If They Cannes, You Cannes: Past Young Lions Winners Ft. Rosie Stone

PSA: Entries for the 2019 Snapchat Young Lions Competition are closing this friday 29th march, so if you haven’t entered yet … it’s your final chance (you have to be in it to win it, as the saying goes!)

The competition covers three of the seven Young Lions categories including media, digital and marketer.

Now in its eleventh year, the Young Lions competition searches for the best young talent in the media, marketing and creative industries to represent Australia at the 2019 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativiy.

All entries will be assessed by a team of over 60 high profile industry judges, with successful entrants taking part in a second round 24-hour brief.

In order to help first-timers with their entries – or those who have entered before but want some insider tips from past winners – we’re running a new series on B&T: If They Cannes, You Cannes (we know, we’re so punny).

From advice about entering to tips for the live pitch and what Cannes is really like, we’ve got the inside scoop to help this year’s entrants put their best creative foot forward.

Today, we’re chatting with copywriter Rosie Stone. Check out what she had to say about the whole experience below!

When did you win/what category?

My competition partner, Tristan, and I won the 2018 Young Lions competition in the Digital category.

What advice would you give this year’s entrants about entering? Anything you’d wish you’d known when preparing your response? Any tips for the live pitch?

First and foremost, have fun. As much as it’s a competition and can be a bit stressful, Young Lions is a fantastic opportunity to have complete freedom over your creative response. Make the most of it and enjoy yourself.

Secondly, answer the brief. This sounds ridiculously obvious but it’s easy to panic and get off topic. Whatever your idea, keep referring back to the brief and make sure it answers what you’ve been asked to do.

Finally, take your time. 24 hours is tight but give yourself enough time to explore all your ideas equally before you begin to execute.

What was your experience at Cannes itself like? What can this year’s winners expect?

The work at Cannes is incredible. With the 24 hour brief and your panel presentation, you’ll spend a large chunk of your time competing but make sure you see the work. While the speakers are great, my number one recommendation would be to attend as many of the “Inside the Jury Room” sessions as you can.

These are sessions where the judges from each category discuss the work, what they were looking for and why which pieces won what they did. It’s an invaluable experience and will help inform the way you think about creating your own (hopefully award-winning) work.

Have you been back to Cannes since Young Lions and how was the experience different or similar?

Since it’s been less than a year so…no, I haven’t been back. But my liver’s almost recovered from the Audio Network pool party, so I’m ready to go again.

How important is Cannes Young Lions for the industry?

Giving young people the opportunity to attend undoubtedly the biggest event in our industry and immerse themselves outstanding work is really important.

It helps make better creatives, who’ll create better work and which will ultimately better the creative output of Australia.

Plus, flights to Europe are real pricey so anything that gives you a free ride to fancy-town should be protected at all costs.

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Cannes Young Lions Rosie Stone