Interview with Madis Taras, Creative Partner at Taifuun (EST), is conducted by Anu Pillesson.
Why do we need competitions like BalticBest?
I believe competitions are valuable in two main ways.
First, they provide a sense of what’s “in the air”. Every competition is a reflection of its time, showcasing the ideas, narratives, and execution styles that are currently trending in marketing – just as the old saying goes. As an advertiser, it’s important to stay tuned into the undercurrents of society and try to anticipate “where the glitter is moving,” to paraphrase hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. After all, the goal is to create campaigns that don’t end up being summed up as “awareness 100, relevance zero”.
The second point is that taking part in jury work inevitably forces you to review a large number of entries with a critical eye. In the process, you may find inspiration, raise new questions, or even feel a bit of professional envy – thinking, “Damn, why didn’t I come up with that myself?” Either way, it’s an educational and eye-opening experience.
How do you see the role of creative work in marketing and brand strategy? What distinguishes merely creative work from truly effective creative work?
The role of creative work in marketing is absolutely central, because the quality of the idea determines whether a brand is merely delivering information or building an emotionally engaging relationship with its audience.
What matters is that this creative energy is applied at the right point in the process. The foundation of effective creative work is an unexpected yet universally resonant insight – and that’s not something you should try to brainstorm out of thin air; it needs to be mined from data. A good insight can always be described in the language of facts. The creative idea itself doesn’t have to be. But if the insight is solid, there’s no reason to shy away from building a bold, visionary idea on top of it.
Since we have more data than ever before, it can also be harder to navigate – at least for me. That’s why it’s crucial to develop both discipline and knowledge to dig into the data and know how to draw meaningful conclusions from it.
As an interesting aside: during a recent meeting, the creative director of DDB Denmark mentioned that they’re already using AI to model brand personas.
We constantly talk about data and measurability in marketing. Does this affect your (creative) work, and if so, how?
This question feels as old as digital marketing itself. I remember one of my university professors loved quoting the classics—especially David Ogilvy. Among many memorable lines, he often repeated something like: “I know half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.” Back then, Mark Zuckerberg hadn’t even been born.
Today, digital advertising is driving growth, and feedback is much more concrete – we can see who watched, how long they watched, how they engaged, whether anything ended up in the shopping cart, and so on.
It’s fascinating in its own way to study these dynamics. And when you combine that with knowledge of how different platforms function and what they offer, it opens the door to creating some truly interesting campaigns. I myself won my first Golden Egg Award (Kuldmuna) with an ad designed specifically for the YouTube Skip Ad format.
Today, it’s the creative team’s job to constantly keep themselves updated. This is essential in order to develop dynamic campaign ideas and brand narratives that work seamlessly across platforms – all the way from digital channels to traditional linear TV ad breaks.
What does the Baltic marketing landscape need in order to stand out more at international competitions?
That’s a tough question. If I knew the answer, I’d already be in Cannes.
BalticBest 2025
You can find rules HERE.
Submission deadline: 08.08.2025 -> extended until 12.08.2025 5 PM (Estonian time)
Shortlist published: 19.08.2025
Live judging and awards announced: 27.08.2025
