First judges named for The WARC Awards Middle East & Africa 2025

WARC, the global authority on marketing effectiveness, has today revealed the first judges for the WARC Awards for Middle East & Africa 2025 in association with LIONS, celebrating the region’s best strategic and effective marketing ideas that have driven business growth.

The esteemed jury panel of top industry experts from across the region represent a wide selection of global and local brands such as Heineken, Pernod-Ricard, Spur Corporation and Sterling Bank, as well as leading agencies including The Brand Company in Egypt, Mullen Lowe Dubai, and Belva Digital in Kenya.

Jury chair Nthabi Motsoeneng, Chief Marketing Officer Africa and Middle East, Pernod-Ricard, Africa and Middle East, said: “Marketing Effectiveness is not an oxymoron! I’m looking forward to the journey and getting to know and learn from fellow judges of the WARC Awards 2025! Thank you to WARC for this opportunity. Can’t wait to meet the rest of the crew!”

John Bizzell, Awards Lead, WARC, added: “We’ve convened a fantastic jury of highly respected professionals from across the Middle East and Africa to bring expertise and cultural insight to the judging process. We very much look forward to working with them as they select the best work of the region that is strategically brilliant and delivers commercial impact.” 

The WARC Awards Middle East and Africa 2025 jury is named as:

• Nthabi Motsoeneng, Chief Marketing Officer Africa and Middle East, Pernod-Ricard, Africa and Middle East – jury chair
• Andrea Quaye, Marketing Director, Heineken, South Africa
• Dara Abdul Hadi, Co-Founder and Director of Design, The Brand Company MENA, Egypt
• Fabrice-Mozart Amani, Co-founder & Chief Operations Officer, Waribei, Ivory Coast
• George Giessen, Head of Brands, MullenLowe MENA, UAE
• Manisha Bhatia, Head of Strategy (KSA), Impact BBDO, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and UAE
• Maurice Igugu, Chief Marketing Officer, Sterling Bank, Nigeria
• Serah Mwikali Katusya, CEO and Founder, Belva Digital | WildMango, Kenya
• Venus Tawiah, Director of Business and Corporate Communications, Now Available Africa, Ghana
• Vuyo Henda, Chief Marketing Officer, Spur Corporation, South Africa

Additional judges will be announced soon.

This regional MEA competition, part of the Global WARC Awards, will be judged rigorously and consistently, guided by the universal frameworks of the Creative Effectiveness and the B2B Effectiveness Ladders.

The jury will award Gold, Silver and Bronze accolades across 12 categories: Brand Purpose, Business-to-Business, Cultural Impact, Customer Experience, Instant Impact, Long-term Growth, Channel Integration, Channel Pioneer, Partnerships & Sponsorships, Path to Purchase, Use of Data, and Strategic Thinking.

The jury chairs of all the regional awards – Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin America, and North America – will together award the highly coveted Grands Prix, the ultimate recognition of marketing success, selected from all the regional Golds.

More information on The WARC Awards and jury bios here. Download the entry pack here.

Key dates for WARC Awards 2025 are:

• 16 October 2024: first deadline
• 13 November 2024: second deadline
• 11 December 2024: final deadline