LIA Insider Issue 459: LIA 2026 Digital and Creators & Social Platforms Jury Announced, Chaired by Menno Kluin, Global CCO, Iris Worldwide; What Menno Wants To See In The Jury Room!

"I will be looking for simple and clear ideas that had the ability to drive impact across channels and platforms."
- Menno Kluin on what he is looking for in the Jury Room

As Jury President of the LIA 2026 Digital and Creators & Social Platforms Jury, Menno Kluin will lead nine other industry leaders to award the most ground-breaking creative work in Digital and Creators & Social Platforms.

Voted as U.S. Creative Person of the Year by Campaign Magazine in 2022, Menno Kluin, Global Chief Creative Officer of Iris Worldwide, has been credited with creating culture hitting activations for Oreo, 711 and many other brands.

Menno has extensive creative experience on integrated campaigns and progressive creative, having spent time at 360i, DDB and Saatchi & Saatchi, New York.

Menno Kluin
Jury President

Menno Kluin said: “This category is the largest and most impactful cultural impact tool available to any brand in the world. The best of the best that play in this category are undoubtedly successful companies. Don’t spend your way to growth, but earn your way.”

The rapid rise of social media has changed the marketing landscape. There is now a burgeoning growth of social media content creators who are building authentic connections between brands and consumers. This shift in marketing dynamics is very prevalent as we see brands collaborating with social media content creators to amplify their brand values and messages. Through these partnerships, brands have resonated with consumers on a more personal level.

Any brand that understands their audience can be successful in this category. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a good example. Surprisingly, this British charity for birds managed to achieve 190% follower growth and young membership sign up by cleverly engaging meme culture and Gen Z humor in its educational content, asking viewers to suggest which birds to feature next in their 2024 “Bird of the Week” TikTok series.

“We are seeing more and more brands harnessing the power of social media and content creators to capture attention. There have been many creative and successful executions that have demonstrated how digital and social platforms have been used brilliantly. We know there will be very interesting points of view and discussions from the jury. But at the end of the day, we are confident the best work will emerge from the room,” commented Christina Shaw, VP – Awards Director, LIA.

All judging will take place from 25th September through 3rd October, 2026. To ensure the highest level of transparency and fairness in the judging rooms, there is no pre-judging or pre-shortlisting. Every juror sees every piece of work through all three rounds of judging. The jury rooms are also open to press, creative excellence managers and young creatives in the Creative LIAisons program.