What’s it really like to take part in the UK’s Cannes Young Lions Competition?

1 Strategist. 

1 Creative. 

1 Senior Account Manager. 

1 Account Executive. 

2 teams from a mix of specialisms, handpicked to tackle the Cannes Young Lions PR Competition. 

This isn’t just a contest, it’s a creative pressure cooker. A brief centred on a real-world issue lands at 10 a.m., the clock starts, and your team has just 24 hours and 10 slides to craft a campaign that could make or break your shot at the international stage. It’s an experience that strips PR down to its purest form: strategy, creativity, and storytelling under pressure. With such tight constraints, every word, visual, and insight must earn its place - there’s no room for fluff.

At 10 a.m., we received the brief from a leading cat welfare charity, whose goal was to promote responsible cat adoption among 18–34-year-olds, foster long-term engagement and raise awareness of key welfare messages.

The brief was detailed and clear, and with scope for immense, progressive creativity. We broke off into our creative duos and immediately dug into research, focusing on the rising trend of purchasing ‘pedigree’ cats on social media. Using an ‘audience, brand, culture’ framework, we built a strategic platform around breaking this social media cycle. While social media offers valuable advice for potential 18–34-year-old cat owners, we pinpointed the moment it turns ‘toxic’ and encourages impulse-driven cat purchasing and neglecting adoption possibilities. Our campaign was designed to break the cycle at this critical moment.

We filled a whiteboard with ideas, like a detective mapping out details of a crime scene. The process was fast-paced; we spent most of the day ensuring our idea was solid, scalable, and within budget. Working with a charity taught us to keep it simple and resist the urge to think that bigger and costlier means better. Refining ideas was tough because it's easy to get attached, but focusing on questions like "Does this match the charity's tone?" and "Is it practical within budget?" guided us to a standout concept.

Once the idea was sharpened, we considered how it would resonate within earned media. Where would our campaign gain traction? Would it be featured on social media? Which journalists and publications were we aiming to engage? A solid creative idea was only half the battle - understanding how to make it newsworthy is what makes it PR.

Then came the final stretch: translating everything into a compelling presentation. We ordered dinner and got to work, prioritising clarity of communication above all else. With limited slides, we had to ensure each one worked hard, keeping our storytelling sharp and engaging.

This experience has been an honour. Even the stressful moments were enjoyable and, for anyone in PR considering taking part, the advice is simple: do it. The worst-case scenario is you walk away with a lesson in handling pressure. The best case? You prove to yourself—and the industry—that you can compete on one of the biggest stages in the world.

Authored by Lucy Piper, Josh Djaba, Maria Hearne and Tomi Loye.