Golin Wins PRHK’s 2025 Cannes Young Lions Hong Kong Competition

Public Relations Hong Kong (PRHK), Hong Kong’s alliance for public relations, media, and communications professionals, announced GOLIN as the winners of the local industry Cannes Young Lions Competition. The 2025 contest gathers the brightest emerging publicity talent who seamlessly blend innovation and strategy under the mission: Where Creativity Drives Progress.

Nicole Man and Tiffany Wong of Golin will go on to compete against the world’s best at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025, scheduled to take place on June 16 – 20, 2025; with festival passes, flights and accommodation sponsored by PRHK.

Nine teams from across Hong Kong’s most celebrated media agencies joined this year’s competition for the opportunity to represent the city’s top talent at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where they will compete against the best of the best at the Global Young Lions PR competition.

This year’s competition ran from 11 – 12 April. Competitors had 24 hours to respond to a brief from The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Hong Kong (SPCA) – the city’s longest standing and largest independent animal welfare charity – supporting the organisation’s ongoing efforts to end animal cruelty, alleviate suffering, and protect the health and welfare of all animals through actions, advocacy and education.

Our competitors were challenged to develop an integrated PR campaign promoting pet inclusivity in Hong Kong, which is currently at a crossroads of change. While SPCA has been working with local businesses, government representatives and other agencies to create more spaces for humans and their pets to play, romp and bond, challenges remain. Increased public support remains critical in making pet inclusivity a reality.

Nicole Man and Tiffany Wong from Golin were announced as the winners, with runner-up teams including Ricky Chung and Emily Chan from Ogilvy, as well as June Shen and Sovina Taneja from Creative Consulting Group. Additional teams also participated from Burson and Weber Shandwick.

Golin impressed the judges with their campaign titled, “The PAWer”, which focused on non-pet owners to induce them as advocates supporting more pet-friendly laws and spaces. The creative idea aimed a strategic eye utilising social and news media to connect with more supporters while educating others as well. This approach aimed numerous tools to harness the power of media to persuade the Hong Kong community.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Deputy Executive Director Louisa Ho said, “Watching these energetic young professionals churn out such diverse, creative, and strategic proposals in such a short time was inspiring. They gave up personal time to create a realm where animals can also have a voice and one that bring pet inclusivity closer to reality. SPCA has been working hard to move the needle on this front and we can’t do this alone, so our sincerest thanks to PRHK for this unique opportunity and to the wonderful participants for their passion.”

“The Hong Kong Young Lions PR Competition is a standout event each year, offering young professionals in the PR and communications industry a unique and thrilling platform to showcase their skills while contributing to our community. The talent and creativity displayed each year are truly inspiring, and we look forward to welcoming even more participants in the future.” adds Elizabeth Lui, PRHK Young Lions Chair.

The Hong Kong Young Lions PR Competition was judged by a panel from across the local corporation and academic community:

– Louisa Ho, Deputy Executive Director, SPCA
– Courtney Lau, Head of Growth, One Degree
– Onie Chu, Executive Director, The Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of Hong Kong
– D. J. Travis, Lecturer, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
– Carbo Yu, Regional Executive Director, Sinclair