What Can We Learn From This Year’s Cannes Lions?
This year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity results are in the history books forever. All of the awards have been handed out and trophy cases around the world are being prepped and cleared for the fresh new hardware. But instead of batting our eyes at the glistening statues and burying ourselves in news recaps from this year’s 59th annual event, we’ve opted to take a step back for a second.
From this new distance, we see the awards, we see the media, and we even take note that Selena Gomez made a guest appearance. Even further though, we are able to fully understand the implications of this tremendous ceremony. We can survey the past seven days in their entirety and start making sense of what it all means. What has this year’s Cannes Lion’s done to the industry, and more importantly, how can we grow from all this?
1. Connect- No matter where we are or what we’re doing, it seems like we are constantly hearing about the importance of building connections. We need to build network connections to get a job. We need to build social connections to keep up with current events, and when all else fails, we just need to keep connecting. This industry is no different — the company-consumer connection it absolutely vital.
2. Content comes first- Content came before technology, and it has been proven the two should stay in that order. Across all categories, this year’s top winners reinforced the importance of constructing quality, original ideas. We have infinite technological tools at our immediate disposal, most of which can be accessed by anyone who seeks them (and can afford them). The 3D images and fancy graphics draw eyes initially, sure, but time and history continue to prove that in order to keep those eyes, the message has to be worth holding on to.
3. Simplicity works- There’s a time and a place for hidden meanings and reading between the lines. Whether it was a tiny tweak to grocery store receipts or merely going “back to the start,” stay simple. Stay really, really simple — it worked.
This year’s Cannes Lions highlighted just how vital it is for companies to connect, and stay connected, with its consumers. More importantly, keep it simple, bypass the fancy marketing and advertising techniques and make the consumer feel a sense of belonging, membership, and even commitment to the brand.
So there you have it, a three-step guide to success at next year’s Cannes Lions Awards… right?
Unfortunately not. As technology continues to transform our industry, it seems nearly impossible to plan ahead, let alone stay ahead of the curve. So then what can we truly take out of this year’s Festival? Given that our entire industry will likely be unrecognizable by this time next year, is it even worth trying to master this year’s techniques?
Click here to see the full list of this year’s winners.
