CANNES, France, June 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ana Markozashvili
and Nino Ungiadze of Bank of Georgia in the Republic of Georgia won the Gold Lion in the
seventh-annual Young Lions Marketers Competition at the
63rd annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Sponsored by Ketchum, this year's competition challenged 17
teams of young, in-house marketers from around the world to develop
a creative brief for a product or service that would benefit the
United Nations' Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to
spur actions that will end poverty, reduce inequality and tackle
climate change between now and 2030. Competitors presented their
communication plans to a panel of industry leaders, which was led
by Barri Rafferty, partner and CEO of North America for Ketchum.
Markozashvili and Ungiadze developed the winning brief to win
the Gold Lion. Markozashvili said of the winning campaign brief,
"We tried not to set our expectations too high, so we wouldn't
disappoint ourselves. Any kind of appreciation would have been a
big surprise. And suddenly, we're on the stage getting gold. It's
very unexpected, but we are so grateful."
The team from Turkey, Vodafone
Turkey's Burak Capar and
Anne Verdaasdonk, won the Silver
Lion, and the Bronze Lion went to the team from Canada,
Lexus Canada's Christian Di Vincenzo and Olena Sapojnikova.
Sapojnikova said of the competitive challenge, "In order to
break through you sometimes have to go against what you think your
brand represents. You need to take the risk to make change within
your industry and others."
Participants were briefed onsite at Cannes and then given 30 hours to develop
their product or service concept before showcasing their
communication plans in a two-page written brief and short
presentation to the judging panel. In addition to Rafferty, the
Young Lions Marketers Competition jury included Michael Knox, chief creative officer at Grey,
and Kelly Vanasse, VP of
communications, P&G Global Business Units at Procter &
Gamble. The winning teams received their trophies at the Young
Lions Marketers Competition award ceremony on Saturday, June 25.
Of the judging, Rafferty said, "I have seen the CMOs of the
future while judging the Young Lions Marketers Competition. They
presented extraordinary ideas channeling the very latest marketing
techniques, and their insights reflected their diverse global
backgrounds. It is especially rewarding to see their determination
in harnessing their brands' influence to help make the world a
better place."
Additional participants in this year's competition hailed from
Austria, Belarus, China, Costa
Rica, Dominican Republic,
Finland, Hungary, India, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sri
Lanka and Vietnam.
This is the sixth year Ketchum has sponsored the Young Lions
Marketers Competition. In addition to its sponsorship, the firm
hosted two live panels on the main stage – "The Art of the Deal:
Let's Make a Movie," featuring documentary film director
Adam Carolla, and "Content for the
Ages – All of Them," which discussed age-agnostic marketing. In
addition, Ketchum representatives posted their insights and
observations during the festival through the agency's
#KetchumCannes hub
(https://www.ketchum.com/cannes-social-2016).
About the 63rd Cannes Lions International Festival of
Creativity, June 18 to 25, 2016,
Palais des Festivals, Cannes,
France
The International Festival of Creativity, also
known as Cannes Lions, is the world's leading celebration of
creativity in communications and encompasses Lions Health, Lions
Innovation and Lions Entertainment. Founded in 1954, the Festival
takes place every June in Cannes,
France. As the most prestigious international annual
advertising and communications awards, over 40,000 entries from all
over the world are showcased and judged at the Festival. Winning
companies receive the highly coveted Lion trophy, a global
benchmark of creative excellence, for Film, Print, Outdoor,
Interactive, Radio, Design, Product Design, Promo & Activation,
Film Craft, Mobile and Integrated advertising, as well as the best
Media, Direct, PR, Integrated, Creative Effectiveness, Creative
Data, Innovation, Entertainment and Music ideas. The Festival is
also the only truly global meeting place for advertisers,
advertising and communication professionals. More than 15,000
delegates from 95 countries attend a week-long program of
exhibitions, screenings and talks by worldwide thought leaders. As
the networking and learning opportunity of the year, Cannes Lions
is the must-attend event for anyone involved in brand
communications.
About Ketchum
Ketchum is a leading global
communications firm with operations in more than 70 countries
across six continents. The winner of 19 Cannes Lions and an
unprecedented five PRWeek Campaign of the Year Awards,
Ketchum partners with clients to deliver strategic programming,
game-changing creative and measurable results that build brands and
reputations. For more information on Ketchum, a part of the DAS
Group of Companies, visit www.ketchum.com.
About the DAS Group of Companies
The DAS Group of
Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC)
(www.omnicomgroup.com), is a global group of marketing services
companies. DAS includes over 200 companies in the following
marketing disciplines: specialty, PR, healthcare, CRM, events,
promotional marketing, branding and research. Operating through a
combination of networks and regional organizations, DAS serves
international, regional, national and local clients through more
than 700 offices in 71 countries.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cannes-lions-and-ketchum-announce-winners-of-2016-young-lions-marketers-competition-300290588.html
SOURCE Ketchum