Szallas Group Represented at Cannes Young Lions 2025

We are proud to share that Szallas Group was represented at the prestigious Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity during 16-20 June. Following their victory in the Hungarian national round of the Young Marketers competition, Yuliia Vinualez and Petra Messinger attended the global event in Cannes.

Read on to discover their personal reflections and key takeaways from the experience.

„We’re back from an intense and inspiring week at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where we had the honour of representing Szallas in the global Young Lions Marketers competition.

This year’s brief came from the Braille Institute of America, a US-based non-profit that has supported people with vision loss for over 100 years. Our challenge was to position the organisation as essential and relevant for people with low vision—to compel them to seek help and ultimately grow the Institute’s reach.

With just 24 hours to develop a full campaign strategy, we focused on clarity, with touches of humour, empathy, and accessibility. We built the concept on simple, relatable insights and paired them with accessible digital touchpoints and a clear call to action—leveraging the Braille Institute’s incredible resources. Our campaign was structured, insight-driven, and grounded in practical marketing. The jury responded with curiosity, laughter, and genuine surprise—a reaction we didn’t expect, but were proud to earn.

Beyond the competition, the week was filled with creative energy—from AI-led content prototyping and digital brand transformation to interactive storytelling and even early morning yoga.

We returned from Cannes deeply inspired—though admittedly with less physical energy! It was an incredible opportunity to challenge ourselves, connect with the global creative community, and proudly represent Szallas on an international stage.

A heartfelt thank you to Dorina Pardi and Rita Szilveszter — your support meant the world to us. It wouldn’t have been the same without you!”