This year, LIA has invited top professionals and practitioners to the 2026 Creativity in PR Jury, who are experts in building brands through their PR skills. As in previous years, all jury members will convene in Las Vegas for for in-person judging at Encore @ Wynn, from the first round of judging through the final round of judging, which culminates in awarding statues.
Rachel Sansom, CEO UK and Europe, Havas Red, who has been named in PR Week’s Power Book list consecutively from between 2020 and 2026, will chair the Creativity in PR jury for 2026. As Rachel so aptly put it: “As earned creativity becomes more important than ever in helping brands earn trust, visibility and reputation; I am honoured to be chairing the creativity in PR Jury, looking at the best that the PR industry has to offer globally.”
Rachel also gave three very helpful tips about how to approach the category: “Ensuring the idea is earned in its design, not just an earned exploitation of a concept designed for another discipline; demonstrate effectiveness to show how it really turned the dial with audiences, reputation or business performance; demonstrate how earned attention is generated organically.”
Undoubtedly, earned media is one of the most powerful ways to help a brand build credibility and reach new audiences as it is generated from third-party sources that the audience trust. Statistics tell us that authentic third-party endorsements drive 4 times higher consideration for a brand than paid advertising. Media coverage of a brand makes the brands more trustworthy to the target audience. Consumers are seeking recommendations from trusted sources to help them make the right choices.
LIA judging in Las Vegas will run from 25th September through 3rd October, 2026. There is no pre-judging, as all judges must sit through all stages of the judging process before setting the standard of excellence for the year.
