Strategy Takes Centre Stage at the 2025 Jay Chiat Awards
The 4As (American Association of Advertising Agencies) announced the winners of the 2025 Jay Chiat Awards, recognising the boldest and most impactful strategic thinking across 12 categories.
The awards shined a spotlight on work that pushed boundaries, challenged conventions and delivered real impact. The winners were revealed on October 6 in New York City, following a competitive jury process that began with hundreds of entries from agencies around the world in Spring 2025, with over 60 submissions being shortlisted over the summer.
Honouring strategy and the strategists
The top honours this year went to VML. The Grand Prix was awarded to VML Belgium recognising their work for Child Focus, Belgian Center for Missing Children through the Finding Juliette campaign. VML also took home the Network of the Year.
In addition to the category winners, the 4As honoured two individuals redefining the role of the strategist:
Emerging strategist: Madison Giller, Arnold Worldwide
Madison represents the next generation of thinkers reshaping how strategy is done — blending experimentation, empathy and clarity of thought.
“The fun gets sucked out of strategy when we treat it like a math problem. There isn’t a single ‘right’ answer to find. Approach it like creativity: experiment, iterate and explore widely before committing,” said Madison.
Madison Giller, Arnold Worldwide
Visionary strategist: Kate Rush Sheehy, GSD&M
Kate leads with cultural intelligence and bold thinking. Her work challenges brands to become braver, more meaningful players in the world around them.
“The strategists who thrive won’t just chase these shifts; they’ll anticipate and make them their own. That means experimenting with new tools instead of fearing them, spotting the human behaviour beneath the fleeting trend and helping brands play roles in culture that are braver and more useful than they’ve been before,” said Kate.
Kate Rush Sheehy, GSD&M
Anyone from an agency that had submitted an entry this year was eligible to nominate a strategist for these awards.
- Individuals currently employed at an agency with one-five years of strategy experience in the US advertising/marketing industry were eligible for the Emerging Strategist nomination.
- Individuals with 15+ years of strategy experience in the industry, currently employed at an agency were eligible for the Visionary Strategist nomination.
The exceptional calibre of this year’s nominees made the selection process challenging.
Justin Thomas-Copeland, president and CEO of the 4As, summed up the spirit of the awards, “The Jay Chiat Awards are where strategy takes centre stage. They celebrate the most brilliant, bold and occasionally crazy ideas that dared to push for the improbable and the implausible and reset what’s possible in our industry. The magic of strategy is talent, creativity, insight and innovation layered on top of courage. And the work submitted this year has raised the bar yet again.”
See all the 2025 Jay Chiat Awards winners and honourees here.
The Jay Chiat Awards were followed by StratFest, the annual conference for strategists with a full day of panels, workshops, fireside chats and Jay Chiat-winning case study presentations. Together, the two complementary events continue to celebrate and elevate the craft of strategy.
