Cannes Young Lions Competition Kicks Off in Georgia

At the qualifying stage of Cannes Young Lions Competition, more than 200 young creative people and marketers are fighting for the chance to represent Georgia in four categories: Marketing, Print, Design and Cyber. Now is the active stage of the competition and the winners will be announced after April 18th.

The organizers of the Georgian selection say that the essence of the competition is to close all participants in the same room for the whole day to work on a specific task. In the Marketing competition, young specialist are expected to produce a two-page brief that would be presented to a communications agency. In the print competition, an art director and a copywriter have to create a print ad. The Design competitors have to create a logo while the Cyber competition asks a copywriter and a web designer to create an online campaign.

The first stage of the qualifying round was held on April 9 and 10 and will continue on April 16 and 17 after which a jury of 30 people, made up of foreign and local experts, will identify four teams of two in each category, which in June will go to the Young Lions Competitions in Cannes – the largest gathering worldwide of advertising professionals, designers, digital innovators and marketers under 30 years old.

Georgia is taking part in the competition for the second time and, in contrast to the first year, the country is already fighting in more categories. “Last year we presented in only one category – Design and got good results,” said Ako Akhalaia, representative of the festival in Georgia. “Later, we were able to get a prize at a second big advertising competition, the ‘Eurobest European Advertising Festival.’ After that, the organizers of Cannes recognized the pool of potential talent in Georgia and allowed us to send experts in three more categories.”

Akhalaia also added that leading advertising agencies and marketers of Georgia are participating in the qualifying round, which is already a great achievement. “Many participants emphasized that in one day they have to manage to do a job that usually takes them a few months. So even if they don’t win, it will still be a great experience for them,” he said.

The participation of Georgian specialists in the Young Lions Competitions enables to the country and local companies to promote themselves at both a national and international level. “The participants of the contest claim to be the best in their field. And I’m sure they really are and the winners will be honored to represent the country at Cannes,” said Dimitry Kumsishvili, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia during the launch of the qualifying round. “It is well known that advertising and marketing in particular is one of the major driving forces of the economy. Therefore, this competition is very significant for us,” the Minister added.

Eka Karsaulidze