Cannes Lions and Ketchum Announce Winners of 2017 Young Lions Marketers Competition

CANNES, France, June 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Virginia Bond Núñez Horcajadas and María Isabel Ortiz Ortega of Shiseido in Spain won the Gold Lion in the eighth-annual Young Lions Marketers Competition at the 64th annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Sponsored by Ketchum, this year's competition challenged 24 teams of young, in-house marketers from around the world to develop a creative brief for a product or service that would benefit the International Rescue Committee, which responds to humanitarian crises with aid for people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict or disaster. Competitors presented their communication plans to a panel of industry leaders, which was led by Karen Strauss, partner and chief strategy and creativity officer for Ketchum.

Núñez Horcajadas and Ortiz Ortega developed the winning brief to win Gold. Ortiz Ortega said of the campaign brief, "Being creative actually changes lives. It is amazing how powerful we can be with our daily work." Núñez Horcajadas added, "We put a lot of passion into the project and the briefing. We really believe in the cause and we are really engaged in the issue. It was such a privilege to be a part of this week, even if we didn't win it would have already been a prize."

The team from India, Hindustan Unilever's Sachit Handa and Vikram Sashi Mohan, won Silver, and Bronze went to the team from Portugal, Unicer's Mário Alves and José Silva.

Silva said of the competitive challenge, "We learned how to work differently and achieve business goals along with a social cause, so it's completely new ground for us. We believe in the idea, and we know this is a cause that needs to be drawn into the spotlight."

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 one-page written brief and short presentation to the judging panel. In addition to Strauss, the Young Lions Marketers Competition jury included Alastair Cotterill, head of creative and brand strategy at Pinterest, Andrés Ordóñez, chief creative officer at Energy BBDO, and Patricia Dimichele, development manager at Procter & Gamble. The winning teams received their trophies at the Young Lions Marketers Competition award ceremony on Saturday, June 24.

"We saw so much imagination and heart in the ideas that each Young Marketers team proposed to create a more welcoming attitude toward refugees worldwide," Strauss said of the judging. "The teams wrote briefs with tremendous insights and emotion, and the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners provided such powerful ideas that I'm hoping the International Rescue Committee seriously considers implementing one or more of the campaigns."

Additional participants in this year's competition hailed from Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Finland, Georgia, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Sri Lanka, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.

This is the seventh year Ketchum has sponsored the Young Lions Marketers Competition. In addition to its sponsorship, the firm hosted a live panel on the main stage on June 19 – "Classic Hollywood Meets the YouTube Generation: Who Are Fans Following?" featuring Laura Dern and Grace Helbig. On June 21, Ketchum hosted a panel with the editor of Fast Company, which explored the existence and causes of a creative echo chamber, based on the findings of a survey of 500 creatives. In addition, Ketchum representatives posted their insights and observations from the festival on the agency's #InspiredbyCannes hub.

About the 64th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, June 17 to 24, 2017, 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 45 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 Omnicom Public Relations Group, 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.

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SOURCE Ketchum