Cannes Lions to honour Tencent’s SY Lau as media person of the year at the 2015 festival
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity held a press conference in Beijing to announce that it will honour SY Lau, Senior Executive Vice President of Tencent, President of its Online Media Group, with Media Person of the Year at the 2015 Festival.
Lau (pictured left) has driven Tencent’s Online Media Group (OMG) to evolve from a single Internet portal into a highly integrated media matrix that has taken a preeminent position in China. “What SY has achieved is truly inspiring – contributing to the journey that builds Tencent into the largest integrated Internet service company in Asia is no mean feat,” says Terry Savage, Chairman of Lions Festivals. “The Media Person of the Year Award exists to recognise those who have shaped the future of the creative communications industry and who stand as an influential figure in today’s media landscape. SY is the epitome of this and it’s humbling to be able to award him with this accolade.”
OMG’s prominence and influence in the industry, obtained under Lau’s guidance, derives from a mix of powerful platforms, unwavering focus on quality content and innovative products. The result being a totally new industry model that has profoundly influenced the way hundreds of millions of internet users communicate with one another as well as their lifestyles.
“It is truly an honour to accept this prestigious award on behalf of Tencent Online Media Group,” said Lau. “Tencent prides itself in its commitment to deliver innovation and content that continually drives the user experience to new levels of excellence. This accolade is recognition for the immense effort of our teams who set themselves the goal of meeting the dynamic lifestyle demands of people all over the world.”
“We hope that by giving this annual accolade, we can set precedents and benchmarks across the industry while also providing inspiration across the board,” concluded Terry Savage (pictured above).
Lau will be presented with his award on Wednesday 24 June during Cannes Lions, which takes place from 21-27 June in Cannes, France.