Underscoring Dentsu Creative’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of talent, the global creative network is set to sponsor a lunch during the 2024 Creative LIAisons program in Las Vegas on 3rd October, among other involvement in support of the annual event and awards.
The lunch will host 125 mentees and is seen as an opportunity for them to connect with the judges, speakers and their peers from around the world.
Each year, the London International Awards’ (LIA) Creative LIAisons program welcomes 125+ emerging talents, ‘Creative LIAisons Mentees’, for an immersive educational experience held concurrently with LIA judging. The program features seminars, panel discussions and workshops led by experts across diverse fields, including design, production, and technology. On-site attendance is one of the industry’s most sought-after opportunities for up-and-coming talent, and this year dentsu has five Creative LIAisons Mentees from around the world attending in-person, and eight participating via the virtual program.
Reflecting on dentsu’s involvement with LIA, Global CCO, Yasu Sasaki, said “Dentsu is deeply committed to nurturing young talent, and LIA offers a truly unique and enriching opportunity to do so. I am also honored to judge and chair these exciting Categories, and look forward to witnessing the ground-breaking ideas that will shape our industry’s future”.
Notably, Creative LIAisons program mentees are invited to sit in on the judging sessions, providing them with a rare opportunity to witness real-time discussions and debates among senior creatives. Sasaki will also be part of a panel to discuss “Evolution & Creative Use of Data” on the afternoon of Monday 30th September. Also on this panel will be Monk’s Global Chief Creative Officer, Jouke Vuurmans; R/GA’s Global Chair and Global CCO, Tiffany Rolfe and VML’s Global Chief Experience Design Officer, Kaleeta McDade. Dentsu Creative also has five leaders sharing their expertise as Creative LIAisons Virtual Coaches in bespoke e-mentoring sessions: from Canada, President/CCO, Jordan Doucette; UK Executive Creative Director, Sue Higgs; South Africa Chief Creative Officer, Nkanyezi Masango; Australia Executive Creative Director, Sarah McGregor; US Chief Creative Officer, Global Accounts, Julie Scelzo and Yasu Sasaki.
Last year four rising Dentsu Creative talents were signed up as virtual Creative LIAisons Mentees, and US Associate Art Director, Tracy Okafor, travelled to Las Vegas to attend the on-site program. You can read about their experiences here.
In addition, dentsu’s Global Chief Creative Officer, Yasu Sasaki, will be present in Las Vegas to act as Jury President for the ‘Evolution & Creative Use of Data’ category, along with Dentsu Creative Canada President, Jordan Doucette as a ‘Branded Content and Branded Entertainment’ juror, and Dentsu Creative Iberia CCO, Lourenço Thomaz as a ‘Creativity In PR’ juror.
In 2023, dentsu won a total of 34 LIA Statues, including one Grand LIA, twelve Gold, ten Silver, nine Bronze and two Regional of the Year awards.