VML’s Post

' Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is still the only truly global celebration of the absolute best work that our industry is capable of, and in my view it’s a must-attend for everybody. I coach and advise a number of leaders of small to midsize agencies and holding companies, and for their business development and agency growth goals, I always recommend attending Cannes, even (and especially) if they’ve never been. It’s the one week of the year where you can find pretty much everybody in our industry and everybody on the client side all in the one place, so for biz-dev goals, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. Plus, you don’t have to rent a beach to get noticed. Demonstrate precisely what Cannes celebrates -- extremely ingenious strategy + highly creative execution -- and you can impose yourself on the landscape of Cannes to generate buzz, chatter and media coverage to further those goals.' I talk to Barbara Lippert for MediaPost: https://lnkd.in/eBHPavim

Some gems here.

I usually say that Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is for network, not for inspiration. But this year I came home inspired. I had the great pleasure of speaking about the Sounds Right initiative (https://lnkd.in/eHkwDi8A) and how we made Nature an official artist alongside Katja Iversen, Cathy Runciman and Adam Cardew hosted by Stan Stalnaker at the beautiful Hub Culture garden. And later, participating in the awe-inspiring round table at the Goals House hosted by Earth Public Information Collaborative about The Most Important Brief (https://lnkd.in/d_q7WmTP).   Both of those sessions were filled with inspirational people who believe in the power of creativity to drive change for the better. Eager to make more brands and companies move from purpose and profit to impact and responsibility. And looking across the winners it seems like we’re not alone in this mission. Not only did a lot of the winners involve a cause. They have also moved from the more gimmicky way of activating against a cause to creating actual long term impact. It is obviously impossible not to mention our own Pink Chip initiative by the amazing Amsterdam crew. But I also love the Sol Cement SightWalks project by Grey Peru. As well as the Mastercard Room for Everyone campaign by McCann Poland. Just to name a few. I do agree with Karen Howe that it is concerning how many cases – especially in the Glass Lions category – are centered on female oppression. Who would have thought that in 2024 we would have such a high need for creative problem solving within this area? But creativity is there. Having an impact. And this year to a higher degree than we have seen in a long time. If awarding creativity really is like smelling your own farts as Mark Ritson said on stage, this year the smell doesn’t really bother me.

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has unveiled its annual State of Creativity Report, capturing the perspectives of 3000 marketers and creatives in a comprehensive survey of today's creative environment.   The study sheds light on the dynamics of both internal and external relationships, highlighting significant disparities in how brands perceive the agency-client relationship compared to their agency partners. Whether you’re on the brand side or agency side, junior or executive, this report serves as a comprehensive guide offering actionable insights to help navigate potential pitfalls and implement effective strategies across your organization.   Click here: https://bit.ly/3PwSiNx to access the full report. #cannes #canneslions #stateofcreativityreport #creativity #survey #brands #agencies #communication #report

It’s simple: Purpose is effective when purpose is done for a brand and company whose values and intentions are authentic.

A special Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity bonus for you! ❤️ 🎁 Utiq's Carlos Molina del Rio, Director of Product: Ecosystem and Partnerships, sat down with the amazing Mediashotz team to have an exclusive conversation about our Authentic Consent Service proposition and plans for future growth. He also touches on sustainability - a part of our proposition that is incredibly important to us. As Carlos says: "We are a privacy focused business, but with this respect for privacy comes data minimisation, reduced energy consumption, and naturally a more sustainable way of enabling responsible digital advertising." Not only does Carlos have the best beard in #adtech, he's also one of the nicest people in the industry too, so sit back, relax and listen to the awesome Carlos Molina del Rio :) You can watch more from Carlos and Mediashotz here: https://lnkd.in/eFvwxH2T #cannes2004 #canneslions #teamutiq #yourchoicestaysyours Marc Bresseel Will Harmer Julia Gloning Jana Moran Laurent Norridge Norman Wagner Pascale Arguinarena Richard Finer Sophie Poncin Michail Piperakis Monica Rodriguez Paz Carlos Molina del Rio Boris Weiss julien delhommeau Beatrice Lhopitallier Alexandra Jaspar Sara Vincent Catherine Murray Gunter Everink Kostas Chrysovitsiotis Christina Lundari Paul Evans #adtech #data #digitalmarketing #innovation #technology #marketing #change #digitalsovereignty #brands #publishers #audiences #privacy #trust #people #digital #advertising #media #business #digitaladvertising #tech #telco #cookieless

🌟 My Post-Cannes Reflections 🌟 I love Cannes. It’s a week of conversation, connection, and collaboration - a ‘creative mecca’ if you will. But now that the dust has settled and everyone is posting their top takeaways, I’ve been doing some reflecting. And I think something was missing from Cannes this year. In amongst all the awards and big name talks, our industry’s ability to do good got lost. So, here are my top takeaways from Cannes 2024: 🤖 Everyone is obsessed with AI. It’s no surprise that AI dominated the conversation again this year. As an industry, we’re still obsessed with chasing the latest shiny thing, especially if it makes us money. Sustainability has been completely deprioritised. A smattering of brands and agencies made nominal gestures in the right direction, and (embarrassingly) few took the train instead of flying. But aside from that, there was barely anything of note on sustainability at all. 😔 Change has arrived, but not on the main stage. The whole festival felt more diverse and inclusive than ever - WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications Leadership ) had its first real presence in its 101-year history, and lots of interesting conversations took place outside the Palais. But it was a conversation that mainly took place in back streets and small cafés. Meanwhile, the line to watch Elon Musk snaked around the block. 🤑 We need a reframe. AI took centre stage because it has been framed as a driver of growth. Sustainability and D&I remain fringe conversations because they have not. The exception might be women’s sport, which (quite rightly) received a lot of airtime this year because of its demonstrable commercial value. Growth is how you get attention at Cannes.   💚 You can do good and make money. The new Alt Text awards category next year (created by Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in partnership with RNIB and MullenLowe UK) is a great example. The inclusive practice allows brands to target an additional 2.2 billion blind and partially sighted people globally. So next year, let’s make doing good while making money a Cannes priority on and off the main stages. ✊🏼   #CannesLions #Sustainability #DiversityandInclusion #AI #WomenInSport #CreativeIndustry #Advertising

A whopping 82% of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity attendees feel that the festival has become more geared to tech companies than about creativity. "The overwhelming agreement that focus has shifted from creativity towards tech is, if not surprising, still a startling fact. I’d like to think creativity will always remain at the heart of the festival, and be the central tenant of what we do as a sector" - MullenLowe UK chief growth officer, Lucy Taylor. More insight's from MullenLoweUK's research here >>>https://lnkd.in/evcieU7r #advertising #creativity #marketing

ICYMI: Cannes may be over, but the Adland is still buzzing with insights and debriefs on the groundbreaking work showcased at the festival this year. Ben Essen has shared some thoughts on how creativity thrives on reimagining the past, featured in his piece for Campaign. He states, "...all the ground-breaking Grand Prix winners contain recognisable fragments of great ideas that have come before." He continues, "A [better] question for any creative review is: "We know this worked before, so how do we twist it for a new context?" This lets us leverage the proven effectiveness of past campaigns while infusing them with contemporary relevance." Read his analysis and explore the trends and winning work that filled the Croisette conversation: https://lnkd.in/ecYZXVfn #CannesLions #Creativity #Adland

One of the boldest presentations at the Cannes Festival was Mark Ritson's. In a packed room, Ritson questioned the true importance of creativity in advertising. His standout chart was bold: Cannes-awarded creatives from the past three years, measured by System 1, haven't outperformed the market average. This highlights a critical lesson: we often award creativity for its own sake, not its business impact. Cannes celebrates creativity, but Ritson's analysis challenges us to rethink our priorities. Creativity is important, but it's only one element of an entire marketing strategy and, when measured, is not one of the leading factors of success. #CannesFestival #MarkRitson #CreativityInAdvertising #BusinessImpact #MarketingInsights #RethinkPriorities