Pitchers Festival of Creativity hosts reception in honor of awardees
By Oluwaseyi Lawal and Abimbola Mohammed
The Pitchers Festival of Creativity recently hosted a reception in honor of the winners of the 2024 Pitchers Young Lions awards, who represented West and Central Africa at the Global Young Lions Competition in Cannes.
The event celebrated the hard work, creativity, and dedication demonstrated by each winner at the 2024 Future Creative Leaders Academy and the Young Professionals Academy.
The well-attended luncheon took place on August 9, 2024, at the Radisson Blu Hotel Ikeja Lagos, with notable guests including the President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Lanre Adisa; Dr. Nnamdi Ndu, CEO of CHINI Africa; Cannes Lion Festival Representative, Ngozi Akinyele; and Group Executive, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Coronation Group, Awardees, Nominees, young creatives etc.
In her opening remarks, Mrs. Akinyele congratulated the winners for their exceptional work: “To the members of the winning team from Nigeria and Romania, your work has set a new standard for what can be achieved when we embrace global collaboration. You have not only enriched your own learning but have also contributed to the broader narrative of unity and shared purpose in our industry.”
On his part, Dr. Ndu congratulated the winners and expressed gratitude to the faculty and partners who contributed to the program’s success. He reassured the winners of the festival’s ongoing support, stating, “Remember that at every stage in your career, Pitcher Festival is here to support you. From the moment you decide to join the creative industry as a university student, all the way to when you achieve the greatest heights in the industry and begin to mentor others yourself.”
In exclusive interviews with MARKETING EDGE, the winners and nominees of the Pitcher awards expressed heartfelt gratitude to the organizers and the agencies they represent for the opportunity to share their talents with the world. They noted that the experience has redefined their status and paved the way for new opportunities.
Dentsu Performance’ Stephanie Ume, and Joseph Uwandu of Dentsu OOH Nigeria triumphed in the Pitchers awards media category with their groundbreaking campaign concept and also represented West and Central Africa.
Commenting on the warm reception by the Pitcher Festival of Creativity, in honor of all participants, Joseph Uwandu further stated, “I found it very interesting, bringing everybody together, all of us who have participated and those of us who won. Listening to the panel keynotes give their own submissions was good. It’s impressive that the Young Professionals Academy is able to put together something like this and I look forward to still participating in subsequent years.”
Speaking about her experience, Stephanie Ume said, “It was a very beautiful experience. It’s nice putting in so much effort and seeing it come to fruition, putting the agency on the map and on the center stage. I saw a level of creativity that I hope Nigeria will one day get to as a country.”
Abolaji Ayodeji Quadri and Ngozi Uwafili of MediaReach OMD, Nigeria’s media planning & strategy team, represented West and Central Africa at the 2024 Cannes Lions Competition held in France. The two media strategists who made the top six media shortlists described the experience as “a learning process that was really insightful.”
In Abolaji’s words, “Coming top six out of the 30 countries in our category makes us one of the top media strategists in the world right now. Looking forward, the industry will be seeing a lot of amazing works from us due to the experience we have garnered over there. We are looking forward to a bigger and brother future and if there is another opportunity to participate again, I’m definitely taking it because I still want that gold Lion in Africa.”
He further stated that Nigerian creatives should strive to put in for platforms such as this because they stand a chance at the global stage.
“One of the edges we have is the fact that we are Africans and they are not. There are lots of African stories that we need to tell. We need to tell our story more. These people don’t know Africa. With the power of storytelling, we are getting out there.”
Ngozi Uwafili emphasized that the experience came with a lot of unlearning and relearning processes. Encouraging Nigerian creatives, she stated, “In the coming years, Nigerian creatives are going to be unstoppable. We have a lot of talent in Nigeria to start with, and I think seeing other young people like them doing great things on the global stage is going to encourage them to want to try out and be the best they can.”
Esther Usoro of Dentsu Agyle Nigeria won in the Pitchers Young Lions Awards Film category with a powerful short film to create awareness about Club Foot, representing West and Central Africa at the Global Young Lions competition in Cannes. Commenting on the win, she said, “We put in the work for Pitchers awards. So when we won, it was well deserved. Even though we didn’t win at Cannes, for me, I count that experience as a win. I will forever be grateful to MediaFuse-Dentsu for making me have this great moment in my career.”
Babafemi Okeleye, a student of Ajayi Crowther University and winner of the Roger Archer Student Academy, shared his experience, saying, “The experience was a fairy tale. I was opportune to share my story with 29 other people from other countries through the Roger Archer Student Academy, and it just gave me a glimpse of the outside world.”
The Pitcher Festival is dedicated to nurturing and accelerating the career development of talented youths through two major platforms: the Future Creative Leaders Academy and the Young Professionals Academy. Each academy offers an intensive training program, life-changing competitions, and connections with partner events, bringing participants together with their peers from around the world.
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