Last night in Brussels, the advertising community came together at Effie Awards Europe to celebrate the ideas that shaped the industry during this past year. Since 1996, Effie stands as the the industry’s global standard for marketing achievements, honouring the brands and agencies whose work delivers real impact.
Long-term collaboration proved to be one of the defining themes of this year’s Effie, held last night at the Art & History Museum in Brussels and organized by the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA).
Across all categories, the jury, nearly 250 agency and client leaders from 25 European markets, awarded 63 trophies: 13 Gold, 17 Silver and 33 Bronze, recognizing 45 agencies from 21 countries. The UK led the tally with nine wins, followed by Romania with eight and Denmark with seven.
13 Gold Effies were awarded, while two agencies emerged as the major winners of 2025: McCann and BetterSvit. McCann earned the title of Europe’s Most Effective Agency Network after collecting one Gold, three Silvers, eight Bronzes and securing six finalist spots. BetterSvit took home Independent Agency of the Year with two Golds and an additional finalist placement.
“Winning Effie Europe Agency Network of the Year 2025, adds to the same success in 2023 and 2024 and provides clear evidence of a thriving effectiveness culture across McCann’s European offices. Like the visible portion of an iceberg, McCann’s winning entries sit atop a greater body of expertise, best practise and dedication wrapped in a culture of continuous improvement.” said Darren Hawkings, Head of Effectiveness, McCann Worldgroup.
A review of all winning entries highlighted a clear pattern – half of the submitted campaigns were created by agency–brand partnerships that had been working together for at least five years. These long-standing collaborations were more than twice as likely to win compared to teams that had been working together for less than a year. By comparison, 54% of entries developed by new partnerships (less than one year old) did not make the shortlist, and only 23% went on to win anything.
“Our agency name means “a better world” in Ukrainian and that’s what our projects strive to create through positive, tangible impact. This Effie recognition proves that we’re not only making the world better, but doing so with excellent results the industry can clearly see”, said Svitlana Stepanenko, Managing Partner of BetterSvit.
This year, no Grand Effie was awarded. The jury concluded that the top honor must be reserved for work that earns unanimous support – a decision they said signals the high level of ambition expected from agencies and brands, and an invitation for the industry to raise its game again in 2026
“We live in a short-term world driven by quarterly results, but the evidence of this year’s Effie Europe is that long-term relationships deliver greater success. Agencies that have worked with companies for longer are better able to identify what can drive business results when they have had the time to understand every facet of the brand, its consumers and its competitors. Close long-term relationships enable great agencies to truly demonstrate their growth skills and deliver the best results for brands,” said Charley Stoney, CEO of EACA.
