The Young Lions U.S. Competition #FeelingFriday

This week I both hosted and judged parts of the U.S. Young Lions competition which is a chance for marketing talent under 30 to represent America at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in June. There are five categories where teams of two compete: Digital, PR, Print, Entertainment, and Film. Winners of each go on to compete internationally in Cannes, France. Our agency sponsored the Digital competition, and I was a judge in the PR category.

The brief was for a real client and a real challenge: raise funds for Save the Music, an organization fighting to keep music education alive in schools. There was no theory here and the clients were in the room, taking notes. It’s as real as it gets.

What I watched unfold was humbling. Each team tackled the challenge from their discipline and from different angles with different tools but all with the same mission. I marveled at the sharp insights, the clear strategies, and the tech-based creative approaches.

The presentations overall? Well beyond their years. Honestly, beyond where I was at their age, and I am not just being humble.

The clients told me afterward they heard ideas they want to try. Sold.

Most important is how much these folks have grown through the process. They honed their skills in how to build a plan, structure a narrative, and present to senior leaders. I watched it happen in real time.

And guess what, they taught me something too. I followed their thinking, their story structure, their presentation styles, and caught a trick or two that I'm carrying forward. That's the magic of mentorship … it flows both ways.

But just like music education in schools, we are losing this teaching and mentorship at work across industries.

When I started, training was a constant part of our day to day work life. For example, at Johnson & Johnson I attended “Advertising School” and learned how to write a creative brief from scratch. My managers taught me strategic planning, insight mining, and how to present complexity in mere minutes to get leadership approval for a key decision. The investment in young talent never stopped. Back then.

But then it slowly started to slow down. Budget cuts. Staffing reductions. The programs got stripped down across our entire business community. The world shifted.

So now it's on us, individually and collectively to lift the next generation up. Through Young Lions and other programs like it, we have to be the beacon. Mentor them. Advocate for learning-based programs. Help them develop, navigate their careers, and find pathways to success. Because as they grow, our industry grows and we grow too. That’s how we all stay sharp, just like those insights in the presentations this week.

I literally watched it happen, I was a part of it, and I am moved to do more.

Join in? What's your experience? JIM

P.S. - Here’s a little about Save the Music …