Young Lions

Ahead of the 2023 Young Lions Competitions in a few weeks’ time, we’re looking back at past competition winners and picking their brains on their Young Lions experience and tips and tricks they can share with this year’s competitors! We spoke to Tristan Bonnot-Parent (TBP), Digital Specialist, and Ana Matuk (AM) Media Design Assistant, both with Cossette Media during the competition, the winners of the 2022 Young Lions Competition in the Media Category. 

Tell us a bit about yourselves – who you are, where you work, and what you do (the 30-second elevator pitch!)

TBP: My name is Tristan and I am a performance analyst at Cossette Media in Montreal. I’ve always been fascinated by numbers and statistics. I have never been a big video game player but I often joke that I’m an Excel Gamer. I also have a passion for graphic design. On a daily basis, I mix these two passions to try to find ways to present and vulgarize my different analyses. I love to communicate, convince and pitch!

AM: From media planning to project management to what now? I joined the advertising world right after finishing my degree without really understanding what it was, frankly, I’m still figuring it out. I fell in love with the creativity I was surrounded by daily, the people I was working with, and the fact that the challenge never stops. I’ve always loved new beginnings, so after over a year in advertising I tried project management, which was not my cup of tea. I am currently on a professional break, traveling around and reflecting on what’s next, which will most definitely be back to basics, aka advertising.

What was the most rewarding or memorable moment about competing (either domestically or globally/virtually)?

TBP: The national competition was a roller coaster of emotion for us. We started the 24-hour with an idea that we thought was solid and that we loved. We had our noses stuck in it so much that we were convinced it was the best idea. Around midnight, we had a big second thought and realized that our big idea was not that great, that it was too complex, and that the wow factor was slowly disappearing as we detailed the idea. Even though we were completely discouraged, we did a complete 180 and went with a brand-new idea. We finished in the early hours of the morning. When we found out that this idea was going to take us all the way to Cannes, the first thing I thought was, “imagine if you had given up instead of starting over at midnight” I think that’s what makes the victory and the experience even more rewarding.

AM: The 12 hour nap after our sleepless night during the national competition. No, but honestly the most memorable moment is when we had an illumination around midnight on how the idea we were working on the whole day was not actually that good. We did a complete 180 and started from scratch and I’m so glad we did. That night, it was the nuit blanche in Montreal, we finished almost 24 hours after the beginning of the competition and took the first-morning metro to go back home. The train was full of people still partying which gave us a little FOMO, all worth it now.

How did being crowned Canadian gold winners change, if at all, your perspective or approach to work?

TBP: I don’t think it changes everything. I think it’s a tremendous professional and personal victory, but it was important for me to keep my feet on the ground and continue to focus on learning every day at work. Nevertheless, it’s a huge confidence boost and every time I think that I don’t have the experience or knowledge to bring my ideas to the table, I think about this victory and I tell myself that all ideas can go far. Sometimes even as far as Cannes…

AM: I would say it didn’t change that much for me except that I feel more confident about speaking my points of view despite my title/position. Other than that, I’m still young on the working market and I know that I have tons to learn. I listen, I learn and I try.

What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to YL Competitors heading into the competition weekend?

TBP: I think the first thing I would say is don’t “fall in love with an idea”. I think it’s super important to be able to step back and evaluate our ideas objectively. And that’s really hard, especially when you’ve been working on an idea for 12 hours straight. I would also say forget about your job title and experience. Young Lions is all about having the right idea at the right time and being able to communicate it effectively and there is no title or seniority that guarantees that. And that’s the beauty of Young Lions!

AM: I think the best part of the competition is that we’re not alone, being a team of two gives us a better perspective. Sometimes we are so deep in our heads/minds that we don’t question whether the idea is good or clear enough. I’d say keep challenging each other and your ideas even though you think it’s great. Also, give it your 100% and encourage your partner to continue, whether it’s your first or 9th-time competition – keep each other motivated. Last thing: don’t underestimate the power of the pitch.

Talk to us about your experience at the virtual Global Young Lions competition. What were some highlights? 

TBP: The experience at Global Young Lions was very similar to the national competition. The biggest difference is that we had the chance to see pitches from several other countries. As much as it is stressful and not necessarily fun to compare yourself, it is super enlightening. The other thing that was amazing about Global Young Lion was getting feedback from top people in agencies from all over the world and being able to learn from their experience and become better.

AM: The key to our National pitch, was the insight. In that sense, the Global competition was a little bit more challenging for us since we had to find an insight that was understood globally. Other than that, the national competition prepared us pretty well for what was coming, we elaborated a sort of “template” on what was important and we had lots of fun brainstorming ideas in a “smash or pass” kind of way. 

Ahead of the 2023 Young Lions Competitions in a few weeks’ time, we’re looking back at past competition winners and picking their brains on their Young Lions experience and tips and tricks they can share with this year’s competitors! We spoke to Omar Elmezaini (OE) and Kush Gandhi (KG), both Marketing Managers at PepsiCo, the winners of the 2022 Young Lions Competition in the Marketers Category. 

Tell us a bit about yourselves – who you are, where you work, and what you do (the 30-second elevator pitch!)

KG: I’m Kush Gandhi and work at PepsiCo Canada as a Customer Marketing Manager leading our Foodservice Customer Marketing team. Today, I’m responsible for bringing PepsiCo’s brands & strategies to life across the Foodservice channel. In my career, I’ve been fortunate to have a breadth of experiences like building upon Canadian-led brands like Miss Vickie’s & influencing iconic global brands like Doritos along with experiences across Shopper, Sports & Portfolio Marketing.

OE: My passion is telling compelling stories rooted in insights-based strategic plans. Throughout my career at PepsiCo, I’ve had the pleasure of applying this passion to the most iconic beverage brands including Pepsi, Gatorade, and Bubly. I currently lead the 7UP and Mtn Dew brands across Canada by building consumer-centric communication plans to drive brand equity and long-term growth.

As a multi-year competitor, what was your Young Lions experience like and how did it differ each time?

OE: The Young Lions competition is by far my favourite competition that I’ve participated in because it brings together the thing that any marketer needs to do really well (write compelling briefs!), and couples it with charitable organizations to drive awareness for a great social cause. Every year the competition poses a unique challenge as each charitable organization has its own mission and unique challenges to reach its target community. So the challenge is being able to identify a really powerful human insight that can bring the charity and your brand together and be a springboard for big creative ideas. When you have something that makes you go “wow I never thought about it like that”, that’s when you know you have something really powerful.

What was the most rewarding or memorable moment about competing (either domestically or globally/virtually)?

KG: The most rewarding part of the competition was definitely the opportunity to head to Cannes. As professionals still early in our careers it gave us an unparalleled opportunity to network with individuals who are all in Cannes searching for the same thing – inspiration. We were in a position to be inspired by the industry’s best, be envious of the work that wasn’t ours, and have pride in representing Canada on a global stage. Somehow, this was all packaged into a whirlwind 5-day trip.

OE: For me, the most memorable moment was definitely winning the Canadian competition! After many years of competing, I’ve had varying degrees of success, placing as a Finalist in 2018 and winning Bronze in 2020, so it was a very rewarding conclusion after many years of attempts to finally win Gold. Also, I can’t not mention being able to go to Cannes to compete globally and attend the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, it was an absolute blast!

How did being crowned Canadian gold winners change, if at all, your perspective or approach to work?

KG: The biggest shift in perspective for me was on realizing the amount of talent we have in the Canadian industry. With only 24 hours to put our skills to the test, it is a testament to the unequivocal talent that is growing up across organizations and agencies in Canada. After the competition and chatting with our cohort, we realized that the majority of competitors all had different interpretations of the brief leading to vastly different outputs. This was a great reminder for me that there never is a “right answer” to the work we do and that not limiting creativity and crafting a compelling story can be the difference maker, both in the competition and in our day-to-day jobs.

OE: The thing I learned the most from the competition is the power of deep and compelling human truth, that’s truly the start of breakthrough work. And although we’re all given the same case, it’s truly inspirational to see the breadth and variety of insights that can be uncovered as everyone brings their own unique experience and human perspective to the brief.

What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to YL Competitors heading into the competition weekend?

KG: Don’t play it safe &, take the risk. I believe we all stepped into a career in marketing & creativity for a reason and the Cannes competition is a way to disconnect from the realities of the day job and put the skills we work on every day to the test. The only true constraint is the amount of time you have. Knowing this, this is an opportunity to truly swing for the fences as long as you are able to succinctly communicate the idea and inspire the judges behind the vision. We found that by the time we figured out our idea, we were jumbled in our own thoughts and could only communicate the idea to ourselves… taking that step back, slowing down, and ensuring we could communicate the magic of our idea in the simplest story possible I believe was the difference maker for Omar and me.

OE: Be very purposeful with how you’re going to use the 24 hours that you have. Have a plan for how you want to start the day, it’s important to build in time for independent discovery and inspiration to really process and digest the case on your own before you get to work with your partner. Also, discuss with your partner how you want to structure the time between collaborative ideation to explore all your possible angles when developing the insight and idea, and when it’s smart to divide and conquer parts independently.

Talk to us about your experience at the virtual Global Young Lions competition. What were some highlights?

KG: The Global Young Lions competition was an absolute blast to participate in. Right from the kick-off, we felt the shift in the magnitude of the competition seeing 450 individuals all representing their home country and a hunger to win. The biggest highlight for me was the opportunity to share our ideas with a jury of executives leading global businesses and brands and understand the types of questions they ask, what they evaluate, and how they make decisions on great creative work. It gave us an opportunity to reach out following the competition and connect live in Cannes to learn, adapt, and adjust to continue to build on our own personal journey in the industry. At the end of the day, we are grateful for the opportunity to represent the Canadian flag and know that the legacy of Canada at the global competition is just getting started!

OE: It was an absolute honour to represent Canada on the global stage. The biggest highlight for me was being able to connect and build relationships with amazing marketers from across the globe. Every country and culture is unique, and that really came through in the submissions as every team brought their unique background to how they would execute in their markets. It was a great opportunity to connect and build networks with all of the other Young Lions!