Interview with Urmas Villmann, Creative Director at Kontuur Leo Burnett (Estonia) and a member of the BalticBest 2026 jury, is conducted by Anu Pillesson.
The BalticBest competition is built around a simple idea: small countries compete with other small countries. Similar budgets, similar teams, and the same pressure to make every idea work harder. But when it comes to creativity, is a smaller budget a disadvantage – or can it actually be an advantage?
Kontuur Leo Burnett Creative Director and this year’s distinguished BalticBest jury member Urmas Villmann starts from the premise that creative work does not become easier or harder depending on the size of the budget – only the agency’s earnings change.
“It doesn’t really matter whether the budget is large or small – all the necessary stages of the creative process still have to be completed in the same way,” he says. “The only difference is that with one, the agency earns less, while the amount of work is more or less the same.”
“As a consolation, I can say that there is never enough money, whether the budget is small or large. Things could always be done better, especially in terms of production quality, if the budget were bigger.”
He illustrates the impact of financial limitations with one concise example: “If I wanted to use David Bowie’s music in my TV commercial, that idea alone – before even producing anything – would wipe out the combined annual profit of all advertising agencies in Estonia.”
According to Villmann, this is precisely where the strength of a small market lies.
“A small market and a small budget force you to be even more creative and resourceful in order to attract the attention you need.”
Ready to eat his hat
This year, the BalticBest jury will evaluate entries over two days in a live broadcast, allowing the entire Baltic marketing community to hear in real time how the judges think, what they praise and what they criticise. Villmann welcomes the change.
“The thing about festivals is that the decisions are subjective,” he explains. “The final set of awards reflects the opinions of the particular people who happen to be sitting on the jury at that moment.”
“I’m ready to eat my hat if a differently composed jury would arrive at exactly the same result.”
That is precisely why he sees transparency as valuable.
“You never really know what happens behind the closed doors of a jury room, so public judging is a very welcome development. You get to see who judges on a simple like-don’t-like basis and who is able to rationally explain their preferences. That alone is entertaining and valuable in its own right.”
In a small market, there is also inevitably the question of how to judge fairly when the work on the table comes from a familiar agency – or even a direct competitor.
Villmann sees this primarily as a matter of professionalism.
“That really comes down to the professionalism of the jury member: you judge the ideas and the quality of the execution rather than engaging in favouritism.”
At the same time, he acknowledges a certain natural bias.
“It is probably understandable on a human level that people may unintentionally favour work from their own country because they are more familiar with its context and results. But because the judging process is public, that will certainly discipline the jury as well.”
A good idea works without a lengthy explanation
Creative awards are sometimes criticised for rewarding so-called “award-bait” work – campaigns designed to win prizes rather than work that has genuinely delivered for real clients.
Villmann’s benchmark is simple.
“A good idea is one whose quality and originality are immediately apparent, without the need for a breathless or tear-jerking case study,” he says. “Consumers do not get an A4 sheet attached to an outdoor ad explaining what the advertisement means, nor do they get a making-of clip before a TV commercial showing how much fun the team had on set.”
That does not mean case studies are irrelevant.
“They become important when you need to explain cultural context to an international jury or communicate the results of a campaign,” he adds.
Lithuanians in the Estonian market
Why should an agency that has never entered BalticBest before consider doing so?
“One reason to participate in festivals is that money and profit disappear, but awards and fame remain,” Villmann says, half-jokingly.
The problem with fame, he adds, is that people tend to forget that you are famous and creative.
“So you have to keep reminding them yourself.”
Villmann sees BalticBest as particularly important for agencies whose ambitions extend beyond Estonia and which want to expand outside their home market. In his view, neighbouring markets are the most logical place to start.
He points out that every year Best Marketing compiles a ranking of Baltic agencies based on their results at domestic and international festivals.
“It is a good reference point and proof that your ideas can work outside the Estonian-language cultural space as well,” says the experienced creative director.
He then offers a comparison that should give Estonian agencies something to think about:
“Lithuanian agencies have clearly understood this and are doing very well in the Estonian market. Why couldn’t it work the other way around?”
BalticBest 2026
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- Entry deadline (extended): 2 September
- Shortlist announcement: 9 September
- International jury evaluates shortlisted entries via live stream: 15–16 September
- Awards ceremony: 25 September (Baltic Brand Forum in Riga)
