Eurobest: Shortlists lead by Germany, France, UK and Belgium

Eurobest has started and over 1,500 delegates from across 39 countries gathered in Antwerp to assimilate the over 60 hours of content delivered by the 108 speakers of the festival.

In the same time, the jury – comprising in total 122 jurors – is viewing and deliberating the 4,494 entered into Eurobest’s competitions. Until now, 16 shortlists were released and, according to them, Germany is in the lead, followed by France, UK and Belgium.

Jens Mortier, Partner & Creative Director, mortierbrigade, is presiding over the Outdoor and Radio jury and said of the work:

In Radio we have shortlisted something we’ve never heard before. And in Outdoor a few have been shortlisted which are for things we haven’t seen before – in traditional outdoor and in new ways. That’s what we were looking for and I think our jury found it.

Buzzwords from the Festival include talent, art, making, breaking and music, which, according to Walter Werzowa and Stefan Oerti of Musikvergnuegen, ‘holds great power in the branding experience as well as medical and psychological benefits’.

On the Inspiration Stage, themes including politics, people and persuasion have been tackled. In New Moment’s seminar Dušan Drakalski focused on the political system in the Baltics and the rising use of propaganda, claiming that after communism, politics and advertising came at the same time, adding that ‘advertising is a responsibility, not something that should just be done to sell.’ Focusing on Ukraine, Oleksandr Smirnov from Tabasco supported this viewpoint in his session, saying that the truth does not matter at all in propaganda and ‘the real power of media and communications is not about selling goods, it’s about changing minds and souls’.

Other themes coming from the stages have included creativity in business, with the Pop Up Agency exploring the need for creativity to be seen and used as a key business attribute. Elsewhere, brands have had a big presence on the stage with Facebook, Orangina Schweppes, Ferrero, Procter & Gamble and Heineken all speaking today.

Tonight, delegates will enjoy parties from Brandhome and the Founding Partners, ahead of the final day tomorrow. The much anticipated awards ceremony will see the jury presidents take to the stage to reveal and honour the winners of this year’s eurobest.

Shortlists, photos from the event and the content programme can all be found online at www.eurobest.com