Jimi McGrath, CEO, Droga5 Dublin ; Orla Kinsella, Awards Senior Product and Research Manager, LIONS Advisory; Conor Stewart, Senior Development Advisor for the Commercial Creative Sector, Enterprise Ireland and Charley Stoney, CEO, IAPI. (Photo: Aidan Oilver Photography)
IAPI kicked off its 2024 Irish Young Lions competition this week with an event that was attended by over 220 industry professionals in the Light House Cinema.
Teams will compete in the national heats in Ireland in February and March 2024, with the seven winning teams proceeding to represent Ireland at the Global Young Lions taking place in Cannes between June 16-22. This year’s categories are Film, Design, Media, Digital, PR and Young Marketers.
The launch event featured presentations from Cannes Lions as well as a panel discussion with category sponsors and advertising professionals.
IAPI announced Enterprise Ireland was one of the key sponsors this year and Conor Stewart, senior development advisor for the commercial creative sector, Enterprise Ireland, kicked off the event with an introduction to its involvement in the programme this year.
Speaking about the partnership Conor O’Donovan, head of global marketing communications, Enterprise Ireland said: “Enterprise Ireland is delighted to support the IAPI Young Lions Competition which gives emerging Irish creative talent the chance to showcase their skills on an international stage. The Creative Industries account for almost 10% of national employment and the advertising sector generates over €1.2bn for the Irish economy. We look forward to working the sector to support their internationalisation, promoting Irish creative services excellence to international partners and collaborating on the implementation of the Digital Creative Industries Roadmap, recently published by Government.”
Charley Stoney added: “This event marks the beginning of our journey with Enterprise Ireland who have dedicated resource to mobilise the Irish Commercial Creativity and Communications industry. With the publication this week of the Creative Industries Roadmap, there has never been a better time to have their support and resources behind us. IAPI and Enterprise Ireland want to build better Connections, further Capability and increased Confidence within the industry. I am so proud to continue to support all those that represent us at an international level as Team Ireland and especially highly talented and ambitious Young Lions.”
The event also featured a keynote presentation by Orla Kinsella, awards senior product and research manager, LIONS Advisory taking the audience on a deep dive of the Cannes Lions 2023 Creativity Digest and looking at emerging trends and features of last year’s winning work.
The panel discussion featuring category sponsors – Jimi McGrath, CEO, Droga5 Dublin; Amy Tumelty, head of social media, Aer Lingus; Lorcan Hanlon, chief commercial & revenue officer, The Business Post; Sinead Gill, PR & communications manager, Smurfit Kappa and IAPI’s programme director, Katherine Ryan- provided attendees with insights into the details of the competition and offered tips on crafting compelling entries.
“The Young Lions competition gives young creatives in Ireland an opportunity to share their work on a global stage. We are very much looking forward to witnessing the talent of the next generation of creative leaders at the competition in February, and to have the privilege of bringing them to the Cannes Lions Festival in June,” said Amy Tumelty, head of social media, Aer Lingus.
Max Brady, Executive Producer, Pull the Trigger added: “As always, Pull The Trigger are excited and proud to be part of IAPI’s Cannes Young Lions. The competition is always a joyous event in our year. Seeing the passion and creativity of the younger community in our industry is inspiring and encouraging. Every year our young creatives turn in fabulous work, that makes us think and consider new lenses applied to communication issues. I want to thank Katherine, Shreesha, Charley and all the IAPI team for continuing to support the competition and our involvement. Good luck to all entrants – we look forward to your work.”
This year’s sponsors are Enterprise Ireland, Droga5 Dublin, Sky Ireland, Pull the Trigger, Business Post, Smurfit Kappa and Aer Lingus.
For detailed information on the 2024 Cannes Young Lions competition, including entry guidelines, registration, and deadlines, visit the IAPI website HERE.
