KIAF | Jury

HOME KYIV INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING FESTIVAL JURY

The Jury of the Kyiv International Advertising Festival is one of the festival’s core values and the main reason why winning here truly matters. Your work is judged not just by professionals, but by leaders of the global advertising industry – creative directors, strategists, designers, producers, and marketers who shape international communication standards.

The KIAF competition program features six international jury teams and a separate Client Jury team made up of leading marketers. Every juror is carefully selected: these are experts with proven experience judging international festivals and holders of top-tier awards, including Cannes Lions.

To ensure that each entry is evaluated with maximum expertise and relevance, judging is based on the principle of specialization.

CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS and CRAFT/TECHNOLOGY blocks are judged by five international jury teams:

JURY TEAM 1. Film, Audio & Radio, Integrated & Innovation, Audio & Radio Craft
JURY TEAM 2. Design & Branding, Print & Publishing, Out of Home, Design & Branding Craft, Print & Publishing Craft, Out of Home Craft
JURY TEAM 3. Digital & Mobile, Social Media & Influencer, AI, Media, Branded Content & Entertainment, Digital/Mobile/Social Media Craft, AI Craft, Media Craft
JURY TEAM 4. Experience & Activation, PR, Direct Marketing, Brand Experience Craft, PR Craft, Direct Marketing Craft
JURY TEAM 5. Film Craft, Branded Content & Entertainment Craft

SOCIAL GOALS CONTESTS block is judged by a dedicated jury team composed of communication agency professionals and marketers with deep expertise in CSR, social projects, and sustainable development.

JURY TEAM 6. Social Goals Contests

CLIENT’S VIEW block is a unique client-side perspective, where entries are evaluated by a team of highly experienced marketers who make business decisions on a daily basis.

JURY TEAM 7. Client’s View

Each jury team selects the strongest projects that set international benchmarks for creativity.

JUDGING PROCESS

Judging at KIAF follows a clear and transparent system.

The evaluation of competition entries is carried out on a 100-point scale, where each jury member may assign a score from 1 to 100 points.

The judging process is based on the independent assessment of each jury member. As a result, every entry receives an individual score from each juror, and a weighted average score is calculated, which ultimately determines the entry’s outcome.

Each jury team is led by a Jury Chair. After all jury members have completed their evaluations, the Chairs finalize the list of finalists, winners (Gold, Silver, Bronze), and the BEST OF CONTEST in their respective categories.

The festival also awards the GRAND PRIX – the highest KIAF honor – in each contest block:

CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS
CRAFT/TECHNOLOGY
SOCIAL GOALS CONTESTS
CLIENT'S VIEW

Projects created for non-profit and charitable organizations compete for the GRAND PRIX exclusively within the SOCIAL GOALS CONTESTS block, highlighting the special role of social initiatives in today’s creative industry.

For projects submitted and awarded in both CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS and SOCIAL GOALS CONTESTS, the GRAND PRIX may be awarded only within the SOCIAL GOALS CONTESTS block.

This approach ensures fairness, depth of evaluation, and the true value of every award.

KIAF is your chance to show your work to the world and gain recognition from those who define the future of advertising.

Jury teams Contests/Categories

JURY TEAM 1. Film, Audio & Radio, Integrated & Innovation, Audio & Radio Craft jury

Chairman

Nick Bakshi

Executive Creative Director, BETC Paris / France

Goska Drozdowska

Co-Founder, OK Human / Poland

Flonia Vasia Gjollma

Creative Director, McCann Tirana / Albania

Daniel de León

General Creative Director, Media Monks Mexico / Mexico

Linas Migonis

Creative Director, Partner, Fabula Rud Pedersen Group / Lithuania

Tomáš Novotný

Executive Creative Director, VML Czechia / Czech Republic

Laura Syväniemi

Lead Creative, SEK / Finland

JURY TEAM 2. Design & Branding, Print & Publishing, OOH, Design & Branding Craft, Print & Publishing Craft, OOH Craft jury

Chairman

Andrew Chisholm

Executive Creative Director, Cossette overseeing the McDonald's business / Canada

Mihnea Gheorghiță

Group Creative Director, Publicis Groupe / Romania

Carl Jones

Senior Lecturer, Westminster School of Media and Communication / UK

Mariam Lortkipanidze

Managing Partner, Playmakers / Georgia

Michał Oleksów

Creative Director and Partner, Cut The Mustard / Poland

Panos Pagonis

Group Creative Director, McCann Athens / Greece

Aušrys Uptas

Art Director, MILK / Lithuania

JURY TEAM 3. Digital & Mobile, Social Media & Influencer, AI, Media, Branded Content & Entertainment, Digital/Mobile/Social Media Craft, AI Craft, Media Craft журі

Contests/Categories

Chairman

Adriano Matos

Global Executive Creative Director, Leo Burnett/Publicis / United States

Martin Beauséjour

Creative Director, LG2 / Montréal / Canada

Maciek Kozina

Creative Director, VML Poland / Poland

Vera Länger

AI & Innovation Creative Director, Artificial Group / Hungary

Delia Mija

Creative Director & AI Artist / Romania

Bobby Petrov

Group Creative & Strategy Director, All Channels Group / Bulgaria

Vladimir Zikmund

Creative Director, Zaraguza / Czech Republic

JURY TEAM 4. Experience & Activation, PR, DM, Brand Experience Craft, PR Craft, DM Craft jury

Chairman

Sören Schröder

Executive Creative Director, Saatchi & Saatchi Switzerland / Switzerland

Pierre Bellefleur

Co-founder, STRIKE / France

Matjaž Germ

Chief Creative Officer, Agencija 101 / Slovenia

Valters Jonāts

Chief Creative Officer, Partner, McCann Riga / Latvia

Markus Malmberg

Senior Copywriter, N2 Creative / Finland

Gabriel Padilha

Creative Director, GUT São Paulo / Brazil

Adam Sierociński

Creative Director, Feeders Agency/ Poland

Maria Todorova

Founder, CEO, NEXT-DC, Sofia, Amsterdam / Bulgaria

JURY TEAM 5. Film Craft, Branded Content & Entertainment Craft jury

Chairman

Marjorieth Sanmartin

Chief Creative Officer, Philipp und Keuntje / Germany

Patrik Bergh

Director / Australia

Jakub Havlik

Associate Creative Director, Saatchi & Saatchi / Czech Republic

Ossi Honkanen

Creative Director, hasan & partners / Finland

Francesco Epifani

Chief Creative Officer, Next Different / Italy

Oleh Koshovyi

Founder, GVARDIYA PH / Ukraine

Demi Veselinovic

Executive Producer, Drip Productions / Canada

JURY TEAM 6. Social Goals Contests jury

Contests/Categories

Chairman

Yaroslava Gres

Partner at Gres Todorchuk, Co-Founder of Ukraine WOW / Ukraine

Matej Kodrič

Creative Director, Agency Povem / Slovenia

Daniela Marino

Creative Director, Edelman / Canada

Sini Teppola

Senior Creative, Nitro / Finland

Vlad Socianu

Creative Director, McCann / MRM / Romania

Luc Wise

CEO, Co-founder, The Good Company / France