Dragons in the 2023 Dragons of Asia, including 10 trophies and four Gold Dragons, a result that comfortably exceeded expectations for a programme in its inaugural year.
Starcom Pakistan won the Blue Dragon for Best Campaign in Pakistan for its easypaisa Savings campaign for easypaisa Pakistan. Brainchild Pakistan also made history, winning the Red Dragon for Network of the Year. Pakistan’s first.
The message was clear: Pakistan had the work, the talent and the ambition. The challenge was to build a programme capable of bringing more of that work into the spotlight.
2024: From a promising debut to momentum growth.
The success of the inaugural programme immediately gave Dragons of Asia Management the confidence to expand.
For 2024, the number of entry categories increased from five to 10. At the same time, discussions began with Adstreet about staging the first Dragons of Pakistan Awards Event in Karachi.
The response was immediate. Entries doubled, the quality of submissions strengthened, and Pakistan’s agencies and brand owners began to make an even greater impact across the Dragons of Asia.
The country won 24 Dragons, including 11 trophies and six Gold Dragons.
Two Red Dragons provided further evidence of Pakistan’s growing stature. Starcom Pakistan won the Best Campaign in Asia Red Dragon for its Audio Nikahnama campaign for easypaisa Pakistan, while Brainchild Communications Pakistan repeated its success, taking the Red Dragon for Network of the Year for the second consecutive year.
The inaugural Dragons of Pakistan Awards Event was staged at the Pearl Continental Hotel in Karachi, a venue that would become the programme’s home.
The sold-out event marked an important milestone. The Dragons of Pakistan was no longer simply a new awards initiative being tested by the industry. It was becoming an established fixture on the country’s marketing communications calendar.
2025: Bigger ambitions, higher standards.
By 2025, in just 2 years, the programme had built enough momentum to take another major step forward.
The Dragons of Pakistan expanded to all 17 Dragons of Asia entry categories, giving local Agencies and Brand owners the opportunity to enter work across the full breadth of the competition.
Entries doubled again.
Pakistan’s performance in the Dragons of Asia remained impressive: 26 Dragons, including 13 trophies and five Gold Dragons.
The programme also introduced Dragons of Asia Red Dragons to recognise three outstanding leadership and talent categories within Pakistan: DragonMaster: Agency, DragonMaster: Brand Owner and Young DragonMaster.
The second Awards Event also sold out, reinforcing the growing appetite for a programme that recognised not only successful campaigns but also the people and organisations driving effective marketing. Accolades to Adstreet, again.
Yet another important development was taking shape behind the scenes.
Following the 2025 programme, I met with a number of agencies to discuss how entrants could improve their results. The conversations highlighted an important distinction: a campaign could deliver outstanding results in the field and still lose valuable points if its entry failed to communicate those results clearly and convincingly to the judges.
Effective work did not automatically translate into an effective award submission.
The challenge was to ensure that campaigns were not only successful, but also judge-ready with the strategy, execution, evidence and results presented in a way that enabled judges to assess their effectiveness fully.
Drawing on those discussions, I prepared a review of the 2025 programme, identifying where entrants had lost points on the road to Gold. The review was circulated to every entrant. We also eMailed our growing of marketing professionals. Agencies & Brand owners alike, followed by individual eMails and zoom calls to teams.
It was a practical intervention designed to help agencies understand the judging process, strengthen their submissions and give their best work the recognition it merited.
In retrospect, it would prove to be a significant step in the programme’s development.
2026: The results speak for themselves.
The impact of that review became apparent in 2026.
Judges reported a marked improvement in the overall quality of the work submitted. Entries were better prepared, the presentation of campaign effectiveness had strengthened, and the standard of submissions reflected a growing understanding of what it takes to compete successfully.
Pakistan’s performance in the Dragons of Asia also continued to rise.
At the fully attended Dragons of Pakistan Awards Event at the Pearl Continental Hotel, the DragonMaster: Agency, DragonMaster: Brand Owner and Young DragonMaster Red Dragons were awarded again. The event also saw the inaugural Dragons of Asia Hall of Fame Pakistan Red Dragon presented to Amir Paracha, Chairman and CEO of Unilever Pakistan, recognising his place in the country’s marketing and business leadership.
Here’s a section of Amir’s response to the Hall of Fame Award:
“The Dragons Award is far more than any Award platform. It plays a vital role in celebrating excellence and raising the standards of our profession and inspiring marketers to keep pushing the boundaries of creativity, and effectiveness. My very best wishes to the Dragons Awards as it continues to strengthen and inspire our profession, for years to come.”
But the most compelling evidence of Pakistan’s progress came at the 26th Dragons of Asia Awards Event in Kuala Lumpur.
Pakistan secured a record 35 Dragons, including 15 trophies and six Gold Dragons, its strongest performance yet.
Adcom Leo Burnett Pakistan won the Red Dragon for Network of the Year and the Blue Dragon for Best Campaign in Pakistan for Split the Time Tax, its campaign for Parco Gunvor Pakistan.
Ogilvy Pakistan won a Red Dragon for its Cadbury Dairy Milk Pakistan. Valentines campaign for Mondelez International Pakistan, in the Dragons’ first Artificial Intelligence entry category.
Team Pakistan was out in force in Kuala Lumpur, with agencies and brand owners travelling to receive their awards and celebrate the country’s achievements.
It was a powerful demonstration of how far the programme had travelled in just three years: from an initial test of local interest to a national platform helping Pakistani marketing communications earn significant international recognition.
Measuring the rise.
The growth is perhaps most clearly illustrated by Pakistan’s collective Dragons ranking points, calculated using the Dragons ranking system: 10 points for Gold, seven for Silver, five for Bronze and one for Black.
| Year | Collective ranking points |
| 2023 | 81 |
| 2024 | 104 |
| 2025 | 115 |
| 2026 | 140 |
From 81 points in its inaugural year to 140 in 2026, Pakistan has increased its collective score by approximately 73%.
The progression is significant because it reflects more than a single standout year or an isolated winning campaign. It points to a growing depth of competitive work across the country’s agencies and brand owners, alongside a stronger commitment to presenting that work to international judging standards.
More than an Awards Programme.
The rise of the Dragons of Pakistan offers a compelling example of what can happen when an Awards Programme combines accessibility, international judging from outside Pakistan, industry engagement and a sustained commitment to improving the quality of entries.
The first year established that the appetite existed. The second built momentum and created a national awards event. The third broadened participation and introduced new forms of recognition. By the fourth year of results, the programme was demonstrating the benefits of a more informed, results-focused approach to entering the competition.
The contribution of Adstreet and Saad Hashmi, the engagement of Pakistan’s agencies and brand owners, and the work of the international judging community from 33 Countries, have all been vitally important to that development.
For Pakistan, the significance extends beyond the trophies. The programme provides a platform to recognise effective marketing, encourage stronger evidence of results, celebrate
talent and leadership, and demonstrate the quality of Pakistani work to a wider Asian audience.
For the Dragons of Asia, Pakistan’s emergence has added another dimension to the competition, with the country’s agencies and brand owners increasingly contributing to its depth and competitiveness.
Three years is a remarkably short time in which to establish that kind of momentum.
The Dragons of Pakistan began with a simple proposition: recognise the country’s best work, and give it the opportunity to compete across Asia.
In 2026, with a record 35 Dragons won in Kuala Lumpur and collective ranking points at their highest level yet, that proposition has delivered results well beyond the original ambition.
The next chapter is about sustaining that progress, to continue to raise the standard of entries, to strengthen the culture of results-focused marketing, and to ensure that Pakistan’s best work receives the recognition it deserves, both at home and across Asia.
Mike Da Silva
Dragons of Asia Pty Ltd Sydney. Australia October 21, 2026 [email protected]
