Over the past two years, the marketing, advertising, and communications industry has confirmed a consistent trend: festivals have once again become not merely about winning awards, but a full-fledged tool for business growth, HR brand development, and strengthening international reputation for both agencies and brands. For agencies, participation in prestigious industry awards remains a key factor in competitiveness: awards build client trust when selecting a partner, strengthen market positioning, drive up service value, motivate teams, and serve as a powerful PR opportunity and lead-generation tool.

There is still time to showcase your best implemented projects and gain global recognition in the first half of the year — White Square International Creativity Festival 2026 has announced the extension of the final deadline until May 12. Every year, White Square attracts around 1500 entries from more than 40 countries worldwide, including Europe, North and Latin America, the MENA region, Asia, and other markets.

The contest program in 2026 includes nine contests and 290 nominations, covering practically the entire industry — from branding, design, digital, and media to performance, innovation, and AI-driven solutions. Entries are submitted online and may be entered into one or more nominations, allowing for increased coverage of expert evaluation by various international jury lineups.

The Jury of White Square 2026 is represented by the leading experts from over 45 countries worldwide, professionals with international recognition, numerous awards and experience in judging major festivals of creativity and effectiveness. Entries will be evaluated by eight international jury lineups: Creative Jury, Branding Jury, Media Jury, Marketing & Digital Jury, Craft Jury, Media Jury, Clients Jury, and Grand Jury. For the first time in the White Square Festival’s history, the Clients Jury will be working, providing a perspective on the entries from the viewpoint of clients and marketing directors. The Grand Jury, made up of the Chairmen of all the jury lineups, will determine the Grand Prix winner of White Square 2026. The evaluation of the entries will take place in two stages — from May 14 to 29. In the first stage, jury members will individually evaluate the entries via an online system. The second stage includes online jury meetings with discussions of the entries, the selection of shortlists, and the determination of the winners. This year, in accordance with high international standards, the key evaluation criteria remain the strength of the idea and the quality of its implementation. In the effectiveness categories, one of the main criteria is the proven result of creative solutions.

For the participants' convenience, there's the Entry Kit available that includes a description of the nominations, judging criteria, technical requirements, and guidelines for submitting entries.

The winners of White Square 2026 will be announced on June 10 on the official website and in leading industry media around the world.