National CineMedia Launches 2024 Young Lions Competition

National CineMedia (NCM) is hoping to attract even more talent to the Cannes Young Lions program as it kicks off its 2024 competition as the U.S. Representative of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Registration begins today and is open through Feb. 2 for advertising, marketing and communications industry professionals who were born on or after June 21, 1993. The categories for the 2024 competition are digital, film, media, PR and print. The competition runs from Feb. 8 through Feb. 20, with judging by industry professionals taking place in March and April. The winners in each of the five categories will become Team USA and head to Cannes in June to compete with teams from all over the globe at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. In 2024, NCM, the largest cinema advertising platform, looks to foster diversity, equity and inclusion by continuing its Young Lions campaign, “Represent!,” to strengthen participation and further elevate young, diverse professionals. In addition, the organization has added both mentorship and advisors programs to better equip young professionals, and the organization has added new sponsors—Delta Air Lines as a travel partner and Monotype as the print category sponsor. “In 2024 we are doubling down on our growth strategy for the Young Lions competition,” said Amy Tunick, chief marketing officer at NCM. Palak Kapadia from Amazon Brand Innovation Lab and Catarina Barcala Gosende from MullenLowe took home the bronze prize at Cannes Young Lions last year. Tunick added that last year saw a 16% increase in applicants and this year looks to drive deeper engagement with the Young Lions community, including past and current participants, jurors and sponsors. Mentoring for better results Last year, the U.S. team fared well in the international creative competition for young professionals, scoring a bronze in the film category for the team of Palak Kapadia from Amazon Brand Innovation Lab and Catarina Barcala Gosende from MullenLowe. This year, NCM hopes the U.S. representatives take even more prizes. The Young Lions Mentorship Program is designed to give the Young Lions community exclusive content that helps them with their career development and learning. The organization brought on 10 partners, ranging from small agencies like Atlantic New York to larger agencies like McKinney and Mother, to brands including the Coca-Cola Company and Spotify, and nonprofits including The Creative Ladder and The Milken Institute. Each participating company will have top executives lead virtual workshops focusing on a range of relevant topics. For instance, Atlantic’s founders Marco Pupo and João Coutinho will talk about how great careers can be started at small independent agencies. ATTN, a media company that focuses on social good, will be about creators grabbing attention, while Spotify aims to show that there creatives can find inspiration in any brief. The second new program is Team USA Advisors, comprised of five senior level industry executives—one per competition category—who will share their expertise and guide the Young Lions winners as they prepare to compete on a global stage in Cannes. Senior advertising, marketing, communications and digital executives interested in joining this inaugural program can apply here through Feb. 20. Tunick told Adweek these programs were put into place so that when the participants get to Cannes, they have the best shot of Team USA scoring on the global stage. Gaining valuable experience Barcala and Kapadia took bronze for their short film, “The Lifelong Lesson.” The two had just 48 hours to pull together the creative for the client, Rocket Learning, and they managed to bring to life a tender 60-second film that shows that mothers in India are already practiced teachers through their mothering skills. That earned them the bronze prize in the film category. Barcala told Adweek that she and Kapadia benefited by being in Cannes due to the many talks, sessions and learning opportunities from creative leaders from around the world. “Being at Cannes, that's the goal of everyone when you start studying,” said Barcala, who suggested to potential Young Lions team members to take in everything Cannes has to offer, from the talks to the networking to making new friends. NCM and Creative Ladder Announce 2023 Cannes Young Lions Winners Barcala wants to get back to the competition this year, since the rules were changed so that previous winners can reapply, but she also has greater aspirations of some day getting to Cannes to impart her own wisdom. “I want to be there one day and be talking about something I'm passionate about. And that's something that was never my goal until last year,” she said. New sponsors NCM has brought on the first ever travel sponsor of the U.S. Young Lions competition, as Delta Air Lines will provide roundtrip flights to the competitors. “With a shared focus on identifying the best in their field and working with top talent, the U.S. Young Lions competition and Delta … will elevate these talented professionals to new heights and support them as they set out to achieve their goals in Cannes this summer,” said Shannon Womack, managing director of lifecycle marketing at Delta Air Lines. In addition, Monotype, a leader in type and technology, joins as the official print category sponsor. Returning category sponsors include Digitas (digital), Pereira & O’Dell (film), UM (media) and Weber Shandwick (PR). NCM has been a U.S. representative for Cannes for the last nine years, and Tunick said the sponsorship has been invaluable for the company and the industry. “Our role with Cannes Lions allows us to organically speak to literally every single player in the advertising, marketing and communications industry. We're mining it for the good of our business, and for the good of the overall industry,” said Tunick.