Cannes Lions and Ketchum Announce Winners of 2016 Young Lions Marketers Competition

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.

SOURCE Ketchum

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