“Do this or die.”

 

This famous ad, which won a contest sponsored by Time magazine, was written by Bob Levenson, a legendary copywriter who was inducted into the Creative Hall of Fame in 1972. Levenson’s mentor was none other than Bill Bernbach, the man credited with changing the history of advertising.

 

Mentoring or coaching is important.  We have seen this not just in the advertising industry, but throughout history. Socrates mentored Plato, who mentored Aristotle, who was the mentor of Alexander the Great. This list of notable mentors/coaches and mentees continues to this day.

 

That’s why, last year London International Awards (LIA) started the first ever personal and bespoke global virtual mentoring program. What began as the highly successful and sought-after Creative LIAisons program has evolved into virtual one-to-one coaching sessions for young creatives worldwide. Coaching unlocks a person’s potential; it’s the ability to see in people what they cannot see in themselves, to see the talent they cannot see in themselves, and nurture it.

 

“By supporting young creatives and fast tracking the learning curve, the LIA Creative LIAisons program elevates the standard of our industry. It creates a self-perpetuating attitude among us to pass forward, which is invaluable. What you can learn from one person’s experience beats anything you will find in a book,” said Hyun Seo Yoo and Sarah Guessoum, Creative Leads, TikTok/Bytedance, Dubai.

 

Owing to the success of the program, Creative LIAisons is continuing with this program in 2022. The main focus remains unchanged – develop, educate and inspire young creative talent. To achieve these goals, Creative LIAisons is putting every effort behind these intimate coaching sessions. This kind of coaching was specifically designed to facilitate personal connections through direct, unfettered interactions with the most experienced and awarded professionals in the industry.

 

The support from the industry has been very encouraging.  Top people in the business have stepped forward to pledge their unstinting support of this initiative by giving both their time and expertise. Per Pederson, Founder/Global Chairman of The Network, Copenhagen, best echoed this sentiment: “The Creative LIAisons program no doubt inspires a new generation of creative superstars by mixing exciting emerging talent with the experience of some of our industry’s finest.  This is all about the future of the creative industry where talent means everything.”

 

Barbara Levy, President of LIA, said: “It is so important that we continue with this program. When asked, a top creative once said that creativity is the most valuable asset in our business today. You can’t teach creativity, but you can coach talent. We couldn’t agree more.  From the responses we got back from last year, we know that this program helps young creatives expand their capabilities and their perspectives.  To borrow the words of Sir Isaac Newton, if they have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.”

 

- Bruno Bertelli, Global CCO Publicis Worldwide / CCO Publicis Groupe Italy

- John Mescall, Global ECD and Global Creative Council President, McCann Worldgroup

- Pancho Cassis, Global Chief Creative Officer & Partner, DAVID

- Malcolm Poynton, Global Chief Creative Officer, Cheil Worldwide

- Joe Sciarrotta, Deputy Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide, Ogilvy Worldwide

- Jose Miguel Sokoloff, Global President, MullenLowe Group Creative Council

- Eric Weisberg, Global Chief Creative Officer, Havas Health & You

- Lucas Heck, Global Creative Director, Meta (Facebook)

- Rodrigo Moran, Global Head of Creative, WhatsApp

- Ronald Ng, Global Chief Creative Officer, MRM

- Rupen Desai, Global CMO, Dole Sunshine Co.

- Judy John, Global Chief Creative Officer, Edelman

- Rod Sobral, Global Chief Creative Officer, OLIVER Agency

- Tom Beckman, Global Chief Creative Officer, Weber Shandwick

- Angela Mears, Global Executive Creative Director, Weber Shandwick

- Taras Wayner, Global President, Creative Platforms & Solutions, GroupM

- Sandra Bold, Global Executive Creative Director, Publicis Italy

 

 

Mentees can expect to have e-coaching sessions, of an hour each, with three different industry leaders. Each coaching session is personal and tailored to give them the necessary tools to develop skills that will propel them forward. These invaluable up-close and personal sessions will endow mentees with the kind of resilience they need on their creative path to a bright and exciting future ahead.

 

Mentees chosen are young creatives from around the globe, currently working in the industry or a related business and are between the ages of 21 and 30. Mentees are selected by advertising clubs and associations, trade press, companies that support LIA, regional competitions and a select number are self-nominated.

 

Placements in this exclusive and enriching program are limited to approximately 150 participants worldwide.

 

If interested in nominating yourself or another young creative to be a mentee, please email laurissa@liaawards.com for the application form. The application deadline is 4th April and we will not accept any submissions after that date.

 

Coaching sessions will take place between April and November 2022.

 

In addition to the one-to-one sessions with some of the world’s most respected industry leaders, mentees will also be given the unique privilege to virtually observe LIA statue discussions in real-time this October.

 

Since the inception of Creative LIAisons in 2012, over 1000 young creatives have had the opportunity to participate in this program.