Samira Ansari’s LIA Diary Wrap-up: Hacks, banter and a unanimous Grand

Aussie expat Samira Ansari, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy New York was this year’s Jury President for the LIA Digital and Use of Social Media & Influencers competition. Here, Ansari wraps up her experience, exclusively for CB.

I love judging the LIAs for so many reasons. First off, we get to see all the work. There’s no pre-judging and no shortlist jury. It means we get to experience the work fresh, together, and actually talk about it as we go. Sometimes for the very first time.

This year, I had the pleasure of sharing the room with 9 other jurors, most of whom I was meeting for the first time.

Day 1 was quiet. I loved watching every juror meticulously go through each case study, ask questions, check the category descriptions, and vote.

By Day 3, things got interesting. I’ve sat in plenty of jury rooms and seen it all, but this was a calm room. Respectful. Full of banter with enough pushback to keep it sharp. No egos, no drama, no douchebags, which made my job so easy.

If there was one theme this year, it was hacks. Hack partnerships, hack couponing, hack gaming, hack Instagram, hack old people. Hack, hack, hack. We saw smart, scrappy ideas that didn’t cost a fortune, ideas that slid into your DMs.

We gave away one Grand. For a piece of work we unanimously loved. An idea born from social media. One that I’m super jealous of.

Now, it’s the end. I have no idea what day it is. I smoked a few cheeky cigarettes, resisted the temptation to gamble (so far), may or may not buy a designer bag I absolutely don’t need, and I’m celebrating by seeing The Wizard of Oz at The Sphere.

Until next time Vegas!