Media.Monks Launches Global Creative Competition Young.Monks in Partnership with LIONS and Netflix

Digital-first marketing and advertising services company Media.Monks launches Young.Monks, an initiative for – and by - the next generation of creative talent. Young.Monks participants will answer one of three briefs in a weeklong contest developed by a group of advisors from LIONS, organizers of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Netflix and Media.Monks. 

Young.Monks is a grassroots initiative, ideated and executed by Media.Monks creative Johanna Lubin alongside a multidisciplinary team across the globe. Since January 2020, Media.Monks has doubled its headcount with more than 7,500 people working across 33 countries. Young.Monks aims to inspire the next generation of talent to continue both crossing and pushing boundaries. Developed in partnership with two iconic names in innovation and creativity - LIONS and Netflix - Young.Monks delivers on Media.Monks’ promise to uplift and champion emerging talent and incredible creativity. 

Designed to highlight the different strengths, skill sets and interests of Media.Monks’ diverse employee base, the Young.Monks competition includes three core categories that focus on digital-first competencies: innovation, film and interactive 

● The Innovation.Monks are teams of future-facing visionaries. They’re ace at sniffing out innovative ideas and turning them into reality using the latest in emerging tech, formats and even the metaverse, resulting in groundbreaking experiences and new possibilities.

● The Film.Monks film cinematic stories for screens of all sizes. They’re an inclusive bunch of thinkers and tinkerers that have a knack for original concepting, scriptwriting, visual treatments, film treatments, shooting, directing, editing, VFX, post and everything in between. Together, they believe that film has the power to connect people and expose us to stories that we’ve never seen or thought about before.

● The Interactive.Monks are driven to build creative experiences that go beyond the mundane. They put the audience at the heart of the moments they craft, giving them the opportunity to immerse themselves within compelling, transformative digital experiences that build lasting memories.

Johanna Lubin, creative at Media.Monks and initiator of Young.Monks, says: “My idea for Young.Monks was born from the ambition of helping and supporting young talents by giving them an opportunity to shine on a global stage, plus the inspiration of the Young Lions competitions. Add to that the help of my incredible colleagues across the world combined with the trust and drive from the Media.Monks leadership, and I'm thrilled to see that we've been able to make Young.Monks come to life. My aspiration is to continue to build Young.Monks to be a recognized and annual institution in the advertising industry.” 

Jouke Vuurmans, global chief creative officer at Media.Monks, comments: "Giving talent the opportunity to thrive both within our company and on a global stage through Young.Monks is one of the ways we build towards our ambition to change the industry. We want to change the work and what the work can do, but also change who does the work. Johanna's initiative opens up a myriad of possibilities for talent to work together across borders, flexing their creative muscles no matter what their expertise. I'm excited for us to have Netflix and LIONS on board, two heavyweights when it comes to creativity and the guts to go off the beaten path. I can't wait to see the work our Young.Monks will come up with."

Steve Latham, Head of Learning: “This is a ground-breaking partnership for LIONS. The investment by Media.Monks in their next generation talent should be the blueprint for all companies; it will give them an insight into their global talent pool, and enable the Media.Monks leadership team to identify and nurture the next Lion winners. This competition will be a great way to push creativity and personal development and I cannot wait to meet the winners at Cannes Lions 2022.”

Vinicius Losacco, vice president, LATAM Marketing Netflix: "Netflix and Media.Monks have shared a strong relationship since 2013. We are both heavily invested in creative excellence and are committed to diversity and the development of emerging talent.  

The Young.Monks competition is important in continuing to elevate creativity and bring fresh new ideas from new voices to keep entertaining audiences around the globe."

Following the established participation rules of the Young Lions Competitions, Young.Monks is open to all Media.Monks employees 30 and under, who will participate in self-selected teams of two March 9 through March 16. Submissions will be evaluated by an esteemed jury including Media.Monks’ Co-Chief Innovation Officer Henry Cowling, along with executive leadership from Netflix, Media.Monks and more. Winners will be announced on April 8, and the top teams in each category will travel to the festival in the French Riviera. The overall winner will earn a spot on the Cannes Lions Creative Academy, an exclusive group open to just 30 creatives worldwide.