White Square, one of the leading international festivals of creativity, marketing, and communications, recognized by the professional community around the world, continues to accept entries. Brands, creative, digital, branding, and communications agencies, design studios, in-house teams, and all representatives of creative industries from all over the world are eligible to participate.
Every year, more than 1500 entries from over 40 countries — from Europe to the USA, Asia, MENA countries and Latin America — take part in the Festival's contest program. This geography makes White Square one of the most significant independent festivals in Europe, strengthening its influence on the international professional community and emphasizing its role as a platform for ideas that define new industry standards.
Entries for participation in White Square Festival 2026 can be submitted in nine contests covering the entire spectrum of the communications industry: Creative, Branding & Design, Digital, Media, Marketing Services, Marketing Effectiveness, Craft, Mass Media Contest, Efforts & Achievements.
In a highly competitive and rapidly changing media environment, marketing is increasingly focused on measurable results. Today, it is important for brands not only to create compelling communications, but also to demonstrate their impact on business metrics — sales growth, brand development, changes in consumer behavior, and strengthening market positions. That is why creative effectiveness has become one of the key benchmarks in the modern marketing industry. Marketing Effectiveness Contest takes a special place in the Festival's contest program, reflecting this global trend — the connection between creative solutions and measurable results for brands and businesses. The focus is on projects in which strategic thinking, deep insights, and strong creative ideas enable real marketing and commercial results to be achieved. Marketing Effectiveness Contest evaluates the measurable contribution of creativity to business development, the ability of teams to think strategically, rely on data, and turn insights into strong communication solutions that deliver real, tangible results. The evaluation criteria are: idea 25%, strategy 25%, results 50%.
An important part of White Square is Marketing Services Contest, which is dedicated to strategic and activation solutions aimed at forming sustainable interaction with the audience. This contest includes six categories covering key areas of marketing practice: PR communications, direct communications, activations, as well as innovative campaigns and strategies that strengthen brands' positions in the market and build sustainable relationships with audiences. In Brand Experience & Activation category, projects are called upon to demonstrate how integrated brand communications have led to increased brand appeal and commercial success.
Entries in PR category demonstrate how original thinking, insight, strategy, and communication skills have influenced public opinion and stimulated business, social, and/or cultural change. Direct category is for targeted creative communications aimed at generating feedback. Campaigns: Sectors category features advertising campaigns using various channels/media platforms across categories of goods and services. Innovations category is open to all types of innovative, non-standard brand communications that go beyond traditional formats. Creativity Driven Transformation category recognizes projects in which creative solutions have driven the transformation of businesses, products, or brands. The main evaluation criteria in Marketing Services contest are: idea, strategy, implementation, and results.
Entries can also be submitted in the Brand Experience & Activation, PR, and Direct nominations in Mass Media Contest and Efforts & Achievements Contest for consideration by other jury members, which may increase the chances of winning. For the first time at the Festival, projects in Efforts & Achievements Contest will be evaluated by an international Clients Jury, while Mass Media entries will be evaluated by the founders and editors-in-chief of leading marketing and advertising media outlets from different countries.
Projects in the Marketing Effectiveness and Marketing Services contests will be evaluated by the Marketing & Digital Jury. A total of eight international jury line-ups will work at the Festival, traditionally formed from prominent representatives of the creative industries from more than 45 countries, creative and art directors, strategists, marketing directors, and professionals whose projects have been recognized with awards at major festivals in the field of creativity and effectiveness around the world, and whose views shape the development of the industry on a global scale.
International experts have repeatedly noted the high level of entries and judging at White Square, confirming the Festival's solid reputation as one of the most significant events in the global industry. Every year, participants of White Square Festival receive inspiration for development in the creative sphere and professional evaluation from an international jury, and the winning entries are published in industry media around the world.
The call for entries is open online on the official website of White Square Festival until April 28. The full list of nominations and evaluation criteria can be found in the Entry Kit.