Cannes Lions and Ketchum Announce Participants of Young Marketers Competition

CANNES, France and NEW YORK, June 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Following local competitions in 17 countries, 34 talented young marketers have been selected to participate in the second annual Young Marketers Competition at the 58th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity currently taking place in Cannes, France. Leading public relations agency Ketchum is the exclusive sponsor of the competition, which recognizes in-house marketers, age 30 or under, from around the world and gives them the opportunity to showcase their work in front of industry leaders at the festival.

"The participants of this competition represent marketing's rising stars, and Ketchum is proud to support these talented young professionals as they develop strategies to meet business objectives in creative, meaningful ways," said Raymond L. Kotcher, senior partner and CEO of Ketchum.

The competition challenge was revealed on Wednesday, June 22, when teams were given 30 hours to produce a creative brief on a product or service. The contest will be judged by leading creatives and strategists. Gold medals will be presented to the winners at an Integrated Awards Ceremony on Saturday, June 25.

Participants in this year's competition include the following:

Austria
Gerold Ebner, Orange Austria Telecommunication Ltd.
Wolfgang Mader, Orange Austria Telecommunication Ltd.

Belarus
Darya Borovskaya, Heineken Breweries Belarus
Alena Koleson, Heineken Breweries Belarus

Brazil
Joanna Moura, Vivo
Andre Sabo, Sadia

Chile
Macarena Moralez Ojeda, Kimberly-Clark Chile
Estefania Beltran Ortega, Kimberly-Clark Chile

Colombia
Juan Martin Concha, General Motors
Maria Carolina Gomez, General Motors

Dominican Republic
Anapaula Gomez Gonzalez, Dicca
Dulce Josefina Garcia Pereyra, Chick & Pox

Finland
Annika Mesimaki, Fiskars Garden EMEA
Christoffer Ronnblad, McDonald's Finland

India
Mukesh Pawar, Hindustan Unilever Ltd.
Tanmay Prusty, ITC Kolkata

Italy
Enrico Ferigolli, Unilever
Anastasia Pittini, Unilever

Poland
Ewelina Lozowska, RWE Polska S.A.
Anna Seemann, RWE Polska S.A.

Portugal
Lissa Sarconi Fedrizzi, Shift Thinkers
Giovana Orlandeli, Arc Worldwide

Spain
Jordi Guitart, Danone S.A.
Mariana Trevino, IKEA Iberica S.A.

The Philippines
Justine Ferrer, Del Monte PANA
Angeline Go, Del Monte PANA

Turkey
Ekin Ertemiz, Avea
Melis Ozbek, Avea

United Kingdom
Katie Littleton-Sanders, Optimum Releasing
Llewellyn Radley, Optimum Releasing

United States
Lee Meyers, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies
Kirsten Smith, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies

Vietnam
Nguyen Hoai Vu, Unilever Vietnam
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, Unilever Vietnam

The jury includes David Gallagher, Ketchum senior partner and president of Europe; Rachel Hatton, U.K. planning director for Ogilvy and Mather; and Eric Einhorn, global strategy director for McCann Worldwide.

In addition to Ketchum's sponsorship of the Young Marketers Competition, the agency's work with Philips as part of OneVoice, a consortium of Omnicom agencies led by Ketchum and Fleishman-Hillard, was awarded a Silver PR Lion at an awards ceremony held Monday in Cannes.

About the 58th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Cannes, France

The International Festival of Creativity – Cannes Lions – is the world's leading celebration of creativity in communications. As the most prestigious international annual advertising awards, over 24,000 entries from all over the world are showcased and judged at the Festival. Winning companies receive the highly coveted Lion trophy honoring the most creative film, print, outdoor, interactive, radio, film craft, design, sales promotion & activation and integrated advertising, as well as the best media, direct marketing, PR, titanium and creative effectiveness ideas. The Festival is also the only truly global meeting place for advertisers, advertising and communication professionals. Over 8,000 delegates from 95 countries attend seven days of exhibitions, screenings, as well as over 50 high-profile seminars, 30 workshops and master classes presented by renowned worldwide industry leaders. As the networking and learning opportunity of the year, Cannes Lions is the must-attend event for anyone involved in brand communication.

About Ketchum

Ketchum is a leading global communications firm with operations in more than 70 countries across six continents. Named 2010 Large PR Firm of the Year (Holmes Report and PR News) and the winner of an unprecedented three consecutive 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 unit of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC), visit www.ketchum.com.

SOURCE Ketchum