McCann wins Agency Network of the Year while BetterSvit lands Independent Agency of the Year
UK and Ukraine each take three Golds with Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Slovakia and Spain also taking top prizes
Kantar analysis highlights power of influencers, integration and branding in successful work
Brussels, 11 December 2025: Long-term partnerships took the glory at the 2025 Effie Awards Europe, organised by the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA), at the Art & History Museum in Brussels last night.
McCann and BetterSvit took the top prizes as analysis of the winning entries revealed that 50% of entries have worked with brand partners for five or more years and were more than twice as likely to produce winning work as those who had worked together for less than a year.
Overall, there were 13 Gold Effies, the ultimate recognition of campaign effectiveness, with McCann named Europe’s Most Effective Agency Network thanks to one Gold, three Silvers, eight Bronze awards as well as six finalists, while BetterSvit was named Independent Agency of the Year thanks to its success with two Golds and a finalist.
"Receiving the “Independent Agency of the Year” award was a real surprise for us. But a moment later we thought of course — we work at BetterSvit! Our agency name means “a better world” in Ukrainian and that’s what our projects strive to create through positive, tangible impact. This Effie recognition proves that we’re not only making the world better, but doing so with excellent results the industry can clearly see", said Svitlana Stepanenko, Managing Partner of BetterSvit.
In total, the jury of almost 250 agency and client leaders from 25 European countries awarded 63 trophies (including 13 Golds, 17 Silvers and 33 Bronzes to 45 agencies from 21 countries, recognizing the most effective work of the year. The UK was the most successful country with nine wins in total, with Romania on eight and Denmark on seven.
Despite a number of very strong contenders, no Grand Effie was awarded this year. The jury collectively decided that this prize should only go to a campaign that attracted unanimous support, a decision that reflects both the high ambition that agencies and brands should aspire to and challenges everyone to raise the bar still further in 2026.
Analysis of all entries and winners found that longer relationships are more likely to create more effective work, with 50% of entries having worked with brand partners for five or more years. Seventy-five percent of these entries were selected as Finalists, with 50% going on to win. By contrast 54% of entries from partners who had worked together for less than a year were not shortlisted and just 23% of these entries went on to win an award.
“We live in a short-term world driven by quarterly results, but the evidence of this year’s Effie Europe is that long-term relationships deliver greater success. Agencies that have worked with companies for longer are better able to identify what can drive business results when they have had the time to understand every facet of the brand, its consumers and its competitors. Close long-term relationships enable great agencies to truly demonstrate their growth skills and deliver the best results for brands,” said Charley Stoney, CEO of EACA.
Kantar uncovers key effectiveness lessons from this year’s entries
The results from this year’s Euro Effies have been analysed by EACA’s strategic insights partner Kantar, using its AI-powered content effectiveness solution LINK AI. This new insight reveals what can brands can learn from Europe’s most effective campaigns. This year’s report identifies three key lessons:
- Unmissable branding: Successful campaigns are unmistakably for the brand they serve. This year’s Effie winners show a strong improvement in creating strong link to the brands they advertise, a 10 percentile point increase compared to last year’s winners.
One of the standout examples was “Nothing Cracks Like Magnum”, which centres around the brand’s distinctive cracking sound of its thick chocolate coating. The sound is the hero of the campaign videos, causing cats to jump and pigeons to fly away en masse.
The campaign scores highly in branding and also on its ability to drive long-term impact for the brand and earned Gold and Silver.
- Creator evolution: This year, 67% of Effie submissions featured creators, and the share of winners using creators as their primary communication touchpoint has doubled to 13% compared with 2024. Go back to 2023 and that percentage would have been zero.
What creators bring to the table today goes beyond their follower count, it’s their ability to build trusted, meaningful connections with audiences. No longer are creators are treated as a simple media buy - they are increasingly a creative partner and
One key example was Old Spice Romania’s ‘Unexpected Heroes’, which picked up a double Silver by partnering with well-known gamers without initially revealing their identities. By creating in-game aliases based on Old Spice scent names for pro players and having them challenge other gamers during livestreams, the campaign turned characters within the gaming ecosystem into impact for the brand .
- Coherence across channels: In today’s fragmented media environment, adapting content for each platform is essential but challenging, as marketers seek to balance customisation with brand consistency. When campaigns are truly connected, they perform better.
The power of synergy – the additional impact when people see ads in more than one channel – has soared. Before 2014, synergy effects accounted for just 18% of campaign performance; since 2021, that figure has risen to 45%. Creating campaigns that connect across touchpoints is now a strategic necessity.
The Gold-winning Rainbow Wool campaign demonstrates how a single creative idea can remain consistent across multiple executions. The project rescues gay rams – often slaughtered because they cannot reproduce – and provides them with a safe home at Schäferei Michael Stücke’s farm. Their wool is transformed into high-quality thread and used to create fashion merchandise. The campaign’s lead video features Tokio Hotel star Bill Kaulitz, who introduces the collection in an entertaining way while raising awareness about the issue. Additional assets, including creator content and fashion magazine features, connect seamlessly to the lead video by using a consistent storyline that addresses the plight of gay rams and showcases the merchandise authentically. The campaign’s success spans borders, scoring in the top 15% for Demand Power in Germany and Belgium and the Top 20% in Spain.
Věra Šídlová, Global Creative Thought Leadership Director at Kantar, commented: “The Effie Europe Awards celebrate creativity that moved the needle. My favourite insight from this year’s Effie Europe Awards is that more brands than ever are embracing creators as creative partners, while keeping their strategic vision at the heart of every brief. In fact, the number of winners making creators their main communication touchpoint has nearly doubled.”
Kantar evaluated 111 pieces of creative that won Effie Europe, building on an analysis of 280+ Effie Europe winners from 2022 and 2024. This was done using LINK AI, Kantar’s cutting-edge, AI-powered pretesting solution that evaluates and optimises content at scale, providing insights in as little as 15 minutes.
The Effie Awards Europe are organised by the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) in partnership with Kantar as the Strategic Insights Partner, Google, REBORRN, ACT Responsible and Ad Net Zero.
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You can download the full press release here.
Full list of 2025 Winners available here.
