Geoff Edwards Named 2022 LIA Branded Entertainment Jury President

London International Awards has put together the elite in the business to judge the work in the 2022 Branded Entertainment category.  Every juror will view and judge every piece of work.  All the finalists will be discussed thoroughly so only those worthy of honor will be awarded. This top-notch jury will be chaired by Geoff Edwards, executive creative director of GALE and co-founder of SATURDAY MORNING.

Geoff stated: "I feel fortunate to have been chosen to chair the Branded Entertainment category at this year’s London International Awards. However, there’s a challenge that comes with judging this evolving category. Branded Entertainment represents the most inspired creativity that our Industry has to offer but let’s be honest, it’s confusing at times, and amorphous. I’ve judged this category in a prior life and created successful content throughout my career for brands like Adidas, Microsoft XBOX, and Spotify, and the same questions surfaced: "Is it entertainment or is it marketing? Is it product placement or is it product integration? What is it? What isn't Branded Entertainment? And what exactly are we judging?"

This is what you can expect from the room in the words of Geoff Edwards himself: "Given the growing excitement around this category. Today, 70% of consumers would prefer to learn about new products and services through content over traditional advertising, and estimates suggest that by 2025 branded content will reach $402 billion, up from $85.83 billion in 2020 according to data from AdYouLike. So this year, I’ll challenge the Jury to pick the most inspiring work that also has the potential to move client businesses because the future of the category as I see it is the intersection of creativity and performance. After all, isn’t that why we’re doing this?"

To add to that, Barbara Levy, president of LIA, commented: “It will be interesting to see what work gets awarded.  I know the jury will diligently sift through every piece of work, to find those praiseworthy ones that have changed the way clients connect with consumers. We are sure that Geoff Edwards and his jury will find those gems.”

Meet the 2022 Branded Entertainment Jury

- Otto Bell, Chief Creative Officer, Courageous Studios, Warner Bros. Discovery, New York

- Brandon Butler, Partner / Chief Content Officer, Majority, Norcross

- Pancho Cassis, Partner / Global Chief Creative Officer, DAVID

- Mieke Haase, Managing Director, loved, Hamburg

- Linda Knight, Chief Creative Officer, Observatory, Los Angeles

- Britt Nolan, President / Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett, Chicago

- Damisa Ongsiriwattana, Co-Founder / ECD, Sour Bangkok, Bangkok

- Helen Pak, SVP of Creative – Marketing, Design and Content, The Walt Disney Company, Glendale

- Daniel Rincón, Head of Creativity, draftLine Colombia ABInBev, Bogotá

- Paul Shearer, Chief Creative Officer – Global Clients, Wunderman Thompson, London

- Andrea Stillacci, Founder / CEO, Herezie, Paris