The organisers of the Effie Awards Europe competition have announced the composition of the international jury for the landmark 30th edition of one of Europe’s most important awards for marketing effectiveness. This year’s jury will be chaired by Julien Barraux, Chief Creative Officer at The Magnum Ice Cream Company, and Miriam Plon Sauer, Global Chief Strategy Officer at AKQA.
“Great marketing is about connecting with people in a meaningful, tangible way to create real business results. I’m looking forward to being part of the Effies and celebrating the work which proves effectiveness is the true currency of modern marketing,” said Julien Barraux.
“The best creative work in our industry does two things at once: it moves people and it moves business. The Effies celebrate the work that actually proves it, and I’m truly excited to co-chair the awards that celebrate exactly that,” added Miriam Plon Sauer.
This year’s edition brings together nearly 400 jury members from more than 30 European countries and beyond, while submitted campaigns will be evaluated according to the standard Effie framework, which includes the challenge and campaign objectives, strategy and insight, implementation of the idea, and concrete business results.
Particular attention this year has been drawn by the record number of representatives from Slovenia. A total of nine experts from Slovenian companies and agencies will participate across different categories and judging phases.
In the first round of the Multi-Market jury, which evaluates international campaigns with broader market reach, Živa Deu from Atlantic Grupa, Maja Michieli from Publicis Groupe and Andraž Zorko from Valicon will participate. In the second round of this category, Lidija Rakuša from Spar Slovenija will participate.
In the Best of Europe category, which gathers the most successful European campaigns of the year, the first round of judging will include Janko Hočevar from Aragon, Jelena Milinković from Atlantic Grupa and Luka Bajs from SHIFT, while the second round of judging will include Dragana Josipović from Futura DDB.
In the Positive Change category, focused on campaigns with positive social impact, Slovenia will be represented in the first round by Medeja Kraševec Žnidarec from LUNA \TBWA.
The large number of Slovenian representatives in the international jury further confirms the position of the Slovenian communications industry within the European market, particularly in the areas of strategic planning, marketing effectiveness and the development of integrated campaigns.
Entries for Effie Awards Europe 2026 officially open on 3 June, while the winners will be announced at the final ceremony on 3 December in Brussels. The competition is organised by EACA in partnership with Kantar, Google, REBORRN, ACT Responsible and Ad Net Zero.
