AUCKLAND, Today: Kate Stanners has been named Jury Chair of the 2026 Cresta Awards, bringing one of the industry’s bigger creative CVs to the top seat.
“We are so delighted that Kate has taken on this position,” commented Lewis Blackwell, CEO of Creative Standards International, the organisation behind Cresta.
“With her own extensive great creative output, that of the teams she has led, and her broad and deep commitment to advancing creative excellence and opportunities in the industry, she is the ideal standard bearer for Cresta this year.”
Stanners is now Chief Creative Officer, International, at Edelman, a major new chapter in a career already packed with global roles, award-winning work and more than a few trophy cabinet moments.
Edelman’s rise as a creative consultancy has included wins at Cresta, Cannes Lions and other leading global awards in recent years.
Before joining Edelman, Stanners spent two decades at Saatchi & Saatchi, where she became Global Chief Creative Officer and Global Chair.
During that time, Stanners worked across major global clients and helped lead a wide range of awarded work, because apparently one heavyweight creative career was not quite enough.
Taking on the Jury Chair role, Stanners has signalled a particular interest in work that moves beyond traditional advertising formats and earns attention in the real world.
“I believe that earned media has earned its right to play a much more significant role in brands marketing plans.” – Kate Stanners, Chief Creative Officer, International, Edelman
“I believe that earned media has earned its right to play a much more significant role in brands marketing plans. About 99 percent of people would skip ads if they could and earned media is six times more trusted. And for creatives there is a freedom that comes when you are solving real business problems without the constraint of formats and programmatic templates, making work that has genuine impact.”
Cresta’s judging process is designed to avoid groupthink, lobbying and awkward room politics. Jurors vote independently, with no pressure, distraction or creative arm-twisting.
Stanners’ role will be to offer encouragement and direction, while leaving jurors to make their decisions independently, rather like a creative trip to the ballot box.
The Jury Chair also reviews all winners and selects special mentions for work that carries forward-looking messages for the industry.
In recent years, Edelman received such honours for ‘The Move to Minus 15’ for DP World, which later won Titanium at Cannes.
Last year, Dentsu Creative Iberia received Jury Chair Awards for ‘History Outnumbered’ for History Channel, while Dentsu Creative New York was honoured for ‘Returning Creativity’ for Crayola.
Stanners has served as President of D&AD, sat on councils for AB InBev Europe and The Kraft Heinz Company, served on a Victoria & Albert Museum committee and co-founded St. Luke’s in London.
This year’s Cresta Awards has expanded with new sections, including a Finance category and a developmental category reviewing AI-created work.
- Entries are open now, with the final closing date set for 20 July. More information is available at www.cresta-awards.com
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