Ketchum Sponsors Cannes Young Lions Marketers Competition for Third Consecutive Year

NEW YORK, June 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ketchum, one of the world's leading communications firms, returns as the exclusive global sponsor of the Young Lions Marketers Competition during the 60th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, to be held June 16 to 22 in Cannes, France. This is the third year that Ketchum has sponsored the competition. In addition, David Gallagher, senior partner and CEO of Ketchum's European operations and chairman of its London office, has been selected by the Cannes leadership for the prestigious role of serving as president of this year's PR Lions jury.

"We are proud to partner with the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity again this year to help celebrate and encourage what our clients ask of us and what has been the cornerstone of our agency for 90 years – creative, break through work that delivers meaningful business outcomes," said Rob Flaherty, senior partner and CEO of Ketchum. "Cannes is the pinnacle event for brand marketers, so it is critical that public relations be present and recognized for the increasingly central role it plays within today's marketing mix."

Established in 2010, the Young Lions Marketers Competition is designed to recognize young talented "in-house" marketers, age 30 or under, working for client companies in 23 countries around the world. The Young Marketers have the opportunity to showcase their ideas in front of industry leaders, including chief marketing officers from top global companies, attending the Cannes Lions Festival.

Local competitions are currently being held to identify two Young Lions Marketers contestants from each of the participating countries. Local winners then head to Cannes where they are given two days to produce a creative brief on a product or service, the topic of which is not revealed until competition day. A panel of leading communications strategists and creatives, led by Jerry Olszewski, Ketchum senior partner and chief client officer, will judge the contest, and Gold medals will be presented to the winners at an awards ceremony on Friday, June 21. Gold medal winners also receive free registration and accommodations to the 61st annual Cannes Lions Festival in 2014.

Said Flaherty: "At Ketchum, we believe the creative brief is one of the most important and powerful tools that guides the client and agency relationship."

Participants in this year's competition include the following:

ARGENTINA
Greta Gallo, Coca-Cola
Juan Pablo Santos, Coca-Cola

AUSTRALIA
Laura Bindon, Capital Dynamics
Tim Seow, Royal Automobile Club of Victoria

AUSTRIA
Philipp Schutzl, LAOLA1
Andrew Swann, LAOLA1

BELARUS
Natalia Safonova, FE Velcom
Yelizaveta Syrokvash, FE Velcom

BRAZIL
Nathaly Ortega, BRF
Jader Silveira, FIAT

CANADA
Sahar Jamal, Reckitt Benckiser
Michelle Yee, TELUS

CHINA
Li Qing, Interactive Internet Advertising Committee of China
Su Riga, Interactive Internet Advertising Committee of China

COSTA RICA
Nohelia Alfaro, Grupo Q (Hyundai)
Juan Jose Altmann, Florida Ice & Farm Company

DENMARK
Sofie Hallas, DMJX
Rie Sloth Rasmussen, DMJX

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Yasser Marmol, Banco Popular
Maria Elena More, T-Pago

FINLAND
Kaisa Kivioja, Danone Finland
Leeni Lappalainen, Danone Finland

GUATEMALA
Luis Pedro Estrada Rojas, independent marketing consultant
Jose Antonio Figueroa Estrada, independent marketing consultant

JAPAN
Yuwa Kaneda, Yahoo
Takaki Kobayashi, Yahoo

NORWAY
Kaia Gudem Furumo, Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA
Peter Kjos Utengen, Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA

THE PHILIPPINES
Ma. Concepcion Arcilla, Johnson & Johnson
Rozelle Anne Noriega, Johnson & Johnson

POLAND
Aleksandra Czarnowska, Maspex Wadowice Group
Piotr Tytyk, Maspex Wadowice Group

PORTUGAL
Teresa Sofia Cruz, Calheiros Cruz Wines
Ana Teresa Siopa, Activo Bank

ROMANIA
Ioana Bunghez, Unilever
Ruxandra Elena Ionescu, Unilever

RUSSIA
Anastasia Khakilidi, Adobe Systems
Irina Smolina, Adobe Systems

SPAIN
Laura Gonzalvo Bas, SEUR
Gerard Doblas Hernarejos, PepsiCo

SRI LANKA
Hiruni Shermila Mendis, Etisalat Lanka
Lakshita Wayan Wijesinghe, Etisalat Lanka

TURKEY
Seyran Dogan, Vodafone Turkey
Almula Soylem, Vodafone Turkey

VIETNAM
Thanh Thuy Nguyen, Keppel Land International
Thi Trieu Thanh Nguyen, Keppel Land International

Related Activities at Cannes

The Cannes Creativity Festival is generally viewed as the pinnacle event of the annual awards season and has rapidly become of great importance to public relations agencies since the PR Lions competition was introduced in 2009. This year, Ketchum's David Gallagher has been awarded the honor of serving as the president of the PR Lions jury.

On his role as PR Lions jury president, Gallagher said: "I'm honored to take part in selecting the very best of our creative efforts from around the world. The PR Lions allow us to recognize programs that meet a business objective, put forth a big idea based on a real insight, are executed across the best platforms, and have results that are measurable."

"We on the jury want to know the work made a genuine difference to the clients' business and – whenever possible – to humanity," he added.

In keeping with that philosophy, on June 21 the World Economic Forum, with support from the Ad Council and Ketchum, will unveil a new online resource at Cannes called Creative for Social Good. It is designed to share worldwide best practices in pro-social campaigns in an effort to increase both the quantity and effectiveness of social marketing and communications efforts globally. Directed at novice and experienced social campaigners, the platform has the potential to create great cultural change and move the needle on pressing social issues.

"Cannes is far more than a competition," said Gallagher. "It's about learning from the other marketing disciplines who are present and seizing this unique moment in time to share valuable curated and original content with our clients, colleagues and partners."

In addition, during the Festival, Ketchum CEO Rob Flaherty will moderate a panel discussion focused on Creativity in the Conversation Economy on Tuesday, June 18.  Co-sponsored by the Holmes Report, the panel includes Kelly Vanasse, VP of communications for Procter & Gamble, and Tom Scott, director of global brand and innovation for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Ketchum team onsite at Cannes also will share their insights and observations during the Cannes Lions Festival through the agency's Cannes*ectivity blog. Cannes*ectivity, which was introduced last year, is the umbrella brand under which all Ketchum content from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will be shared. Starting on June 12 and continuing through the end of the Festival, Cannes*ectivity will comprise daily emails, blog posts, and social media posts on Ketchum's social networks – Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Those interested in following the news can sign up at http://www.ketchum.com/cannes-2013.

Ketchum has been invested in the Cannes Lions Festival since 2009. Each year since the introduction of the PR Lions in 2009, a Ketchum representative has served on the PR Lions jury. In 2009, Ketchum won one of the first-ever Cannes PR Lions for its "Haagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees" campaign, and in 2011, Philips and OneVoice, a consortium of Omnicom public relations agencies led by Ketchum and Fleishman-Hillard, were honored with a Silver PR Lion for its "Parallel Lines" campaign.

About the Young Lions Marketers Competition

Ketchum is the exclusive global sponsor of the Young Lions Marketers Competition at the 60th Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, June 16 to 22 in Cannes, France. The competition is designed to celebrate creativity and recognize young talented "in-house" marketers, age 30 or under, from around the world. The 23 participating countries are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, Guatemala, Japan, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Vietnam.

About Ketchum

Ketchum is a leading global communications firm with operations in more than 70 countries across six continents. Named 2012 PR Agency of the Year (PRWeek) 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 part of Diversified Agency Services, a division of Omnicom Group Inc., visit www.ketchum.com.

About Diversified Agency Services

Diversified Agency Services (DAS), a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), manages Omnicom's holdings in a variety of marketing communications disciplines. DAS includes over 200 companies, which operate through a combination of networks and regional organizations, serving international and local clients through more than 700 offices in 71 countries.

SOURCE Ketchum