Creativity week names Odigbo, Babaeko, others as jury heads

As this year’s Creativity Week is set to kickoff in March, public relations’ bigwigs have been named Jury and Academy Dean for the 2017 edition of the event. Anchor of the event, CHINI Productions, is presenting a full week of activities designed for students and all categories of marketing communications professionals in West Africa. The series of events will hold from March 13 through 18, 2017 at MUSON Centre, Lagos.
 
Activities will include competition, lions edit seminars and workshops, creativity week expo and will close in a colourful Lions Night and awards. Some of the categories are the Young Pro West Africa Championship, the Miami Ad School Scholarship Competition and the Roger Hatchuel Academy.
 
According to Cannes representative in Nigeria, Nnamdi Ndu, participants in all categories must be currently employed in a related sector in West Africa and should not be more than 30 years old.

“Students are not allowed to participate in this category,” he said. “Competitors from Nigeria and Cote D’Ivoire may electively enter for a parallel national Young Lions Competition and top winning teams will represent their country at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June 2017 in their respective categories”.
 
Meanwhile, the organisers have named the Creative Jury President as Managing Director DDB Lagos, Ikechi Odigbo. The Media, PR and Marketing Jury Presidents and their team members will be announced soon. Odigbo and his jury members will judge the Film, Print, Digital and Design categories.
 
A Cyber Bronze Lion winner in 2012 who now works for DDB Berlin, Eniola Falase, became the first Nigerian to win Cannes Lions trophy. The competition will be judged by a team of creative teachers in Miami Ad School led by the Miami Ad School Director Europe, Niklas Frings Rupp. Winners of the scholarship will have the opportunity to study in the most awarded and best advertising schools in the world, Miami Ad School campuses of their choice in Europe and the U.S.

The academies are made up of five bespoke 3-day learning programmes. Four of them are designed for West African marketing communications professionals aged 30 and below.
 
The professional academy categories are Young Creative Academy, Young Media Academy, Young PR Academy and Young Digital Academy. The organisers have named CEO X3M Ideas, Steve Babaeko, as the dean of Young Creative Academy; Sinmisola Hughes-Obisesan as dean of Young Digital Academy; Chido Nwakanma, CEO Blueflower Ltd, as Creative Director, Insight Communications; Stephen Onaivi, as dean of Young PR Academy to lead the Media Academy.

Roger Hatchuel Academy is also ready to welcome students from across West Africa. The 3-day residential, intensive programme for students will include seminars, screenings, workshops and facility visits.