Emma Wilson and Kyle Schouw, designers from the RichardsDee branding agency, took their place on the global stage as they were awarded a gold medal for Team Ireland in the design category of the Young Lions competition. It is the first time Ireland has ever taken home gold in the Young Lions in its’ 23 year history. Ireland was represented at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival by 90 delegates in all, out of a total of 17,000 visitors to the Cote d’Azur.
Young Lions are aged under 30 and work in the creative industries. After competing in national heats, the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI) brought 14 young Lions to compete in print, PR, film, social, media, design, young marketers. The 23 teams in the design category received a brief from UN Women and were given just 24 hours to create a brand identity campaign. It was then presented to the jury panel.
The winning design will now go into global production for UN Women. IAPI president Aidan Greene, said the institute’s commitment to the Cannes Young Lions competition had grown exponentially over the past three years. Greene said Irish marketers must put creativity at the heart of their businesses. It starts with inspiring young talent to be creatively brave, irrespective of discipline or role. The Irish gold shows the exceptional ability in the industry.
Wilson said the Young Lions had been a fantastic experience. “As an active and passionate feminist, to discover that we would be briefed by UN Women to tackle their challenging sub-brand and campaign brand architecture was a dream for me,” Wilson said. “As the project progressed, I learned that I had a wealth of knowledge to draw from and I’m beyond thrilled to have won.” Wilson and Schouw will get complimentary passes for next year’s festival.
Kyle Schouw and Emma Wilson are pictured with IAPI president Aidan Greene
For the winning submissions, visit http://iapi.ie/canneslions/irelands-young-lions-winners.html
