Monica Jitariuc: Being a juror at Dubai Lynx was an amazing and extremely enriching experience

Monica Jitariuc, Managing Director The Practice Romania, was member of the PR Jury at Dubai Lynx, a jury that was presided, this year, by Gabriela Lungu, Chief Creative Officer Weber Shandwick, UK & EMEA.

After the work was done and winners designated, Monica shared with AdHugger the Dubai experience and how it felt being a juror at an international competition of Dubai Lynx’s level.

Monica Jitariuc: Being a juror in an international Festival of Creativity is an amazing and extremely enriching experience. You have the chance to work with great professionals, to exchange opinions and perspectives, to see the best creative work of the region (MENA in this case) and to get inspiration. Lots of inspiration.

AdHugger: What was the case that impressed you the most during this year’s Lynx?

Monica Jitariuc: I saw many good campaigns – creative solutions for difficult problems, bold executions and great results. I think the most impressive ones (in PR category) were those awarded Gold, especially SAPNA, Feel for the signs or Women Appreciation Month. All the case studies are available online here.

There was another campaign which I appreciated a lot for the courage and great creativity: The Proof of Love from Lebanon

Moreover, outside the PR category I was very impressed by the solution found for the 7 Day Brief by  Mohammed Jabri. Watch his winning film:

AdHugger: How was the interaction with the jury members?

Monica Jitariuc: I had the chance to be part of a great jury and to have a president with a clear vision, a lot of appreciation for creativity and great leading process. The jurors were well-known PR professionals with strong arguments but great flexibility and openness. Moreover, we took the time to rigorously judge all campaigns and the most interesting part was the talks around each of the entries. It was Interesting, insightful and inspirational…therefore, I am very happy and proud to have been part of the PR jury in Dubai Lynx.

AdHugger: Usually, the judging activity is serious and demanding. Were there any funny or surprising moments that you would like to share?

Monica Jitariuc: It is demanding, indeed. Serious-undoubtedly. There were surprising moments like those in which we discovered the local insights and specificities, local problems or causes. It was extremely helpful for us to be introduced in the local culture and get local insights. This was a very interesting, exciting and enriching part in the jury process.

AdHugger: Among others, you are recognized as a Social Media expert. Were there any clever use of Social Media in the PR cases?

Monica Jitariuc: I strongly believe in the power of real conversation. Social media is indeed  about engagement and conversation. I was impressed by the 12th

Man- Gold for Digital PR- and the clever way of using technology to put people together for real. More, The Autocomplete truth was another great campaign that used social media. It was a true example of the fact that a viral is not made, but a viral becomes viral. The power of social media in the conversation was amazing in this multi-awarded campaign.

AdHugger: How does cultural particularities influences Public Relations?

Monica Jitariuc: As public relations is about reputation and it addresses to stakeholders, of course there are many particularities in terms of problems we address and sometimes executions. What stays the same is the power of creativity. You recognize a great idea when you see one and the country does not matter. Great work is great work no matter the country or the continent.

Still, what matters a lot it the local context, the social environment in which the campaigns were done. For example the Women Appreciation Month (a campaign to empower women to be entrepreneurs in a country like Saudi Arabia) was even more valuable if placed into its context.

AdHugger: Did you’ve noticed any similarities between the Romanian PR style and the one in MENA?

Monica Jitariuc: The main similarities are the enthusiasm and the creative vibe, specific for emerging markets. The PR is an industry that needs more trust from a strategic and creative point of view.  The role of creativity festivals (both in Romania, MENA or any other region) are still to put PR into spotlight also on the creativity scene. And Dubai Lynx successfully did it in MENA and even further then that.

AdHugger: Does the Dubai Lynx festival has the power to establish new international trends when it comes to PR?

Monica Jitariuc: I think Dubai Lynx has the power to inspire PR professionals all over the world. And this is more than any trend. The fact that more and more campaigns awarded at Cannes Lions come from MENA and are usually awarded in Dubai Lynx also does say a lot about the power of this festival. It is a strong competition, with good quality entries and high-level content in the seminars.

AdHugger: How does it feel to be an ambassador for Romania at an International Festival of Creativity?

Monica Jitariuc: Representing Romania in Dubai Lynx- such an important international festival of creativity- was a big honor and an amazing experience.

More, having the president of the PR jury from Romania (Gabriela Lungu) is great PR for the PR industry in Romania.

This year’s Dubai Lynx winners were designated by a team of 43 respected and global jury members that spent 3 days judging over 2,279 pieces of work from 18 countries, entered in competition across 15 categories. After shortlisting 503 entries, the juries went onto award 207 winners: 4 Grand Prix, 41 Gold, 70 Silver and 92 Bronze trophies. The UAE took home the most trophies, followed by Lebanon and Egypt. 

Material written by Lucian Talpes