Baltic Brand Forum Returns to Riga, and ICOM Members Get a Seat at the Table

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This September, Riga becomes the meeting point for Baltic creativity when the Baltic Brand Forum and Baltic Brand Awards return for two days, 24–25 September. The event is organised by ICOM member agency Magic (Latvia), alongside media partner OMD and research partner Norstat, and this year ICOM members are invited to attend at a preferential rate.

Now one of the region’s largest brand gatherings, Baltic Brand Forum brings together marketers, researchers and performers to celebrate — and interrogate — what makes Baltic brands work. Magic leads the programme and communications, OMD runs the media campaign, and Norstat gathers the consumer data behind it all. Around 40 partner companies join forces to bring the event to life each year.

At the centre of it is a research study Magic has run for more than 20 years, surveying over 3,000 people across the Baltics on 350+ questions about how they live, and tracking more than 660 brands over time. That dataset is what feeds the Baltic Brand rankings and awards — and, as Magic CEO Andris Rubins puts it, pairing consumer lifestyle data with brand performance data is “a goldmine for brands to better understand their existing fans and future prospects.”

The two days build from an intimate opening to a full-scale celebration. The Meet & Greet on 24 September launches an exhibition of award-winning Baltic campaigns from BalticBest, brings together the heads of all three Baltic Marketing Associations to discuss the industry’s challenges and future, and includes a live recording of the Baltic Brand Talks podcast with a special guest. The following day moves to the Riga Circus stage, where more than 25 speakers and performers — including voices behind Ryanair, KitKat, Polaroid, Snask, Bolt, Vinted and NOËP Distillery — take part in the Baltic Brand Showcase, before the evening’s Baltic Brand Award show celebrates the region’s most loved brands across 11 categories, a tradition running since 2004.

Andris says the line-up reflects a deliberate mix of global and homegrown names, alongside agencies and researchers shaping the region’s brand thinking. Asked what he’s most looking forward to this year, he didn’t hold back:

There is far too much marketing investment wasted in dull and ineffective advertising already. This is why this year we want to say loud and clear that sameness kills, and celebrate brands who have crafted their distinctive personalities and built iconic brands.

Opening the event to ICOM members was a natural next step for the organisers. “We want to grow the Baltic Brand Forum regionally, so the ICOM network is a perfect match to move into that direction,” Andris says.

ICOM members can register directly through the Baltic Brand Forum website and benefit from a preferential rate available exclusively to the network. It’s a great opportunity to experience one of the Baltics’ most talked-about industry events firsthand, while also getting an inside look at how a fellow ICOM member agency brings an ambitious event of this scale to life.