georgia at cannes lions

For the past 11 years, Georgia has had a place on the global Cannes Lions map. That journey would not have been possible without the extraordinary effort and belief of a handful of individuals who were convinced that Georgia’s creative industry deserved to be part of the global conversation.

One of those people are Ako Akhalaia and Levan Lepsveridze, who not only helped lay the foundations for Young Lions Georgia but have spent years actively building the ecosystem that has given Georgian creatives a genuine pathway into the international arena.

In our previous article, we explored the expectations and key themes surrounding Cannes Lions 2026. This time, we take a closer look at the Georgian perspective—how Georgia became part of the global creative industry and how the country is preparing for both the festival and the Young Lions competition in 2026.

As a reminder, our goal at Cannes Lions is to bring back exactly the knowledge, insights, and experiences our readers want to hear about. If there is something specific you would like us to explore, leave us your questions through the link, and we will return from Cannes with answers.

11 years ago

To understand the significance of this story, it is worth revisiting 2015. At that time, Georgia’s creative industry was transitioning from producing simply “beautiful” advertising to creating bold, strategic, creative, and socially relevant campaigns. Local businesses—particularly banks and large national brands—began placing greater trust in Georgian agencies, creating new financial opportunities and attracting fresh talent into the industry. In short, the conditions were in place for Georgia to emerge on the global creative map.

As Ako Akhalaia recalls, when he decided to bring Cannes Lions to Georgia in 2015, he discovered that another person was pursuing the same goal: Levan Lepsveridze. The two joined forces and successfully convinced Cannes representatives of the potential within Georgia’s creative industry.

The years that followed brought Georgia’s first Lions, a Gold award in the Marketer category, and, in 2018, recognition as the best Cannes Lions representation worldwide.

11 years later

Today, in 2026, Georgia’s creative industry is closer to the global creative community than ever before.

Campaigns developed by Georgian agencies are increasingly being recognized and awarded internationally. Since 2025, Georgia has also secured a place in The One Club Global Creative Rankings—an important milestone that signals more than regional success. It demonstrates that Georgia is now a fully-fledged member of the global creative community.

Ako Akhalaia, marketer and founder of Marketer.ge:

“We have made tremendous progress in every direction. This movement started with enormous energy and continues to grow today. It is difficult to compare directly with where we were 11 years ago because the people competing back then and the people competing today are completely different. What remains constant is that the experience gained through both the local and global Cannes ecosystem benefits the entire country. Everyone gains from this process—the participants, the companies, the jurors, and the country itself.”

Alongside these achievements, however, challenges remain. According to Akhalaia, one of the biggest challenges facing Georgia’s creative industry today is the limited number of clients willing to fully unlock and invest in the creative potential that exists within the market.

As a result, either more ambitious companies need to emerge locally, or Georgian agencies need to expand into international markets. In Akhalaia’s view, the expertise accumulated within Georgia is often not only competitive with international peers but, in many cases, exceeds it.

And when discussing creative excellence, another Georgian immediately comes to mind—someone who is serving on the Cannes Lions international juror in the Brand Experience & Activation category this year: Eka Kipiani, Founder and Creative Director of Supermarket Agency.   

eka kipiani on the cannes lions international jury

Brand Experience & Activation is considered one of the festival’s most prestigious categories. Entries are evaluated across four primary criteria: idea, strategy, execution, and results. Still, we were interested to learn what criteria Kipiani herself relies on when evaluating creative work.

Eka Kipiani, founder and creative director, Supermarket Agency:

“A great campaign is something that is interesting for people and valuable for the business. These are ideas that understand people, culture, and the realities of today. They solve a problem and deliver meaningful results.

In my category, what matters most is whether a brand creates a distinctive experience, whether people genuinely want to engage with it, and whether that experience is intrinsically connected to the brand itself.

If you look at a piece of work and find yourself asking, ‘What does this have to do with the brand?’ that is often a strong indication that you may not be looking at award-winning work.

To be honest, though, the real evaluation criterion is less rational. When you see a piece of work and immediately fall in love with the idea—when you feel a little jealous that you did not come up with it yourself and cannot wait to tell others about it—that is the strongest signal for me.”

In our previous article, we discussed how one of the defining themes of Cannes Lions 2026 will be the relationship between artificial intelligence and creativity. We asked Kipiani to share her perspective on how AI is changing the way creative work is evaluated.

Eka Kipiani on AI and creative quality:

“At this stage, AI’s involvement in spaces traditionally occupied by human creativity does not always leave the best impression, particularly because AI-generated visuals often share a similar and non-distinctive aesthetic. Work created by human—and especially by hand—naturally stands out and is valued more highly. That does not mean this will always be the case, but it is how things work today.

There are other situations where AI is not used for generation but rather for processing information, enabling technological solutions, or expanding what is possible. In those cases, it is evaluated very differently.

Put simply, if artificial intelligence expands our capabilities and elevates an idea to a place it could never have reached otherwise, then it is powerful. If it does not, it risks making the work feel cheap.”

young lions georgia 2026

As mentioned earlier, Georgia has been organizing Young Lions Georgia since 2015 and has participated in the international Young Lions competition ever since. What began as a competition with just two local categories has steadily expanded over the years. This year, the competition was held across six categories: Digital, PR, Marketer, Print, Design and Film. Georgia’s greatest successes have come on several occasions, including a Gold award in the Marketer category in 2016 and Bronze medals in both the Film and PR categories in 2024.

This year, six teams are preparing to represent Georgia on the global stage. We have already introduced three of those teams through our Instagram channels, where you can watch their interviews and preparation stories. One sentiment was shared by everyone: representing Georgia is both a significant responsibility and an exciting opportunity.

During our conversations, participants told us they have already begun working through previous competition briefs as part of their preparation process. We wish them every success.

how are we preparing?

This will be Minds & Marketing’s first Cannes Lions experience, which is why we are preparing with particular focus and curiosity. We are closely following the speakers, key themes, and networking opportunities while also learning from those who have attended the festival many times before.  Naturally, we asked Ako Akhalaia what first-time attendees should keep in mind.

Ako Akhalaia, marketer and founder of Marketer.ge:

“Everyone creates their own Cannes Lions experience because there are so many events, masterclasses, lectures, and panel discussions happening simultaneously. The most important thing is to download the app, explore both the official and unofficial events, and build your own schedule based on your interests. There is no single formula. That said, from what we have been told, sport will receive particular attention this year.”

who will win?

As we return to the competition itself, the shortlists have not yet been announced, which means we still do not know which Georgian campaigns may have a chance at success. Without discussing specific entries, we asked both of our interviewees a simple question: who wins at Cannes?

Eka Kipiani, founder and creative director, Supermarket Agency:

“When you review Cannes submissions one after another, you realize that being good is simply not enough. Good work may never make the shortlist. Very good work may stop at the shortlist.

The winners are the ideas that are impossible to ignore and impossible to forget. Ideas that are sharp, clear, unexpected, perfectly suited to the client they serve, and, most importantly, unlike anything you have seen before.

Cannes winners often share something in common. You are not only impressed by the idea itself—you are amazed by how they convinced everyone to make it happen and then how flawlessly they executed it.

Those are the projects that win. The ones that push boundaries furthest, execute the idea at 110%, and then package everything brilliantly—the case study, the board, every element needed to tell the story.

Put simply, the winner will be the work that is better than the overwhelming majority of everything else in the world.”

 

Ako Akhalaia, marketer and founder of Marketer.ge:

“Cannes Lions includes many categories and subcategories, and the jury changes every year. I attend annually, and I believe the simplest way to describe it is this: Cannes rewards the very best creative work.

There is no broader universal formula, and that is precisely why there is no greater recognition in our industry than a Cannes Lion.

That is why, this year and every year, I look forward to seeing Georgians win, seeing the Georgian flag raised on the world’s most important creative stage, and, of course, returning home with enough inspiration to last the entire year.”

With hopes of success,

we will be reporting back from Cannes.