The 2027 Gary L. Lilien ISMS Practice Prize is now open for submissions.
The Prize recognizes outstanding implementations of marketing science concepts and methods that have produced significant, verifiable, and preferably quantitative impact on the performance of an organization. Finalists will present their work in person at the 2027 ISMS Marketing Science Conference in Seattle, June 24-26, 2027.
Established in 2003, the Prize is named for Gary Lilien in recognition of his efforts to promote the diffusion and application of leading-edge marketing science developments in practice. The Prize is sponsored by the INFORMS Society for Marketing Science (ISMS).
Submissions are due January 31, 2027.
If your work used rigorous marketing science to change a real organizational decision and produced verifiable impact, please do not self-reject. Published work is eligible, industry-led teams are welcome, and a journal-ready manuscript is not required at the first stage.
Questions or unsure about fit? Email Daniel McCarthy, Chair of the 2027 Gary L. Lilien ISMS Practice Prize and ISMS Vice President, Practice, at dmccar@umd.edu.
Email questions | View past presentations | View winners and finalists
Key Dates
- January 31, 2027: Submissions due
- By March 1, 2027: Finalists notified
- April-May 2027: Finalist preparation and feedback
- June 24-26, 2027: Final presentations and award at the ISMS Marketing Science Conference in Seattle
Who Should Submit
The Prize is for work that used marketing science in practice and produced meaningful organizational impact. Academics, practitioners, and joint teams are all eligible. Industry-led and practitioner-only teams are welcome.
Published work is eligible. Prior publication does not disqualify an entry. Published, accepted, under-review, and working-paper projects are all welcome, and entering the competition does not restrict future publication.
A journal-ready paper is not required at the first stage. A technical report, working paper, presentation deck, appendix, or similar material may be used to document the method and results.
Many types of organizations and outcomes can qualify. The implementation may involve a company of any size, a startup, nonprofit, public-sector organization, or other operating institution. Impact may be financial or nonfinancial, provided it is meaningful and verifiable.
Both a single major application and a broader body of work can qualify. Historically, the Prize has recognized both single high-impact implementations and sustained histories of successful applications across time or organizations.
What the Work Must Demonstrate
- Implementation: The marketing science work must have been used in practice, not merely proposed or shown in a simulation.
- Technical merit: The concepts and methods should be innovative, sound, and appropriate to the problem and organizational setting.
- Organizational impact: The work should have produced significant, verifiable, and preferably quantitative impact. Examples include improvements in revenue, cost, customer outcomes, adoption, retention, service quality, efficiency, public welfare, or another important organizational objective.
- Recency: For a single application, the implementation should normally have been completed within the five years before the submission deadline. Projects that began earlier but generated meaningful implementation or impact during that period may still be appropriate. Contact the Chair with questions.
- Independence from the judging committee: Anyone may enter except members of the 2027 judging committee.
What to Submit
Submit the following materials:
- Abstract, 500-1,000 words. Describe the organizational problem, the marketing science approach, how the work was implemented, and the central results. This should orient the judging committee to the decision context, the method, and the main evidence of impact.
- Impact Statement, 500-1,000 words. Explain what changed for the organization, the scale of the implementation, how impact was measured or verified, and the most important outcomes. Include the organizational objective, the baseline or comparison where available, and the evidence that the work affected real decisions or outcomes.
- Supporting technical material. Provide enough detail for the judging committee to assess technical merit. A completed paper is welcome but not required; a report, deck, technical appendix, working paper, or comparable documentation may be sufficient.
- Evidence supporting the impact claim. A statement or endorsement from an organizational sponsor is strongly encouraged. If confidentiality limits what can be disclosed, explain what can be shared and how the claimed impact can be verified. The Chair is available to discuss workable options before submission.
- Team and contact information. List all contributors, affiliations, and the lead contact for the submission.
How to Submit
Email the materials as attachments or a single share link to dmccar@umd.edu with the subject line "2027 Practice Prize Submission - [Lead Contact / Organization]."
Combining the core materials into one PDF is preferred where practical. Large appendices may be shared by link.
Selection Process and Finalist Expectations
A committee of senior academics and practitioners will evaluate submissions and normally select three or four finalists.
Finalists must commit to presenting their work in person at the 2027 ISMS Marketing Science Conference in Seattle, June 24-26, 2027.
Finalists will be invited to a remote rehearsal and feedback session in May 2027 to help refine their presentations.
The judges will select the winner immediately following the finalist session, and the award will be announced at the conference.
ISMS intends to highlight finalists through its communications and, consistent with past competitions, to record and archive finalist presentations subject to presenter permissions and conference arrangements.
Past Work and Examples
Past papers describing Practice Prize implementations are available in Marketing Science. Videos of past finalists and winners are available at the Gary L. Lilien ISMS Practice Prize video archive and on the dedicated YouTube channel.
The official INFORMS award page lists past winners and finalists.
Questions
Unsure whether your work fits? Send a brief description or draft to Daniel McCarthy, Chair of the 2027 Gary L. Lilien ISMS Practice Prize and ISMS Vice President, Practice, at dmccar@umd.edu. He is happy to advise on fit, impact documentation, client or organizational support, and confidentiality questions.
Daniel McCarthy
Chair, 2027 Gary L. Lilien ISMS Practice Prize
Vice President, Practice, INFORMS Society for Marketing Science
Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Maryland
dmccar@umd.edu