By Nadia Beale, President
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When I think back to my early days in PR, what stands out most is the freedom. The freedom to explore ideas with my peers. The freedom to try, fail, and try again. And the freedom to believe that a good idea could come from anywhere in the room, regardless of title.
That sense of possibility is exactly why I’m excited to be judging the PR category for this year’s Cannes Young Lions competition, as the first round of judging wrapped this past weekend. Young Lions brings together Canada’s top emerging talent across PR, media, creative, and marketing, challenging them to solve real‑world problems under intense time pressure. This spring, I’ll have the privilege of helping spotlight teams across the country, including our own team at MSL.
Why great PR ideas don’t come from hierarchy, but from shared creative challenges
For those less familiar, Young Lions centres on solving real problems, not hypothetical ones. Teams are given 24 hours to respond to a real brief from a real organization, often tied to societal or environmental impact. The work is fast, collaborative, and uncomfortable—and that’s the point. Sometimes our best ideas are developed under pressure.
What Young Lions also consistently proves is a simple truth: strong PR solutions can come from any level. Ideas don’t gain value because they pass through multiple layers of senior review. They gain value because they are clear, bold, and grounded in human insight.
This is a powerful lesson for Canadian PR agencies and leaders: stay open‑minded to where ideas originate and you stand to benefit from that creative energy.
How supporting emerging talent strengthens agency culture and creativity
There is also something powerful about the conditions of the competition. Teams often haven’t worked together before and they receive limited information. They must quickly find common ground, assign roles, and commit to the work. That environment builds agility and adaptability in a way we don’t see every day. It teaches emerging professionals how to be resourceful and decisive, confidently saying, “We’ve got this.”
At MSL Canada, I’ve seen how empowering it is when leaders and organizations actively support that growth. This means giving the time and permission to step outside of the day‑to‑day. When people feel that support early in their careers, they take creative risks and learn to trust their own judgment. As our MSL duo, Emma Chamandy and Nikki Sampson, demonstrated in this year’s competition and the work leading up to it – through meeting weekly, building their own roadmap, or shaping their own process – that ownership is where the strongest thinking emerges.
The Young Lions competition is also genuinely fun. It reignites the joy of PR planning and reminds teams why they chose this profession in the first place. When Emma and Nikki shared their experience with the wider agency, I could see it energized our teams.
As judging continues, I can’t wait to see how Canada’s next generation approaches big challenges with fresh eyes. If history is any indication, the ideas that surprise us most will come from people given the space to believe in their own creativity.
And that’s a good reminder for all of us.