How Creative LIAsons Opened our Creative Chakras

Creative LIAsons is an annual programme held by the LIA Awards. It was created in 2012 as a way of giving back to the advertising industry. The mission of the programme is to empower young talent with key skills for a purpose-driven future and it is designed as a global coaching initiative to develop, educate, inspire and nurture emerging talent.

 

Leo Rodriguez and Valentin Gourmel were both selected by BETC Paris this year to attend the Creative LIAsons. Leo attended the virtual program, where he was able to tap into the minds, expertise and experiences of respected industry luminaries through bespoke sessions with three established industry leaders. Valentin attended the on-site program in Las Vegas (USA) and got the opportunity to meet, mingle and network with icons of advertising while getting unparalleled access to jurors, speakers and top-level creatives.

 

This year, the on-site program featured seminars and panel discussions from esteemed speakers such as Susan Credle, Pum Lefebure, Malcom Poynton, Merlee Jayme, Mark Tutssel and Laura Swinton. Attendees also took part in an interactive workshop where they received a creative brief and had to work in groups to create and pitch branding/marketing ideas to a real organisation.

 

The overall goal of the Creative Liaisons is to give young creatives between the ages of 21 and 30 from around the globe, access to learn from the most experienced and awarded people from our industry and provide a training academy to the next generation of talent.

 

Here’s what Leo had to say about his experience as a mentee with the likes of Sergio Gordilho, Ricardo Wolff, and Tomas Ostiglia:

“With all my mentors, it was such a learning experience. I loved talking about films with all three of them and getting their advice.They all have different backgrounds and come from different countries. That's what makes their experience, their scripts, their ideas and therefore their advice so precious.

“I've learned about their different ways of working and it's opened up my thinking about that.

“All in all, I'm lucky to have been a mentee, and it's made me even more determined to succeed in this profession.”

 

And here’s what Valentin took from his experience in Las Vegas:

“This trip to Vegas was intense and rewarding. I was able to meet creatives from all around the world. I got to talk about advertising and discover their own creative projects, but also their cultures and their different ways of working. It was great because we were all passionate and you could feel it.

“The conferences and workshops were very inspiring and made us want to become even better creatives. More than ever, I am convinced that mixing different cultures definitely makes for a better creative outcome.

“The best part of the experience for me was the judging day. I was allowed to sit in during the judging session of the Brand Content & Entertainment jury of the LIA Awards. It helped me better understand what criteria are needed for a particular campaign to score a prize or not. You can see really the difference between award levels and why a Gold Award deserves a Grand Prix. It's one of the most rewarding experiences of my creative career so far.”

 

In a nutshell, Valentin and Leo both conclude that “this experience brought a vision of international creativity and was quite complementary as Valentin got to meet the creative talent of tomorrow and Leo met the creative talent of today. Meeting people with such different cultures and backgrounds helped us open our creative chakras even more and showed us the high bar that we have to reach to compete against the competition. And finally, we would like to thank Stephane, Nicolas and Niamh who gave us this wonderful opportunity”.