As the Loeries roar into town this week, South Africa’s talented young creatives are on tenterhooks as they eagerly await the results of the Young Creatives Award.

"Rewarding young creative excellence plays a huge role in shaping the leaders of the young creative economy within South Africa. The role of the Loeries is to show the value that creativity adds to brands and the economy as whole; therefore it recognises young talent through the Adams & Adams Young Creatives Award," says Loeries CEO Andrew Human.

The Young Creatives Award recognises outstanding achievement across the broad spectrum of brand communications by talented individuals – 27 and younger.

“Adams & Adams is committed to inspiring and protecting the next generation of creative minds,” says Mariëtte du Plessis, senior partner at Adams & Adams, the exclusive legal advisor to the Loeries and sponsor of the Young Creatives Award for the past three years.

“Over the years, the Young Creatives Award has been instrumental in providing emerging talent with the chance to shine on South Africa’s creative radar.  It has also provided the platform for assisting innovative young thinkers with the intellectual property (IP) rights associated with their work.

“The Young Creatives Award provides an incentive for young creatives and gives them something unique to aim for.  It also recognises work and ideas that haven’t had the chance to be affected by the industry and become restricted by conventional thinking,” continues du Plessis.

Doug Larter, creative partner at multi-award winning below-the-line agency Fox2.2, part of FoxP2 agrees the award is an important aspect of the creative landscape. “It’s vital that young talent is recognised.  Often we’re on the receiving end of all too familiar rhetoric, and see the same agencies at award shows.  As an intellectually driven industry, people are the industry’s biggest asset and it’s important that we ensure a free flow of fresh talent into the creative pool.

“A trip to Cannes is a massive incentive for any young creative – it represents the chance to see work of the highest level and to listen to the industry heavy weights talk about important shifts in the business.  Of course awards are always an excellent addition to a portfolio and a good party never hurt either!”

Previous Young Creative Award winners Kenneth van Reenen, group creative head of Machine, and Natalie Rose, freelance copywriter believe winning the award has dramatically impacted on their careers.

“The Young Creatives Award is great for several reasons.  The award sets the creative bar.  It really forces you to pull out all the stops, and it is an amazing way to grow awareness of your work within the industry,” says van Reenen, 2011 winner, who recently represented South Africa at the London International Awards in Las Vegas as the most awarded South African under the age of 30.

2013 winner Natalie Rose says winning the award has helped open unexpected doors. “The award has connected me to countless talented individuals and I am amazed at just how many people are aware of my work because of the awards and their prestige.” 

Visit the Adams & Adams stand during the Loeries Expo or at the Adams & Adams Student Portfolio Day, which takes place on 20 September at the Cape Town City Hall, Darling Street, Cape Town from 09h00 to 14h00.

Adams & Adams was recently the winner in the Business Day BASA Awards “Sponsorship In-Kind” category for its partnership with multi-faceted creative platform Design Indaba.