Organizers of the Pitcher Festival of Creativity have released the names of creative eggheads that will be jury presidents for the seven major categories of the 2025 edition of the much-anticipated Pitcher Awards. The organizers have also introduced more awards and categories for the ever-evolving awards.
Among the jury presidents are Dozie Okafor, managing director and CEO of PHD Nigeria as well as the president of Media Independents Practitioners Association of Nigeria who is president of Channel Jury; Karim Yermeche, chief executive officer of Lotus Conseil in Hydra, Algeria, who will preside over the Heritage Jury; and Dawn Rowlands, CEO Dentsu Africa as Good & Effectiveness Jury president
Others include Obi Asika, director general/CEO, National Council For Arts & Culture, Nigeria who will preside over Entertainment Jury; Mike Miller, executive creative director X3M Ideas Lagos Nigeria, as Craft Jury president; Nthabiseng Lekoaletsoe, advertising consultant Ogilvy South Africa as Culture Jury president; and Yash Deb, co-founder & creative partner, The Bar Africa, Kenya. Yash would function as the Digital Jury president.
Commenting on the announcement of the presidents, Dr. Nnamdi Ndu, chairman of the Pitcher Festival, said, “As we finalize our jury president announcements, I’m filled with excitement and optimism for the Pitcher Awards 2025. The diverse expertise and passion of our jury presidents embody the innovation and creativity that the Pitcher Festival celebrates. This year, we are poised to uncover and honor groundbreaking ideas that will inspire and elevate the African creative industry to new heights.”
Celebrating creative excellence across Africa
Entering its 8th year, the Pitcher Awards continues to stand as one of Africa’s most prestigious and internationally acclaimed accolades. Each year, juries, comprising experts from various fields across the continent, convene to evaluate and benchmark the creativity showcased throughout Africa. This includes a diverse range of media such as print, film, audio, outdoor, PR, entertainment, digital, and initiatives specifically aimed at benefiting humanity.
The Pitcher Awards are open to all works created, released, or implemented anywhere on the African continent. This inclusivity extends to projects developed outside Africa, provided they are designed for implementation or release within Africa.
New entrants for 2025
Pitcher Awards now features a new subcategory under the Digital category: Content Marketing. This subcategory, according to organizers, honours outstanding online content marketing efforts that demonstrate creativity, engagement and effectiveness. “The aim is to strengthen and promote the industry across Africa, encouraging innovation and the sharing of knowledge. This subcategory would look at blogs, wikis, articles & editorials, e-books and whitepapers as well as newsletters.”
The organizers have also introduced four new awards in 2025 to honor excellence in marketing companies and brands. These new categories recognize outstanding achievements and contributions in the industry. The awards include Brand of the Year (National Category); Brand of the Year (Multinational Category); Marketing Company of the Year (National Category); and Marketing Company of the Year (Multinational Category).
These additions celebrate the exceptional work and impact of both national and multinational entities in the marketing landscape as captured in the Pitcher Awards entries.
To enter for the awards, standard fees apply to entries paid for in January and February 2025. Fees paid between 1 November - 31 December 2024 got a 5% early bird discount while fees paid between 1 – 31 March 2025 would get a 10% late entry surcharge and fees to be paid after 31 March 2025 would attract a 15% late entry surcharge.
“The Pitcher Awards Show is the climax of the Pitcher Festival of Creativity and will hold on 17 May 2025. The show will be streamed online and broadcast on major TV Networks across Africa. The Gold, Grand Prix and Special Awards winners will be announced during the Pitcher Awards show, while all the other winners will be published on the website. In addition, each winning entry will be celebrated with its own dedicated page on the website,” the organizers explained.
More on the jury presidents
Dozie’s career began at OMD Nigeria in 2007. He has worked across numerous brands including Vodafone, Guinness, and Coca-Cola Nigeria. His leadership and strategic vision have seen him oversee PHD offices across Francophone West Africa.
Freshly graduated from Business School, Karim co-founded Lotus Conseil at the age of 22. The Algerian start-up went to become 10 years later the top independent Ad agency in the country, renowned for its expertise and creativity. In 2010, the founders of Lotus Conseil joined forces with a large global network and the Ad agency was appointed Partner Agency in Algeria for the Publicis Groupe.
Karim is a regular lecturer in business schools and universities. He loves sharing his passion for communications and his vision of advertising, where people are at the center of the brand purpose. Many of the young talents whom he has inspired, lead today the new generation of Algerian marketers and creatives.
Dawn has won several laurels in her exciting career in the creative world. Some of these include Business Woman of the Year, and Serial Entrepreneur. She is a wine lover and is passionate about innovating to Impact
Obi is been a tireless advocate and a key driver and leader of the creative industries in Nigeria for more than 30 years. Recognized by millions across Africa as a Judge on the popular Nigerian Idol TV show, Obi’s greatest impact in the creative sector has been as a builder, investor and visionary leader. He is an ecosystem builder who has been involved in cross sector collaborations for over a decade, before he entered public officer he convened and launched the Omniverse, a multi sector collaboration platform underlined by the tech ecosystem and bringing the storytelling power of the creative industries to the fore. He is a passionate leader and focused on the huge opportunities that Nigerian soft power can unlock and how we can enable economic growth.
A recipient of numerous local and international honours, Obi was recognized by the African Leadership Network in 2012; named by top US publication Black Enterprise as one of their 100 Modern Men in 2016, and inducted into the Afrobeats Hall of Fame in 2022. Obi was a member of the Cannes Lion Jury for Music in 2024 which is the premium music and innovation platform on the planet.
Mike is a firm believer that ideas start conversations and great ones create engagement. He has been putting ideas in front of people for over 30 years, ranging from big brand campaigns and cool product launches, to hard hitting retail promotions and information driven websites; from traditional media platforms to the latest in digital, experiential, shopper, and social.
Born and educated in the UK, Mike spent 20+ years in Australia. He currently live and work in Nigeria, having worked in the UK, Taiwan, Kenya and Australia, as well as creating work for India, China, Germany, EMEA, North America and many other Asian countries. He has handled the recruitment and structuring of many creative departments, been responsible for the career paths of those in it, and been financially responsible for salary negotiation, award budgets, equipment procurement, and the general well being and happiness of my staff.
Nthabiseng has over 16 years’ experience in the advertising and marketing industry globally and across Africa. She has a passion for building brands constantly looking for ways to push the boundaries.
Staying at the forefront of ever-changing market and cultural trends is important in creating cutting edge work for brands and consumers, she says. She has also been privileged to lead and work across a wide spectrum of some iconic and celebrated brands, stretching across industry and category.
Yash’s experience and reputation as a creative leader belies his age, having lived and worked in 12 countries, four continents and whole lot of awards and accolades in between.
Learning his trade and craft at agencies like Hakuhodo, TBWA and Dentsu, Yash created memorable campaigns for blue-chip brands such as Nike, P&G, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Diageo, Standard Chartered, Safaricom and Toyota. He then setup Isobar in the region, an agency he led to the Agency of the Year gong within 5 years.
Yash headed Ogilvy Africa’s creative department where he created history being the tour de force behind Lesso Lessons; a campaign that won East, West and Central Africa’s very first Gold Lion at Cannes and a coveted Yellow Pencil at D&AD. This apart, he also has wins at The One Show, Clio’s, Loeries, Spikes, Ad Stars and CAG, served as jury member at the African Cristals, Loeries, LAIF Awards and APA, and even featured in The Business Daily’s 40 under 40 list. Yash believes that to bring great ideas to life, one must first fall madly in love with a problem.
