From reimagining Google Maps as a tool for environmental discovery to spotlighting Canada’s next generation of creative talent, this year’s Young Lions competition saw one Canadian team climb onto the global podium.

Lydia Yoon and Joanne Chen, product marketing managers at Google Canada, earned a Silver Lion in the Young Lions Marketers competition. The team earned its place in Cannes after winning a Gold at this year’s Canadian Young Lions competition with “Google Maps: Earth Mode” campaign.

Designed to reconnect younger generations with the natural world, “Google Maps: Earth Mode” introduces a new Google Maps layer that helps users discover local biodiversity, native species and the greenest walking routes around them. For every activation of Earth Mode, Google pledged to donate $1 to Re:wild. This concept positions technology as a bridge to nature, encouraging the more than one billion Gen Z and Millennial users of Google Maps to step away from their screens and engage with the environment around them.

The campaign also imagined a launch activation in which the iconic Google Maps logo would be replaced with an endangered animal tailored to each user’s location, based on Maps data. Key features included nature-first routes, educational callouts highlighting local species and habitats, search tools for endangered wildlife data, and a call to action inviting users to subscribe to conservation updates and learning resources.

According to Cannes Lions, this year’s Young Lions competitions brought together 480 competitors from 70 countries, judged by 40 industry leaders. Canada was represented on the Young Lions jury by Jenny Glover, chief creative officer at Zulu Alpha Kilo and president of the Film jury, and Urania Agas, chief operating officer, Canada, at WPP Media, who served on the Media jury.

The competitors earned their spots through the Canadian Young Lions competition, which took place over the weekend of Feb. 28 to March 2, followed by a live judging round during the week of April 13. Modelled on the global Cannes Young Lions format, the competition challenged teams of two to respond to a brief within a tight timeframe before presenting their ideas to industry juries. This year, the Canadian jury chairs selected the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada as the focus of the briefs, tasking entrants with developing ideas that would raise awareness of the organization’s environmental mission.