Inaugural Edition · 2026

NorthAward

One award for commercial creativity in the Nordics. Advertising, brand, design and experience, judged as a single discipline. Non-profit. Independent. By qualification only.

4
Countries
21
Categories
16
Jury members
2026
North Award· Commercial Creativity· Nordic Edition· DK · SE · NO · FI· 2026· Non-profit· By Qualification Only· North Award· Commercial Creativity· Nordic Edition· DK · SE · NO · FI· 2026· Non-profit· By Qualification Only·
About

One award. One discipline.

North Award is a non-profit organisation with a single purpose: to strengthen and celebrate commercial creativity across the Nordic countries.

We treat advertising, brand, design and experience as one discipline. The best commercial work, regardless of the form it takes, is rewarded under a single award called Commercial Creativity.

Fully independent. Not owned or controlled by any agency network or holding company. Our decisions are guided solely by what is best for Nordic creativity.

Twenty-one categories
Communication
Advertising, Film, Radio, Digital
Four categories
→
Brand
New Identity, Refresh, Transformation
Three categories
→
Design
Graphic, Type, Packaging, Product, Spatial, Digital
Six categories
→
Cross-Cutting
Engagement & Experience, Impact & Innovation
Eight categories, open to any work
→
View all categories →

Plus four Craft Honours awarded by the jury across all submitted work, for outstanding art direction, writing, image-making, and making.

The North Grant

Recognition is not enough. We also invest in what comes next.

Every year, North Award helps a young Nordic talent afford a place at a leading advertising or communication school.

Learn about the Grant →
4
Nordic countries
21
Categories
4
Craft Honours
16
Jury members
The Award

What you win.

The North Award trophy is a hand-finished brushed steel ice axe mounted on a granite base, engraved with the NA monogram and the words Excellence in Commercial Creativity · Nordic Edition.

Each trophy is individually crafted. It is not a certificate or a plaque. It is an object that earns its place on a shelf.

North Award trophy, a brushed steel ice axe mounted on a granite base
One award, twenty-one categories
Disciplines
Communication
4
  • Advertising
  • Film & Motion
  • Radio & Audio
  • Digital & Social
Brand
3
  • New Brand Identity
  • Brand Identity Refresh
  • Brand Transformation
Design
6
  • Graphic Design
  • Typography & Lettering
  • Packaging Design
  • Product Design
  • Spatial Design
  • Digital Product Design
Cross-cutting · enter any work
Engagement & Experience
4
  • Experiential & Activation
  • Direct & Commerce
  • PR & Earned Influence
  • Creator & Content
Impact & Innovation
4
  • Purpose & Impact
  • Sustainability
  • Innovation & Use of AI
  • Effectiveness
Jury

Who judges.

One jury of 16. Four members from each Nordic country. Deliberately small, deliberately exclusive. Every entry is seen by the full jury, across all four nations.

Denmark
4 jurors
Emil Asmussen
ECD, Accenture Song
Denmark
Expert
TBA
Denmark
Expert
TBA
Denmark
Expert
TBA
Denmark
Sweden
4 jurors
Expert
ECD, Forsman & Bodenfors
Sweden
Expert
TBA
Sweden
Expert
TBA
Sweden
Expert
TBA
Sweden
Norway
4 jurors
Expert
ECD, Try Oslo
Norway
Expert
TBA
Norway
Expert
TBA
Norway
Expert
TBA
Norway
Finland
4 jurors
Expert
Design Director, Kokoro & Moi
Finland
Expert
TBA
Finland
Expert
TBA
Finland
Expert
TBA
Finland
Contact

Get in touch.

Co-founders
Jakob Lykke
Co-founder, North Award
lykke6200@gmail.com
Emil Asmussen
Co-founder · ECD, Accenture Song

For questions about entering, jury nominations, partnerships, or press enquiries.

North Award is a non-profit. We believe Nordic commercial creativity deserves greater recognition both within the region and on the world stage.

If you want to get involved as a jury member, partner, or sponsor, we'd love to hear from you.

North Award · 2026

Commercial
Creativity.

Twenty-one categories across three disciplines and two cross-cutting families, plus four Craft Honours awarded by the jury. One piece of work, judged through several lenses.

About the award

What we reward.

Commercial Creativity recognises work that changes minds, shifts culture, and moves people to act. We look for an idea at the core, executed with genuine craft, whether it shows up as a campaign, a brand, a product, or an experience.

Work is entered into the disciplines that describe its form, and can also be entered into the cross-cutting awards that describe its effect. One piece of work, several lenses.

Qualifying national awards
Denmark
DDA · Creative Circle · Rambuk
Sweden
Guldägget · Svenska Designpriset
Norway
Gullblyanten · Gulltaggen
Finland
Vuoden Huiput
Communication
Discipline · 4 categories
01
Advertising
Press, outdoor and integrated campaigns. The single idea carried across paid media.
Accepted formatsPrint, OOH, integrated campaign, brand campaign
02
Film & Motion
TV spots, online films, branded content series, and motion design with narrative intent.
Accepted formatsTV commercial, online film, branded series, animation, title sequence
03
Radio & Audio
Radio, podcast, voice and sonic branding. Work where sound carries the idea.
Accepted formatsRadio spot, podcast, audio campaign, sonic identity, voice
04
Digital & Social
Digital-first campaigns and social platform work that lives natively online.
Accepted formatsSocial campaign, digital campaign, platform-native work
Brand
Discipline · 3 categories
05
New Brand Identity
Complete identity systems for new brands. Naming, logo, visual and verbal language, built from the ground up.
Accepted formatsIdentity system, naming, logo, visual language, guidelines
06
Brand Identity Refresh
Considered evolution of an existing identity, where heritage is carried forward and renewed.
Accepted formatsIdentity refresh, evolution, redesign of an existing brand
07
Brand Transformation
Wholesale repositioning and transformation of an existing brand, in strategy and expression.
Accepted formatsRebrand, repositioning, transformation programme
Design
Discipline · 6 categories
08
Graphic Design
Printed and screen-based visual communication. Editorial, books, magazines, posters, and signage.
Accepted formatsEditorial, book, magazine, poster, signage, report, catalogue
09
Typography & Lettering
Typefaces, custom lettering, and typographic systems where the letterform is the primary creative act.
Accepted formatsTypeface, custom lettering, type system, typographic campaign
10
Packaging Design
Packaging that treats the container as a communication medium, from structural to consumer.
Accepted formatsConsumer packaging, structural packaging, sustainable packaging
11
Product Design
Objects where design and craft are inseparable. Furniture, products, lighting, and tools.
Accepted formatsFurniture, product, lighting, tools, limited edition object
12
Spatial Design
Commercially created space and the experience of moving through it. Retail, interiors, exhibitions.
Accepted formatsRetail, interior, workplace, exhibition, pop-up
13
Digital Product Design
Digital products, services and platforms. The craft of UX, UI and interaction over time.
Accepted formatsApp, website, service design, UX/UI system, platform
Cross-cutting awards

Judged through several lenses.

Any qualifying entry can also be submitted to these awards, regardless of its discipline. A film can enter for its medium, its activation, its purpose, and its effectiveness. One piece of work, recognised for everything it does.

Engagement & Experience
Cross-cutting · 4 categories
14
Experiential & Activation
Live experiences, activations, events and installations that put people inside the idea.
Accepted formatsActivation, event, installation, live experience, stunt
15
Direct & Commerce
Direct response, eCommerce and conversion-led work where creativity drives action.
Accepted formatsDirect, eCommerce, CRM, conversion campaign, retail commerce
16
PR & Earned Influence
Earned media and PR-led ideas that generate conversation and reputation, not just reach.
Accepted formatsPR campaign, earned media, reputation, brand newsroom
17
Creator & Content
Creator collaborations, branded content and entertainment that earns its audience.
Accepted formatsCreator collaboration, branded content, entertainment, content series
Impact & Innovation
Cross-cutting · 4 categories
18
Purpose & Impact
Work in service of a social, environmental or cultural purpose, with documented real-world impact.
Accepted formatsNGO, public sector, social initiative, cultural programme
19
Sustainability
Work where sustainability is the creative driver, not an afterthought. Material, message or model.
Accepted formatsSustainable product, circular design, climate communication
20
Innovation & Use of AI
New technology, AI and invention used to genuine creative effect, not for its own sake.
Accepted formatsAI-led work, emerging tech, invention, new platform or tool
21
Effectiveness
Documented commercial and behavioural results. The category that proves creativity worked.
Accepted formatsAny work with documented business or behavioural results
Craft Honours
4 honours · no entry fee

Beyond the categories, the jury awards four Craft Honours for outstanding execution. They recognise the disciplines that carry the work, balanced across communication, brand and design alike.

Craft
Art Direction
The visual idea and composition, across campaign, brand and editorial work.
Craft
Writing
Copy, script and the verbal craft behind campaigns, film and brand storytelling.
Craft
Image-Making
Photography and illustration where the image is the load-bearing creative act.
Craft
Making & Materiality
The craft of the physical and the built. Material, construction and spatial detail in product, packaging and space.

Craft Honours are awarded by the jury across all submitted work. There is no separate entry and no additional fee. When you enter a category, your work is automatically eligible.

North Award · 2026

Submit
Your Work

Entry portal opens 1 September 2026. Register your interest now and we'll contact you when submissions open.

Rules

Who can enter.

Entry Fees

Pricing.

Standard Entry
1.940
DKK ex. VAT · per entry
15% early bird before 31 Oct
All categories. Each entry judged independently by the full jury. Enter the same work in several categories.
Young Creatives
400
DKK ex. VAT · per team
Open to creatives under 30. Teams of up to 4. All standard eligibility criteria apply.
Register

Enter your details.

Contact

Work

Confirmation

Portal opens 1 September 2026. Submitting registers your interest, and we'll contact you when entries open.

Key Dates

1 Sep 2026
Portal opens
31 Oct 2026
Early bird deadline
30 Nov 2026
Final deadline
Jan 2027
Jury deliberation
Mar 2027
Ceremony
Questions? lykke6200@gmail.com

Thank you — your interest has been registered.
We'll be in touch when the entry portal opens on 1 September 2026.

North Award · Annual Grant

The
North
Grant

We don't just celebrate the work that exists. We help the next generation afford the education to make it.

Our Vision

The Nordic countries produce some of the world's most original creative voices. But the best creative education costs money, and the talent who needs it most often can't afford it.

North Award exists to change that. Every year, we donate directly to one young person in the Nordic region who has applied to or been admitted to a leading advertising or communication school, and we help cover the cost of getting there.

This is not a prize for past work. It is an investment in an education. In the copywriter, the art director, the designer who is about to begin, at schools like Den Danske Reklameskole, Berghs School of Communication, Kristiania, and Aalto University.

GRANT
How it works

The grant,
explained.

01
Who can receive it

A young creative in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, or Finland who has applied to or been admitted to a recognised advertising or communication school. Awarded on talent and potential, not prior recognition.

02
How selected

Candidates apply or are nominated. The jury shortlists, and the North Award board selects the recipient. Announced at the annual ceremony in March.

03
What it covers

The grant goes toward tuition and the cost of studying: fees, materials, equipment, or living costs while enrolled. Where tuition is free, it helps cover the cost of getting through the programme.

04
The amount

Determined annually from entry revenue. As North Award grows, so does the grant. The 2027 amount will be announced in September 2026.

Nominate

Know someone who deserves it?

Nominations open alongside the entry portal on 1 September 2026. Anyone can nominate. You don't need to be an entrant or jury member.

"We don't wait for great creative talent to be discovered. We go looking for it."

— North Award