Lions League Radio Workshop Holds in Lagos May 31

Chini Productions, official representatives of Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in Nigeria have announced May 31 as the date for the 2010 radio workshop in the Lions League series. The workshop titled “Creating Radio in a Plasma Screen World” will take place in Lagos. The workshop will be conducted by Tony Hertz, an internationally acclaimed radio writer, director and teacher. Tony Hertz is known for his passion for radio. He is Cannes Lions Radio Jury member 2005 and 2010. He also conducted workshops at Cannes in 2006 and 2007 and Eurobest in 2008. The acclaimed radio guru was the Jury President of Golden Drum in 2004 as well as the Radio Jury President for AdFest (Asia-Pacific) in 2007. Among his numerous accolades are the D&AD Radio Gold and Silver.

”Creating Radio in a Plasma Screen World” is designed to show agencies and advertisers how to use their visual orientation in a sound medium because advertising has become almost 100% visual, and the age-old dictum, Make Pictures in Sound simply doesn’t mean much.

The Workshop is a full, interactive 2-day programme. The first day is on 31st May 2010 followed by a break on the second day to enable participants prepare materials for the production day which is on the 2^nd of June. In-between the two workshop days, Tony Hertz plans to have a lecture specially designed for clients. The goal of the lecture is to impart knowledge that will improve working relationship between agency and client personnel in the process of creating radio commercials.

The workshop covers three interlocking elements - Creating Radio, Communicating (Selling Radio Ideas) as well as Producing and Directing. Creating Radio includes topics like: “The Secret to finding radio ideas”, “Adapting TV/Print/Outdoor Concept” and “Writing believable dialogue”. In Communicating Radio Hertz will discuss The Secret Killer of radio ideas”, “Different and effective ways to present radio”, “How to help scripts survive the client corridors” and “Making sure everyone’s buying the same commercial”.

In Producing and Directing, participants will learn how to choose the best voice actors, how to avoid the usual suspect voices and how to find talent and carry out effective auditions, the 7 secrets of directing actors, how to direct children and how to work with sound engineers in the studio and also how to use sound and music to great advantage.

The participants will have hands on session in groups of about 3 – 5 where they will be given briefs to tackle. According to Tony Hertz, “the workshop is ideal for mixed disciplines and creative, account, clients work amazingly well together.”

Lions League is a series of events, workshops, seminars and publications initiated by Chini Productions as a vehicle for leveraging on the partnership with Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival to promote skill development in the Nigerian Advertising and Marketing Communications industry.

BURSARIES FOR THE CANNES CREATIVE LEADERS PROGRAMME AWARDED TO LATVIA, NIGERIA & VIETNAM

The three Cannes Creative Leaders Programme bursaries, awarded to professionals working in the industry based in one of the 151 countries that have never previously won a Cannes Gold Lion, have been granted to:

Vairis Strazds, Creative Director of DDB in Riga, Latvia; Akinpelu Adesola, Managing Director and Chief Creative Officer of The Newton Project Room Ltd in Lagos, Nigeria; and David Smail, Executive Creative Director, BBDO in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Selected from more than 50 applicants, Vairis Strazds, Akinpelu Adesola and David Smail will enjoy a complimentary place on the Cannes Creative Leaders Programme joining fellow participants on the two-week module taking place in Berlin and Cannes in June 2010. During the first week, participants will be based at the Berlin School, one of the world's leading creative training institutions, which has built a global reputation with its innovative Executive MBA programme to help creative industry executives lead for excellence in their organisations. There they will engage in six days of intensive training from the Berlin School's professors after which they will relocate to Cannes during the Festival week, where the course continues with bespoke sessions, group projects, speeches and lectures as well as the use of Cannes Lions' incredible array of workshops, master-classes and seminars. All facilities of the full week in Cannes will be available to the participants, including all Festival content, exhibitions, screenings, award shows and galas.

“We had a phenomenal response to the bursaries, so the selection process wasn’t easy, but we believe that the successful three candidates were the most deserving,” said Philip Thomas, Festival CEO. “They will benefit from the unique and fantastic opportunity that the Cannes Creative Leaders Programme offers to anybody in the industry who wish to perfect their creative leadership strategy skills to produce creative excellence,” he continued.

Clark Parsons, Managing Director of Berlin School of Creative Leadership, commented, “As we move ever further into the digital age, the means of communicating, associating, buying and selling are clearly shifting. In establishing the Cannes Creative Leadership Programme, Cannes Lions and the Berlin School of Creative Leadership aim to help participants to become even more effective leaders at shaping the future for the industry, their organisation and themselves.”

There are a few spaces left for the Cannes Creatives Leaders Programme which costs €7950, and includes all tuition fees over the two weeks, a Cannes Lions full week delegate registration and lunches. Flights, accommodation, incidentals and other meals are not included. Class size is planned at circa 30 places.

For more information click on http://www.canneslions.com/festival/creative_leaders_programme.cfm
Interested parties need to apply to cannesleaders@berlin-school.com. A brief written submission will be required.

Winners emerge for Nigeria Young Lions, Roger Hatchuel Academy

The Young Lions Competition which began on Wednesday, 7th of April was concluded on Saturday, 10th of April 2010 with teams from the following ad agencies and media independents emerging as winners in the various categories. The team of Plumptre Yanju and Okonkwo Jideobi Christopher of DDB Lagos emerged as winners in the Cyber category. MediaReach OMD’s Ufelle Ogechukwu Joy and Okeleke Isioma became winners in the Media category. The film category was won by TBWA\Concept’s team of Okeke Nnenna and Ndubuisi, while141 Worldwide’s team of Olabode Ojomo and Chris Ogunlowo clinched the Print category. All the winners will represent Nigeria in their various categories during the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in June. DDB Lagos is producing a team to represent Nigeria in the competition for the 3rd consecutive year, while MediaReach is presenting teams for the second time. TBWA/Concept and 141 Worldwide are winning the ticket to send teams to represent Nigeria in the prestigious Cannes Lions Festival for the first time.

The various teams tackled briefs presented by Hope Worldwide Nigeria to develop communication strategies and concepts to drive their intervention services to Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in various Nigerian communities. The verdict for the Media Competition was presented by Jayne Okonkwo, General Manager, Media Integra, while Tunde Ojo, Managing Director, Touchstone Advertising, presented the verdict for the creative categories.

In a similar development, Emmanuel Otega Eferobor of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos won the contest in the Roger Hatchuel Academy Category. He will now represent Nigeria in the high profile Roger Hatchuel Academy class organized for international students during the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. With this winning he will get an all-expense paid trip to Cannes, France for the event as well as $500 pocket money courtesy of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON). The Advertising and PR Department of the Lagos State University produced the first runner-up, Odeyemi Abisola Alaba and the second runner-up came from the Department of Mass Communication, Novena University. However, all the participants received consolation prizes courtesy of the organizers, Chini Productions, the official representatives of Cannes Lions in Nigeria. The Mass Communication Department of the University of Lagos is producing a winner in this event for the second time.

Before the quiz segment of the programme that produced the winner, the participants who came from universities across the country, received seminars presented by various advertising professionals. Nnamdi Ndu, Cannes Lions Representative, gave an overview of the Cannes Lions Festival and Roger Hatchuel Academy, Akpo Daniyan, Communication Manager at Etisalat and author of I Have an Idea spoke on Client/Agency Relationship, Uche Nworah, a brand scholar and Outdoor Communication Manager of Globacom gave a lecture titled Between School And Practice In Nigerian Advertising and the Functions Of Various Departments In An Ad Agency. Other speakers at the programme were Joe Onuorah, Head of Education at APCON whose seminar topic was: An Introduction to APCON, Functions and Processes. Paul Ugoagwu, Creative Consultant and former Creative Director STB McCann delivered a seminar titled: What does it take to work in the Creative Department? Qualities of a Copywriter, Art Director and Creative Director. To round up the seminar presentation was a dramatic presentation by Colin Morris, Executive Creative Director LTC/JWT on New Media and the Social Networks. The programme ended with the presentation of certificates to participants and prizes to the winners.

It’s a positive sign that more companies are sending teams to Cannes this year and I hope they will come back with medals. But beyond winning, the experience that they’re about to have will literally transform their lives, they will gain such insights and learning about advertising that nothing else can give them and above all, especially now that our image has been so dented, these nine young men and women for one week in the full glare of the world media will be painting a different picture of the Nigerian youth.

Young Lions Competition in Nigeria Kicks Off

Young Lions Competition in Nigeria started Wednesday 7th of April 2010 with a briefing session by the client, HOPE Worldwide, to intimate participants on the tasks that lay ahead of them. In the yearly tradition of the Young Lions Competition, Hope Worldwide was named as the charity of the year. The organization, whose identity remained secret until the briefing session, was represented at the event by Mr. Steve Emeh, Head of Communications and Public Affairs and Mr. Ola Ayemona, Logistics Officer. Also present at the session were several journalist from various media houses in Nigeria.

Mr. Emeh told the competitors that “HOPE worldwide Nigeria is an International non-governmental and not-for-profit charity that is part of the HOPE worldwide global network presently in over seventy nations and two hundred cities. He said that HOPE Worldwide provides holistic intervention services to Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in various Nigerian communities.”

He went on to describe the tripartite strategy which brings together the community, funding agency or organization and HOPE worldwide Nigeria and emphasized the need to retain Orphan and Vulnerable Children within their immediate environment and with a care giver. He said that this strategy has been applauded globally as ‘best practice’ and has helped in no small measure in helping the Orphan or Vulnerable Child to grow up within a family ambiance, inculcating the necessary communal cultures, practices and traditions.

The participants are expected to come up with media strategy and advertising concepts and materials which will be donated to HOPE Worldwide to enable it achieve its campaign objectives. Agencies represented at the briefing session were DDB Lagos, TBWA\Concept, 141 Worldwide as well as Media Reach OMD and Capital Media. The materials created during the competition will be judged by the creative jury headed by Mr. James McTavish, Executive Creative Director of Insight Communications and media jury headed by Mr. Tolu Ogunkoya, Managing Director of MediaReach OMD on Saturday 10th of April 2010. The winners from each category namely: Media, Film, Cyber and Print will represent Nigeria in the various categories during the 2010 Cannes Lions Festival in June.

Also taking place on the 10th of April is the Lions League Workshop and Seminars, Exhibition and Screening of Winning ads from 2009 Cannes Lions and the Roger Hatchuel Lions Academy which is being organized by Chini Productions, official Cannes Lions representatives in Nigeria in collaboration with the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON). Students from several universities across Nigeria studying advertising related courses are expected to be at the programme. There will be a quiz segment of the programme where the winner will qualify to represent Nigeria at the Roger Hatchuel Academy session holding in France during the 2010 Cannes Lions Festival in June.