Those that view the Cannes Festival of Creativity as a series of parties built around some awards for creative types couldn't be further from the truth. Whilst it is true that there are any number of parties each night, this week is really about learning, being inspired and networking.
To give you a sense of the calibre of speakers, you need only look at the queues to get in to each seminar. With 10,000 delegates from around the world jostling to get a seat to see the likes of Malcolm Gladwell, Sir Ken Robinson, Patti Smith, James Murdoch, will.i.am, Jeffrey Katzenburg, Eric Schmidt, Edward de Bono and did I mention Robert Redford.
All of these speakers spoke of the importance of creativity and the new business models we need to succeed. Added to this were dozens of seminars, where agency principals and CMOs shared their views on the changing media landscape. (It has to be said that some of these sessions could be pretty average.)
Another staple of the Cannes Festival is the Young Lions competition.
News Limited takes 3 teams of two under-28-year-olds to compete against the best in the world in print, cyber and media. This year the print team won gold, and media a 'highly commended' which is a fantastic result.
Most nights at Cannes, before the dinners and functions were the awards ceremonies. These are a fantastic opportunity to see the finalists and winners work being displayed and explained. (If you haven't already seen the media grand prix for Tesco I urge you to check it out.)
The key themes from the seminars as I saw them were:
- Storytelling with authenticity
- Gameification as a new way to connect consumers
- Thinking about communities rather than audiences
- Mobility of devices and the effect that has on creativity and sales fulfilment
- Unplugged in a world where we are always 'on,' what are the opportunities for brands to help people reclaim 'me time'
From a networking point of view there is no better opportunity to spend time with the 150+ agency/client/media executives that are there to discuss the seminars/awards and talk about how ideas could be brought to life back in Australia.
For those that weren't lucky enough to attend, the News Ltd team will be preparing the 'Cannes download' to roadshow to clients and agencies with all the highlights, case studies and themes.
Tony Kendall
Director of Sales, News Limited
Tony Kendall: Cannes 2011
29 June 2011