Jodi Harris Scholarship: 2026 Round Closed, Next Cycle Not Announced
Historical reference for the Jodi Harris Scholarship, a fully funded LIONS programme for emerging client-side marketing leaders in partnership with AB InBev. The 2026 application round closed on 9 January 2026 and LIONS has not announced a following cycle.
Jodi Harris Scholarship: 2026 Round Closed
This page is a historical reference for the 2026 Jodi Harris Scholarship. The official LIONS programme page says that applications are now closed for 2026. LIONS has not published a new opening date, closing date, or notification date for another round on that page. There is no current application form to complete, and this page should not be read as an invitation to submit a late application.
The scholarship honours Jodi Harris, whom LIONS describes as a visionary and empathetic leader. At AB InBev, she helped create the Marketing Culture & Capabilities function, an initiative focused on creative effectiveness, professional growth, and community across the organisation. The scholarship carries that focus into a selective programme for client-side marketers who are developing toward senior marketing leadership.
What the 2026 programme offered
The 2026 round offered ten emerging marketing leaders a fully funded, curated programme delivered with AB InBev. The funding covered a trip to the Cannes Lions Festival, including travel, accommodation, and an allowance. Scholars also received a Brand Marketers Festival Pass. LIONS says that pass provided the advantages of the Gold Pass, a customised Festival learning programme, opportunities for collaboration, and private sessions designed for senior marketers.
The award was more substantial than a standard conference ticket. The programme included exclusive sessions with industry thought leaders and the AB InBev executive marketing team. It also included VIP access to Festival content and the Awards shows. LIONS does not state a separate cash scholarship value, so applicants should not treat the allowance as a published cash prize or assume that the programme pays expenses beyond the items named on the official page.
The partnership also explains the programme’s professional emphasis. It was designed around marketing leadership, creativity, and access to people working at a high level in the industry. Someone considering a future application should therefore prepare to explain not only a successful campaign, but also how they make decisions, learn, work with others, and want to grow as a marketing leader.
The 2026 timeline
LIONS published the following dates for the closed cycle:
| Milestone | Published 2026 detail |
|---|---|
| Applications opened | October 2025, 00:01 GMT |
| Applications closed | 9 January 2026, 00:01 GMT |
| Applicants notified | 22 February 2026 |
| Current status | Applications now closed for 2026 |
The deadline in this page’s metadata is the actual closing date, 2026-01-09, rather than a prose status such as “closed” or a guess about the next round. Because that date has passed and LIONS has not announced a following cycle, this entry is marked as a historical reference. The status is intentional: it preserves useful information about the programme while making clear that readers cannot apply to the recorded round.
Who could apply for the 2026 round
The official eligibility wording required applicants to have been born between 26 June 1989 and 22 June 1995. It also required applicants to work in a role for a client marketer at Manager or Senior Manager level. This is an important distinction. The programme was aimed at people working on the client side of marketing, not at every person with an interest in advertising, creativity, or the Cannes Lions Festival.
LIONS also described the desired applicant as someone with a natural curiosity, a love of marketing and creativity, and an aspiration to become a Senior Marketing Leader, Vice President, or CMO. Those qualities are presented as part of the programme’s invitation, while the birth-date and client-marketer requirements are the clearest stated conditions. The published 2026 cohort suggests that LIONS considered a range of marketing responsibilities: the listed roles included Brand Manager, Senior Brand Manager, Global Senior Marketing Manager, Head of Marketing, Brand Lead, Global Creative Strategist, Global Brand Manager, Social Media Manager, and Marketing Lead.
The cohort came from organisations including Reckitt, Mars Snacking, Unilever, Cashea, PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz, Nedbank Group, and Nestlé. That list is useful context for applicants because it shows that the programme was not described as limited to one employer or one exact job title. It does not replace the formal criteria, however. A future call may revise the age window, role requirement, or other conditions, so the next official programme page must take precedence over this archive entry.
What selected scholars received
The fully funded trip was the practical core of the award. LIONS specifically names accommodation, travel, and an allowance. The Brand Marketers Festival Pass was the programme’s access component, with the Gold Pass advantages, a tailored learning programme, collaboration possibilities, and private sessions for senior marketers.
The professional programme added access that a self-funded visitor might not receive. Scholars joined sessions with industry thought leaders and AB InBev’s executive marketing team. They also received VIP access to Festival content and Awards shows. The official description presents the award as a combination of attendance, structured learning, peer connection, and leadership exposure.
Applicants should keep that combination in mind when judging fit. A person seeking only travel support may not be a strong match. The scholarship was intended for an emerging marketing leader who could benefit from a concentrated experience with peers, mentors, and senior practitioners, and who could contribute a thoughtful client-side perspective to the group.
How the 2026 selection process worked
There is no active application process for the closed round. For historical context, LIONS described a three-stage review:
- Application review and shortlisting. Every application was judged on its own merits. A jury of Senior Marketeers at AB InBev reviewed the submissions and created the shortlist.
- Telephone interview. Shortlisted applicants were invited to a telephone interview with the LIONS Jodi Harris team.
- Final decision. LIONS based the final decision on the interview outcome together with the original application.
That process means a future applicant should treat the written application as the main piece of preparation, not as a formality before an interview. The application should make the applicant’s client-side role clear, connect their work to creativity and marketing results, and explain the direction in which they want to develop. It should also be written for a panel evaluating many kinds of marketing work, rather than assuming that a particular sector or job title will speak for itself.
What to prepare if LIONS announces another round
No next-cycle dates have been announced, so the following is preparation guidance rather than a current call. First, save the official programme page and subscribe to the LIONS newsletter. The closed page directs readers to the newsletter for future opportunities; that is the appropriate channel to watch instead of relying on an estimated calendar.
Next, gather two or three concrete examples of your work. For each example, record the business or audience problem, your own responsibility, the creative or marketing decision you made, the people you worked with, and the result. Where confidentiality permits, include a measured change in a relevant outcome. If you cannot share a number, explain what evidence was used to judge the work and what you learned from it. This preparation will make it easier to answer a future application with specifics rather than broad claims about passion or impact.
Also check the client-side requirement carefully. A job title alone may not tell the whole story, but the work must be performed for a client marketer at the level LIONS specifies for that cycle. Agency, freelance, student, and early-career applicants should not assume that adjacent experience qualifies. If your role is unusual or your employer structure is difficult to classify, contact the programme team after a new call is published and before investing time in an application.
Finally, plan for the practical commitment. The published award included travel, accommodation, an allowance, and the Festival pass, but applicants would still need to make room in their work calendar and handle any personal arrangements that the official terms do not cover. Discuss the possibility with your manager early if attending the Festival would require leave or internal approval.
Contact and verification
For questions not answered in the programme information, LIONS lists [email protected] as the contact address. Use the official programme page as the controlling source if LIONS publishes a new call. In particular, recheck the birth-date range, client-side role requirement, funding details, application questions, and all dates before relying on this historical summary.
The verified official source is:
This record preserves the 2026 requirements and process because they may help applicants understand the programme, but it does not claim that applications are open. The 2026 round opened in October 2025, closed on 9 January 2026 at 00:01 GMT, and notified applicants on 22 February 2026. Those are the published dates for the recorded cycle; no later cycle date is supplied here because LIONS has not announced one.