Entries Closed

ABOUT YOUNG LIONS

Young Lions is dedicated to help young talent showcase their creativity at a global platform. National teams of young creative, media and marketing professionals from around the world will get a chance to compete against each other and win the Young Lions title.

What should be the ideal brand positioning and marketing strategy under this scenario?
Winning the Young Lions Competition is a hugely rewarding experience and can change your career forever. Shortlisted teams will be competing against the most talented and creative young professionals from across the world, Winners will be awarded at Cannes lions Festival of creativity.

It's More than just a competition it's an Opportunity to compete with the best from around the world.

  • Showcase your talent and get recognised by the industry’s best.
  • The Young Lions India competition is open to Print/Media/Marketing Category.

A call for entry process is followed to invite eligible participants to apply for the competition.

young lions india

ENTRY PROCESS

times of india young lions

Shortlisted teams from each category will be asked to present their work to our jury members virtually.

All the entries received will be put under screening for eligibility and a team of two participants will be selected by an independent Jury appointed in India. The jury’s voting will be based on predefined evaluation parameters.

The winning team will represent India at the Cannes lions Festival of creativity.

The decision of the Jury in all matters relating to the awarding of prizes will be final and binding.

BRIEF

YOUNG LIONS Print

times group young lions print competition

Tolstoy is an e-commerce marketplace with a range of premium and luxury apparel brands. They launched in 2018 and have been growing at a CAGR of 12%. What sets them apart is the range they showcase for most of the brands they feature. They get most of the new ranges before the other e-commerce platforms. In fact, this is a key brand promise. They also delight the customer with large, well photographed images of products (versus the staid ones you see on other websites) and well written descriptions. Over the last year, they also set up physical stores in key metros to drive growth.

Challenge

  • Tolstoy grew at a healthy pace the first 3 years, but then growth started to slow down. Their data showed declining sales, and that the reason for stagnation in growth was because of a minimum influx of new customers. 80% of purchases were being made by the same set of customers and their frequency too was reducing with growing lapsers.
  • The company expected the launch of physical stores to boost sales but have not seen the desired results. The footfall in stores have not been very encouraging.
  • Brand track studies showed that while awareness was at 70%, the brand lacked aspiration and had no intangible associations. Top of mind recall is low, and the brand doesn’t feature in the consideration set when it comes to brand choice.
  • The management has realised that while a digital marketing strategy helped in the initial phase of the business, it is now time to invest in print to create impact, top-of-mind recall, aspiration, desirability and bring in new customers.

Task

  • Develop a positioning for the brand that makes it aspirational and desirable to affluent consumers. Since the brand was never seen on mainstream media, this can be considered a launch campaign.
  • Create a drool worthy print campaign that creates conversations and move the brand into the consideration set of the TG.
  • The campaign should build a high desire quotient with the objective of bringing in new customers and driving footfalls to their stores.
  • Demographics: Women and Men 25-45 years; Metros; NCCS A

ELIGIBILITY

  • Team will be made up of 2 employees from a creative agency. Client organization cannot apply in this category.
  • The two members of the team should be working in the same organisation.
  • Participant must be 30 years or under, born on or after 23rd June, 1992.
  • The participants will be asked to submit any of the below valid government ID proof consisting of their full date of birth (DD/MM/YYYY) to validate the details entered in the application form:
    • a) Valid passport
    • b) Birth certificate
    • c) Aadhaar card
    • d) Voting card
    • e) Driving license
  • Please keep the documents as mentioned in the email ready for verification purposes.
  • It is mandatory for both the team members to be present during the final round for the virtual presentation. Absence of any of the team member will lead to disqualification of the entire team from the competition.
*You are allowed to make assumptions while developing the strategy. The creative strategy should be supported with a print campaign. Innovations can give bonus points.

BRIEF

YOUNG LIONS MEDIA

times group young lions media competition

Shinex is a Dish washer brand from Germany, launched with a customised version for the Indian Market. Their machines are recognised globally, but not as much in India. Unlike global markets, India has not taken to dishwashers as people are used to their house help washing dishes and also concerns around usage of water, electricity etc. The marketing objective over the next two years is to change the mindset of urban Indian consumers about considering Dishwashers as an integral part of their kitchen.

Challenges

  • Category barriers that dishwashers are cumbersome to load and operate; use excessive water and doubts around cleanliness (“We will have to anyways rinse and wipe after the dishwasher does its job”, “cooker , kadhai will not get cleaned in the dishwasher”)
  • Existing kitchens need to have space to accommodate Dishwashers along with water lines.
  • “We are anyways paying for house help, so why do we need an additional gadget?”
  • Shinex is not a known brand in India – establish brand credibility.

Task

  • Educate consumers on the benefits of dishwashers and establish the category in urban India.
  • Change mindsets about the misperceptions about the product and demonstrate that it uses lesser water, is more hygienic and provides savings over a period of time.
  • Develop a media plan that seeks to achieve these objectives of changing mindsets while establishing brand credibility.

Target Group and Target Market

  • Top 8 Metros
  • Age 30 to 45
  • NCCS A1, A2, B1
  • Budget: Rs. 30 cr. for year 1

ELIGIBILITY

  • Teams will be made up of 2 employees from a client organization. An agency cannot apply in this category.
  • Any two people working in a media agency or in the media department of a full-service agency are eligible (Media).
  • The two members of the team should be working in the same organisation.
  • Participant must be 30 years or under, born on or after 23rd June, 1992.
  • The participants will be asked to submit any of the below valid government ID proof consisting of their full date of birth (DD/MM/YYYY) to validate the details entered in the application form:
    • a) Valid passport
    • b) Birth certificate
    • c) Aadhaar card
    • d) Voting card
    • e) Driving license
  • Please keep the documents as mentioned in the email ready for verification purposes.
  • It is mandatory for both the team members to be present during the final round for the virtual presentation. Absence of any of the team member will lead to disqualification of the entire team from the competition.
*You are allowed to make assumptions while developing the strategy. The media strategy should be supported with communication ideas, media choice and rationale.

BRIEF

MARKETING: CARE FOR THE EARTH

times group young lions media competition

Voyager, a D2C luggage brand did well in its initial phase with good designs and aggressive pricing. After the initial phase of growth aided by early adopters, the brand began to stagnate and had to engage in offers to drive sales. This had a detrimental effect on the brand and consumers started to wait for discounts to buy. Added to this, established brands introduced new designs, high quality sturdy material and promoted it heavily through Print and TV. This gave them brand stature, credibility and brought back new & erstwhile customers who had drifted.

Challenges

  • Voyager has realised that while performance marketing drove initial sales, it did not build their brand (basis brand health scores). This put pressure both on their top line and bottom line.
  • Research showed that the brand lacked credibility and an emotional connect with consumers and therefore not able to hold on to pricing or compete against the established brands.

Task

  • Being a relatively new brand on the block, Voyager needs to build long term brand memory. What should be the marketing approach to do this and stand up to competition & hold price?
  • The category relies on brand credibility as consumers look for a luggage brand they can trust and one that will last. How do you build brand stature & credibility?
  • The budgets available for the brand are not large like some of the competition, so how would you pick your battles?

Budget

Rs. 20 cr. for 1 year

ELIGIBILITY

  • Teams will be made up of 2 employees from a client organization. An agency cannot apply in this category.
  • The two members of the team should be working in the same organisation.
  • Participant must be 30 years or under, born on or after 23rd June, 1992.
  • The participants will be asked to submit any of the below valid government ID proof consisting of their full date of birth (DD/MM/YYYY) to validate the details entered in the application form:
    • a) Valid passport
    • b) Birth certificate
    • c) Aadhaar card
    • d) Voting card
    • e) Driving license
  • Please keep the documents as mentioned in the email ready for verification purposes.
  • It is mandatory for both the team members to be present during the final round for the virtual presentation. Absence of any of the team members will lead to disqualification of the entire team from the competition.
*You are allowed to make assumptions while developing the strategy. The marketing strategy should be supported with communication ideas, media choice and rationale.