The four winners of the #IAATicketToCannes 2016 competition by the IAA UAE Chapter were awarded at a networking evening held at its premises in Dubai Media City.
Though the competition, the UAE Chapter reached out to young industry professionals in a bid to help them broaden their horizons at the advertising industry’s most prestigious festival. Through social media, the IAA UAE Chapter invited working professionals, 30 years and younger from a UAE based advertising, marketing or media industry to ‘campaign their way to Cannes’ by sharing a video showing why they deserve to go to the industry’s most respected festival. Participants were asked to submit their entries on the IAA UAE Chapter’s Facebook page using the hashtag #UAELions2016.
The winners for this year are Ameya Gupta, Junior Editor, Serena Digital; Carla Lazkani, Assistant Brand Development Manager, Lipton North Africa and Middle East- Unilever; Razan Jalloul, Account Manager, FP7 Dubai and Georges Jamous, Digital Media Planner, PHD Worldwide were selected based on their originality, creativity, passion and personal investment.
A career-making opportunity, the winners of #IAATicketToCannes not only win return flights to Cannes, accommodation for the week, and passes to Cannes Lions 2016, they will also be enrolled in the Young Lions Academies.
“With the industry becoming so dynamic and so many new fields coming to light, it’s never been more important to ensure that young talent has the facility and support to learn and grow. The #IAATicketToCannes not only makes young advertisers mine their own creativity and originality to further their careers, it gives them a chance to learn from the best minds in the industry and apply that learning in the local market. The four winners stood apart because of their creative approach and their ability to elicit an emotional connection with their campaign. We wish them an exciting, enjoyable and fruitful week in Cannes,” said Hani Ghorayeb, President, IAA UAE Chapter while announcing the winners.
“It’s exciting and encouraging to witness the growing interest in nurturing this region’s young talent so we can inspire and positively impact the world of marketing and advertising. I’m eagerly looking forward to the magic that I am about to experience at the Cannes Lions!” said Ms Lazkani, one of the winners.