We are launching four parallel chamber discussions with our international speakers on the topics of Creative, Marketing, Strategy, and Design. These are not lectures or master classes, but candid professional conversations without a script or gloss. You can ask any questions: about careers, case studies, burnout, screw-ups, inspiration, the market, clients, and personal insights.

This is a rare chance to talk to those who usually speak from the stage — on a human level and about real issues. We will announce the lineup for each conversation very soon.

Creative participants will present ideas developed based on real briefs from Ipak Yuli Bank in an elevator pitch format: in 5 minutes, they must not only explain their idea, but also make it appealing. Ipak Yuli will implement the best idea based on the results of the pitching.

*Participant recruitment and idea development will take place from September 3 to 27.

Thabang Lehobye
Ex Head of Design at M&C Saatchi, Africa

Thabang passionately believes in William Polmer's ""creativity is the power to connect things that are seemingly disconnected"". Here lie endless possibilities to form connections in delightful and unexpected ways. The design can introduce storytelling by unpacking these connections using visuals to tell stories. Understanding these connections also allows us to submit another form of craft in design; narrative.
The philosophy of connecting the dots is at the heart of all that Thabang puts into every project, making design a work of love for him. The joy in making connections is like finding little nuggets. He thinks of it as the Holy Grail of ideas.
Design always starts with a sketch and a notepad. That's when the ""what, how and why"" comes into play. It is informed by the strategic platform or single purpose defined by the brand; Thabang begins to form connections based on strategic intelligence, brand context, brand audit and messaging, or what the brand wants the audience to feel. With this approach, we can speak to the heart of any brand in a way that makes it memorable for the audience.
As Milton Glaser puts it, it is important to highlight ""…There are three responses to a piece of design — yes, no, and WOW! Wow, is the one to aim for."" The statement does not refer to a short-lived experience of eye candy but memorable engagements with the brand, brand experiences that make it into a dinner table conversation. As another legendary designer and adman explained, ""Advertising is poison gas. It should bring tears to your eyes, unhinge your senses, and knock you out."" George Lois.

Thomas Hongtack Kim
Founder of 2kg, CCO and Partner at Paulus, former Executive Creative Director at Cheil, South Korea.

So far, the definition of a power brand has meant one with “good quality, reasonable price, and outstanding design.” Such brands had no reason to take a stance on social or political issues and maintained what was called brand neutrality.

However, as global environmental problems, persistent gaps between the Global North and Global South, health and medical challenges, gender conflicts, and human rights issues have all become urgent missions for humanity’s sustainable coexistence with the planet, brands can no longer remain neutral.

Now is the time for brands to act — for social justice, for the environment, and to embody the face of responsible companies. Thus emerged brand activism: the idea that brands must become influencers who create positive impact through doing the right thing. Especially now, as political and social demands on companies to deliver on CSR and ESG are greater than ever, the importance of brand activism has grown even further.

Kate Mishukova
Head of Awareness Aviasales

How to capture audience attention and stay visible against competitors with massive budgets? This talk explores how the brand uses social media comments not just for fun, but as a strategic tool in the battle for attention. Through a standout SMM case, you'll see how jokes in other people’s posts turn into reach, and how irony builds brand love. We’ll also briefly touch on other unconventional tactics that help Aviasales stand out in the overcrowded travel services market.

Tom Theys
Independent Strategy Director, ex Global SD at FCB, Belgium

Strategy in marketing often gets dismissed as the nerd in the corner: clever, yes — but dull. Yet is strategy really just about brainpower? Or do heart and gut have just as much say? If it’s just about smartness, AI will win that race hands down. But it’s our stubborn hunches, reckless passions, and illogical love affairs that keep strategy thrilling — and that may still get us to more exciting places, sooner.
In this provocative talk, Tom Theys upends the clichés of his profession and argues why strategists should embrace problems and even enemies. Blending iconic campaigns, near disasters, and a touch of irreverence, he reveals why great strategy is never just smart. It’s messy, emotional, and — at its best — downright lovable.

Andrei Paukov
Co-Founder / Creative Producer Zebra Hero, France-Russia

I’ll share how, at Zebra Hero, we create social campaigns that go viral, win awards, and collect more donations than we spend on production.

Lucia Ongay
Co-Founder & President The Gerety Awards

A 30-minute journey through the boldest, most impactful campaigns of the year. Creativity That Cuts Through showcases the Gerety Awards 2025 best of the best—work that challenges conventions, amplifies diverse perspectives, and proves that great ideas don’t just get noticed, they make a difference.
From award-winning storytelling to groundbreaking craft, this reel highlights the campaigns and agencies shaping the future of advertising. Expect to be inspired, surprised, and reminded of the power of creativity that truly cuts through.

Representatives of the Jolbors Awards International jury provide feedback on cases

Sabina Reingold
Jolbors Festival co-founder

Farkhad Kuchkarov
Director of Strategy and Development, Depot, Russia, Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is a country of thousands of brands. Why modern business and ancient bazaars in Central Asia are almost the same. How modern business is still stuck in the Middle Ages and how creators from Central Asia will save the world.

Miguel Bemfica
JURY CHAIRMAN. Partner and CCO at Twise, Spain. Ex CCO at VMLY&R, McCann, and MRM

A survival guide from the ad trenches — awkward bosses, accidental genius, and ideas that showed up uninvited. It’s the stuff they don’t teach you, but probably should.

Vladislav Derevyannykh
Brand Design Director VoskhodForPeace Yekaterinburg

Where was the tsar shot? Where was the temple demolished? Where was Sobchak dragged? Where was the Russian Football Cup destroyed? Where was Artemy Lebedev canceled? Here! In the City of Demons!

Stories from Yekaterinburg that other cities can envy. About how enterprising citizens are changing the urban environment with their own hands, without waiting for the authorities to act and without asking anyone's permission. About the city's identity from the bottom up and how a group of independent designers are creating a design code for Yekaterinburg in dialogue with the administration.

Call it what you want: City of Demons, Dirtburg, Ekb, Yoburg, Katya, SverdLOVEsk, EKAT ERIN BURG... It's not about the city, it's about the people.

Andrei Gubaidullin
Creative director/owner, Voskhod for Peace agency, Russia

How agencies can maintain dignity, creativity, and results in a world of tenders, taste-making, and “very busy clients”

Teodora Migdalovici
Founder of The Alternative School, international public speaker, Romania

It’s a paradox: in our industry, the most lamented resource is time — yet the very same players wailing about its absence tend to disregard its critical role in building campaigns that connect brands and people in ways that last (because they have substance).

Trapped under the predictability of time-sheets, we often forget time’s relativity and its generous plasticity — as our Facebook friends Einstein and Proust have kindly reminded us.
It’s not AI crashing through the gates of our industry that makes time relevance a hot topic.
For the sharpest creatives, a mindful, emotionally intelligent, and culturally attuned approach to time has always been the bump key to unforgettable brand-building.

This talk invites the audience to switch off autopilot.

Through highly functional case studies from around the world, it will show how exceptional brands — and the visionary stewards behind them — have mastered the plasticity of time like no others: making the most of every second, transforming hours into enjoyable ad campaigns people queued for, and forging consistent, vibrant connections — all while building sound businesses in the process.
Here’s to escaping the dictatorship of time — by finally giving it the quality it deserves. And that’s only because we choose to look with different eyes at the relationships we want to build with the ones populating our audiences.

To paraphrase a classic: treat your consumer as you would treat your wife — timewise, otherwise.

Sergio Spaccavento
Advertising Creative Director & Author, Italy

Discover the Power of Humor in Advertising: Creating Connections, Empathy, and Compassion during Tough Times

Georgi Zlatkov
Co-founder & Creative Director at kombina, Bulgaria

Not every great idea hits the mark. This talk takes a look at bold campaigns that didn’t quite make it — the ones where things went sideways despite the best intentions. You’ll hear about creative risks that didn’t pay off, missteps that led to surprises, and what those failures taught along the way.
It’s about learning from real mistakes, understanding why even promising campaigns can stumble, and how those experiences (might) shape better creative work in the future.

Kavi Rajapaksha
Chief Marketing Officer Sunshine Consumer Lanka Ltd. Top 50 women in management awards

This talk explores the timeless art of storytelling as a strategic tool in modern marketing, grounded in evidence-based principles. Framed as “Once Upon a Time,” it demonstrates how compelling narratives shape consumer perceptions, build memory structures, and enhance long-term brand equity. Drawing from The Long and the Short of It by Les Binet and Peter Field, we emphasize the role of emotional storytelling in driving long-term effectiveness, particularly for independent professionals and small advertisers seeking sustainable growth on limited budgets.

Attendees will learn how to construct simple yet strategic brand narratives that reflect universal human truths, support memory encoding, and build fame. Through case studies and practical exercises, the lecture balances creative intuition with marketing science — equipping attendees to use storytelling not just as art, but as a growth-driving discipline.

How to create the perfect partnership between a brand and an agency, where the result not only meets expectations but also goes beyond the ordinary? How to avoid the most common misunderstandings at the start of a project and turn every brief into an opportunity to create an outstanding case study? Marketing directors and representatives of creative agencies will share their experience of interaction and work, tell you how to negotiate, and how to avoid common mistakes that lead to unsuccessful results.

Designers and art directors present their design cases, and experts provide feedback, helping to improve their work and unlock its potential. This is a great opportunity to get practical recommendations and new ideas for developing projects and honing your skills.

Monika Schulze
Strategy Director & Board Member at TrendOne, Germany. Ex Vice President Brand Development Europe at Unilever. One of the World’s Most Influential CMOs by Forbes

Customer centricity involves leveraging data and insights to understand customer behaviors, preferences, and pain points. Supervisory and management boards play a critical role in analyzing performance metrics, customer feedback, and service trends to drive informed decisions. This data-driven approach ensures that teams align their efforts with customer needs, optimize processes, and continuously improve the customer experience through measurable actions.

Evgeny Primachenko
JURY CHAIRMAN. Creative Director at Wieden+Kennedy, Amsterdam

Only those who do nothing never make mistakes. And we do a lot at W+K Amsterdam. I’ll tell you about our greatest fuck-ups, how we deal with them, how we learn from them and how we manage to be proud of them. Welcome to our kitchen, wear an apron, it’ll get messy.

We are launching four parallel chamber discussions with our international speakers on the topics of Creative, Marketing, Strategy, and Design. These are not lectures or master classes, but candid professional conversations without a script or gloss. You can ask any questions: about careers, case studies, burnout, screw-ups, inspiration, the market, clients, and personal insights.

This is a rare chance to talk to those who usually speak from the stage — on a human level and about real issues. We will announce the lineup for each conversation very soon.

Creative participants will present ideas developed based on real briefs from Ipak Yuli Bank in an elevator pitch format: in 5 minutes, they must not only explain their idea, but also make it appealing. Ipak Yuli will implement the best idea based on the results of the pitching.

*Participant recruitment and idea development will take place from September 3 to 27.

Thabang Lehobye
Ex Head of Design at M&C Saatchi, Africa

Thabang passionately believes in William Polmer's ""creativity is the power to connect things that are seemingly disconnected"". Here lie endless possibilities to form connections in delightful and unexpected ways. The design can introduce storytelling by unpacking these connections using visuals to tell stories. Understanding these connections also allows us to submit another form of craft in design; narrative.
The philosophy of connecting the dots is at the heart of all that Thabang puts into every project, making design a work of love for him. The joy in making connections is like finding little nuggets. He thinks of it as the Holy Grail of ideas.
Design always starts with a sketch and a notepad. That's when the ""what, how and why"" comes into play. It is informed by the strategic platform or single purpose defined by the brand; Thabang begins to form connections based on strategic intelligence, brand context, brand audit and messaging, or what the brand wants the audience to feel. With this approach, we can speak to the heart of any brand in a way that makes it memorable for the audience.
As Milton Glaser puts it, it is important to highlight ""…There are three responses to a piece of design — yes, no, and WOW! Wow, is the one to aim for."" The statement does not refer to a short-lived experience of eye candy but memorable engagements with the brand, brand experiences that make it into a dinner table conversation. As another legendary designer and adman explained, ""Advertising is poison gas. It should bring tears to your eyes, unhinge your senses, and knock you out."" George Lois.

Thomas Hongtack Kim
Founder of 2kg, CCO and Partner at Paulus, former Executive Creative Director at Cheil, South Korea.

So far, the definition of a power brand has meant one with “good quality, reasonable price, and outstanding design.” Such brands had no reason to take a stance on social or political issues and maintained what was called brand neutrality.

However, as global environmental problems, persistent gaps between the Global North and Global South, health and medical challenges, gender conflicts, and human rights issues have all become urgent missions for humanity’s sustainable coexistence with the planet, brands can no longer remain neutral.

Now is the time for brands to act — for social justice, for the environment, and to embody the face of responsible companies. Thus emerged brand activism: the idea that brands must become influencers who create positive impact through doing the right thing. Especially now, as political and social demands on companies to deliver on CSR and ESG are greater than ever, the importance of brand activism has grown even further.

Kate Mishukova
Head of Awareness Aviasales

How to capture audience attention and stay visible against competitors with massive budgets? This talk explores how the brand uses social media comments not just for fun, but as a strategic tool in the battle for attention. Through a standout SMM case, you'll see how jokes in other people’s posts turn into reach, and how irony builds brand love. We’ll also briefly touch on other unconventional tactics that help Aviasales stand out in the overcrowded travel services market.

Tom Theys
Independent Strategy Director, ex Global SD at FCB, Belgium

Strategy in marketing often gets dismissed as the nerd in the corner: clever, yes — but dull. Yet is strategy really just about brainpower? Or do heart and gut have just as much say? If it’s just about smartness, AI will win that race hands down. But it’s our stubborn hunches, reckless passions, and illogical love affairs that keep strategy thrilling — and that may still get us to more exciting places, sooner.
In this provocative talk, Tom Theys upends the clichés of his profession and argues why strategists should embrace problems and even enemies. Blending iconic campaigns, near disasters, and a touch of irreverence, he reveals why great strategy is never just smart. It’s messy, emotional, and — at its best — downright lovable.

Andrei Paukov
Co-Founder / Creative Producer Zebra Hero, France-Russia

I’ll share how, at Zebra Hero, we create social campaigns that go viral, win awards, and collect more donations than we spend on production.

Lucia Ongay
Co-Founder & President The Gerety Awards

A 30-minute journey through the boldest, most impactful campaigns of the year. Creativity That Cuts Through showcases the Gerety Awards 2025 best of the best—work that challenges conventions, amplifies diverse perspectives, and proves that great ideas don’t just get noticed, they make a difference.
From award-winning storytelling to groundbreaking craft, this reel highlights the campaigns and agencies shaping the future of advertising. Expect to be inspired, surprised, and reminded of the power of creativity that truly cuts through.

Representatives of the Jolbors Awards International jury provide feedback on cases