DDB Group Aotearoa chief creative officer Gary Steele selected for LIA 2024 Creativity In B2B jury
London International Awards (LIA) has announced the 2024 Creativity In B2B jury including DDB Group Aotearoa chief creative officer Gary Steele.
This diverse group of award-winning creative talent will travel from five continents to convene in Las Vegas to view every piece of work entered in the Creativity In B2B competition. As there is no pre-judging, all rounds of judging take place on-site at the Encore @ Wynn Hotel, Las Vegas.
Presiding over this esteemed jury is Joji Jacob, regional chief creative officer SEA & North Asia, Havas.
In accepting his role as Jury President, Jacob says: “Take mainstream advertising, and multiply the degree of difficulty by ten, and what you get is B2B communication. If selling a car to a couple isn’t hard enough, try selling computers to a committee.”
LIA added Creativity In B2B to the festival in 2023 to recognize outstanding creativity in the advertising and promotions of products and services that are offered by businesses to other businesses for use in their day-to-day operations. In its first year, Creativity In B2B awarded a Grand LIA for “AIZOME WASTECARE™ Industrial Waste – Certified as Skincare.”
Jacob went on to say: “I’ve judged LIA before, and I’m all the richer for it. LIA brings together the finest creative people from across the globe, gives them the time, space and the platform to look at and consider the work deeply, and then celebrates the best of it. In other words, looking at the best work at one of the best shows, I can’t wait.”
Advertising to consumers in general is different from advertising to a business. Over the years, there has been an evolution in B2B campaigns. The times are long gone when B2B stood for Boring-to-Boring, the new phrase is now “B2B can’t be boring.” The B2B consumers expect creativity, no matter how pedestrian the product might be. It isn’t enough to just sell product features and benefits, B2B advertising needs to connect on an emotional level.
Says Barbara Levy, president of LIA: “B2B advertising is sometimes called trade advertising. While it can be challenging, we have seen some very creative and impressive work from this competition since we started it a year ago. Creative B2B work makes it more fun for everyone – the consumer, the marketer and the creative people. In the end, everyone wins as it gives better business results. Under Joji Jacob, we know there will be lively discussions in the room to award the best work.”
LIA 2024 Creativity In B2B Jury:
Joji Jacob, Regional Chief Creative Officer SEA & North Asia, Havas – Jury President
Amy Carvajal, Chief Creative Officer, New York
Tara Ford, Chief Creative Officer, The Monkeys, Sydney
Nils Viktor Jacobsson, Creative Director, Uber, Amsterdam
Merlee Jayme, Chairmom / Founder, The Misfits Camp, Makati City
Waithera Kabiru, Digital Hub Lead (Africa), Diageo, Nairobi
Sabaa Quao, Chief Creative Officer, Cossette, Toronto
Eka Ruola, Chief Creative Officer, Nitro Group, Helsinki
Jo Shoesmith, Global Chief Creative Officer, Amazon
Gary Steele, Chief Creative Officer, DDB Group Aotearoa, Auckland
Dr. Stephan Vogel, Chief Creative Officer EMEA, Ogilvy Germany, Frankfurt
Judging in Las Vegas commences on 29th September and will be completed on 7th October 2024.
For more information on the juries, categories and requirements, visit our website at: www.liaawards.com.