PR Jury President - Paul Taaffe, Global Chairman and CEO, Hill & Knowlton

Promo & Activation Jury President - Tina Manikas, Global Retail & Promotions Officer, Draftfcb

“As the world’s most coveted awards in advertising and communications, it is essential that we appoint only the best global leaders to chair the juries. We are therefore privileged to have such distinguished and greatly admired professionals such as Paul and Tina at Cannes Lions to lead the way forward,” says Philip Thomas, Festival CEO.

Paul Taaffe is Global Chairman and CEO of Hill & Knowlton, a leading international communications consultancy providing services to local, multinational and global clients. The firm is headquartered in New York, with 80 offices in 43 countries, as well as an extensive associate network. Under Paul’s leadership, Hill & Knowlton has grown to become the most transnational of all the agency networks, with Paul spearheading its drive into the BRIC countries and emerging markets, expanding its range of practices and integrating digital expertise across all disciplines.

Paul started as CEO of Hill & Knowlton in the UK in 1992, was promoted to president of Hill & Knowlton in Europe, Middle East and Africa in 1995 and became Global Chairman and CEO in 2002. He personally advises CEOs and companies on defending reputation and growing brands around the world.

“Last year, PR agencies were newbies, and so two-thirds of PR Lions submissions worldwide were from advertising agencies. This year, the global PR industry has no excuse. Creative thinking is the key to great communications and I look forward to chairing an international PR jury in a year that I’m sure will raise the bar around the world,” says Paul on his role as Jury Chair for the PR category, which was launched last year.

Tina Manikas is the Global Retail & Promotions Officer at Draftfcb. As an integrated marketing professional specialising in behaviour-driven promotional activation as well as retail branding and communication, Tina oversees all promotion, retail and shopper marketing efforts for Draftfcb’s global network, which spans 96 countries. She’s a recognised leader in the industry and leads teams creating integrated solutions for a global account portfolio that includes SC Johnson, Kraft, Motorola and Brown-Forman, as well as US-based blue-chip clients MilkPEP and Kmart.

In 2008 and 2009, Tina drove Draftfcb to the number-one position in Promo Magazine’s Promo 100 ranking. Under her leadership, the agency’s promotional efforts have been recognised with more than 80 awards in recent years, including PMA’s Super, Gold and Best Idea Reggies, MAA’s Globe awards, Promo Magazine’s PRO awards and POPAI in-store merchandising awards. She plays a key role in crafting strategic, integrated ideas as well as creating the agency’s unique tools and creative processes used to optimise the shopper’s path to purchase and bring winning promotional programmes to life.

“I am more than excited to have been selected to be the President of the Promo Lions Jury in 2010," says Tina. “The Lions honour truly outstanding creative ideas and executions, and our jury will be inspired by many, while others will become the subject of intense debate. In any case, I am sure we will all find the experience educational, enlightening and, from what I've been told, more than a little exhausting. I can't wait!”

More About the Jury Presidents

PR Lions Jury President:
Paul Taaffe
Global Chairman and CEO
Hill & Knowlton, New York
USA

Paul Taaffe was appointed as Chairman and CEO of Hill & Knowlton in 2003. Under his leadership, Hill & Knowlton has grown to become the most transnational of all the agency networks, with Paul spearheading its drive into the BRIC countries and emerging markets, expanding its range of practices and integrating digital expertise across all disciplines.

Paul started as CEO of Hill & Knowlton in the UK 1992, was promoted to President of Hill & Knowlton in Europe, Middle East and Africa in 1995 and became Global Chairman and CEO in 2002.

He personally advises CEOs and companies on defending reputation and growing brands around the world.

Paul received his business degree in Australia and began his career in communications at Unilever.

He claims he was run out of Australia for not being able to surf, and subsequently run out of England for his failure to appreciate Monty Python. Now based in New York, he is waiting to see how long the kind and patient Americans will tolerate him.

Promo & Activation Jury President
Tina Manikas
Global Retail & Promotions Officer
Draftfcb
USA

Tina Manikas is an integrated marketing professional specialising in behaviour-driven promotional activation as well as retail branding and communication. Over the course of her distinguished career, she has become a recognised leader in the industry.

In 2008 and 2009, Tina drove Draftfcb to the number-one position in Promo Magazine’s Promo 100 ranking. Under her leadership, the agency’s promotional efforts have been recognized with more than 80 awards in recent years, including PMA’s Super, Gold and Best Idea Reggies, MAA’s Globe awards, Promo Magazine’s PRO awards and POPAI in-store merchandising awards. She plays a key role in crafting strategic, integrated ideas as well as creating the agency’s unique tools and creative processes used to optimise the shopper’s path to purchase and bring winning promotional programmes to life.

Prior to the formation of Draftfcb, Tina was a key executive at Draft Worldwide as well as Marketing Corporation of America and Lee Hill, Inc. During her time at Draft Worldwide, the agency’s promotional business more than tripled. She was also a catalyst in expanding the agency’s expertise into shopper marketing, retail marketing strategy, customer-specific marketing and entertainment marketing.

Tina’s diverse category background and knowledge base bring freshness to every solution. Her philosophy is that a great idea brings a brand’s essence to life and strikes a relevant, behavioural cord in consumers as shoppers. The idea and strategy transcend tactics such as a game, event or TV commercial, yet must be fully extendable to the right tactics and plan.

A member of the Promotional Marketing Association of America, Tina helped develop the Promo Lions category for the Cannes International Advertising Festival and is a seasoned presenter on trends and insights at retail and promotion forums. She studied business at DePaul University and marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

- Ends -

57th Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, 20-26 June 2010, Cannes, France.

The International Advertising Festival - Cannes Lions - is the world's biggest celebration of creativity in communications. As the most prestigious international annual advertising awards, over 22,500 entries from all over the world are showcased and judged at the Festival. Winners receive the highly coveted Lion trophy, presented at four award ceremonies, honouring the most creative film, print, outdoor, interactive, radio, design, sales promotion & activation and integrated advertising, as well as the best media, direct marketing, PR and Titanium ideas. The Festival is also the only truly global meeting place for advertisers, advertising and communication professionals. Over 6.000 delegates from 90 countries attend seven days of exhibitions, screenings, over 50 high-profile seminars, 30 workshops and master classes presented by renowned worldwide industry leaders and celebrate at two galas. As the learning and networking opportunity of the year, Cannes Lions is the must-attend event for anyone involved in brand communication.

For further information, please contact:
Amanda Benfell, PR & Press Manager
Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival
Greater London House, Hampstead Road, London NW1 7EJ, United Kingdom
Tel: +44-20-7728 4040; Fax: +44-20-7728 4044;
E-mail: amandab@canneslions.com