Dubai Lynx is almost here (5-6 March) and Campaign Middle East sat down with its festival director Kamille Marchant to find out what’s in store for this year.
As the festival director of Dubai Lynx, what is exciting you most about the festival?
I’m excited to bring the industry together again this year and provide a platform for creative excellence and effectiveness in the MENA. Dubai Lynx is the home for creativity in the region and is the annual meeting place where collaborations happen and insights are shared. I believe that great things happen when we’re in a position to bring people together.
What are the highlights for this year?
We have a jam-packed programme for creatives and marketers this year at the Festival. There are two stages packed with an exceptional line-up of global and regional speakers including some of the region’s most creative leaders such as Kate Stanners, Saatchi & Saatchi’s Global Chief Creative Officer, industry legend and BBDO India’s Chief Creative Officer Josy Paul and Google’s Director of Creative Works for EMEA, Mailine Swildens.
Delegates can also look forward to learning more about the tools they need to create more impactful work that drives business results, from brands such as Emirates NBD, Hungerstation, Kraft Heinz, NEOM, stc and Unilever to name a few.
What new initiatives/programmes can we expect to see this year?
As always there is lots to do onsite at Lynx, but a new initiative launched with Dubai Media City is the ‘Mastery Meetups’ hosted at the Dubai Media City stand. Attendees at Lynx will have the opportunity to meet and learn from an expert either from a creative agency, production, brand or the sustainability sector.
It’s a great opportunity for emerging talent in the industry to ask questions about building their career. These take place throughout the festival and you can book your interest by visiting dubailynx.com.
Young talent is a big theme for this year, why is that?
As always it is an important directive to foster emerging talent and contribute to the development of young talent across the region. Young creatives are the future of our industry who will bring fresh ideas, values and an innovative spirit to the industry.
We’re proud that Dubai Lynx offers many initiatives to support the development of the next generation of talent and we’re delighted that, for a second year, The Young Lynx Academy will be sponsored by Publicis Groupe ME.
Successful candidates will get the opportunity to participate in a 24-hour hack competition based on a charity brief. The competition is a brilliant opportunity for students to work on a real-time brief and showcase their creative prowess to industry experts.
What themes have you seen among the speakers and panels?
Our 2024 programme will focus on themes of creative effectiveness, talent & culture, creative risks and AI & innovation. The festival will delve into how creatives and marketers use AI now to boost their creativity, what the future of agency/brand collaboration looks like and connected to that, how to build a culture of creative excellence in the midst of the ongoing talent crisis.
And the awards, what can you say about the entries?
Creativity in MENA is at an all-time high, with Saudi winning its first Grand Prix at Cannes Lions last year. We have seen evidence of just how much creativity’s power to drive progress for business, people and society resonates with our community.
I’m looking forward to seeing examples of work emerge from Dubai Lynx this year that will propel the performance of brands involved and show how creatives from MENA are innovating.
