Another Cannes Lions festival has now come and gone. Plenty of inspirational sessions featuring celebrated speakers, plenty of yacht parties, and inevitably, plenty of rosé have made the rounds in the South of France. As a Cannes Lions newbie, I initially hoped to dabble in a bit of all of these. However, the honour of being selected as a Mobile Lions judge this year meant that my Cannes experience ultimately consisted of long days of intense discussion in a windowless room as opposed to celebrity keynotes and rosé fuelled evenings. Nonetheless, I loved every minute of it and came away feeling truly inspired by where mobile technology continues to take our industry and the work submitted from all corners of the world.
With over 1,200 entries submitted into this year’s Mobile Lions from across the globe, it was clear from the onset that there would be A LOT of discussion in the judging room. With a diverse group of industry leaders from over a dozen markets that included creative and specialist agencies, clients, and developers, there would inevitably be plenty of viewpoints and consequent debate. Over the course of five days and nearly 60 hours of judging, we talked, laughed, and debated. We argued for pieces of work that personally spoke to each of us, against work that may have seemed questionable in regards to its creativity and originality, but above all, we celebrated the beacons of mobile creativity that collectively inspired us. Without a doubt, the overall quality of the work was impressive and indicative of how far mobile can take us as marketers, and more importantly, as people connecting with others in our daily lives and for the greater good.
From using location as a trigger to personally invite people uploading photos on Instagram to go inside the Sydney Opera House with tailored experiences, to the use of Bluetooth technology incorporated into a swimming cap for visually impaired Paralympic swimmers in Samsung’s Blind Cap, the winning work was diverse and it was powerful. However, across all 62 Mobile Lions awarded, the campaign that stood out as worthy of the Grand Prix was the New York Times VR project, which has demonstrated how a 165 year-old traditional media brand can use mobile to bring virtual reality to the masses and immerse them in factual story-telling in a way that traditional journalism previously couldn’t.
Fittingly, this year’s theme at Cannes was ‘Thank You Creativity’ and the quality of work personally inspired a sense of gratitude as it made it clear that there has never been a more exciting time to leverage mobile as a creative medium.
A list of all Cannes Mobile Lions winners can be found on the Cannes Lions site. My views on wider trends across this year’s Mobile Lions can be found here.
After the last award was handed out, the last inspiring words uttered, the last connections made and the final party wound down, the sun finally set on an intense week for the marketing world. As this was my second year running to attend, it got me thinking about how the event has become a great beacon of inspiration for an ever-changing marketing world. A pilgrimage of sorts for marketers yearning to reignite that love for what they do, get inspired from the world class list of speakers and meet some of the most forward thinkers in our industry.
Heading back home, here’s what stood out for me:
Don’t interrupt, entertain!
In an ad bloackable and skippable world, there is a new expectation for brands to constantly entertain. We have come a long way from pushing messages to people just because they have no choice but to hear what we want to tell them. The power has completely shifted and it’s time for us marketers to focus our efforts in making sure that entertainment is at the core of every brand. Every brand must find its platform and think, act and behave like an entertainment brand, producing work that makes people react. Makes them feel something. And ultimately makes them want to associate with your brand and share with their network.
It’s a quality game, not a quantity game
To us marketers the digital world has given us a whole new array of platforms and tools to better reach our potential business audiences and engage with them in ways we had never seen before. We as an industry have taken this as an invitation to include ourselves into conversations that we were never truly invited to, creating the overused buzzword: “real time marketing” and pushing a quantity game versus a quality game. There are too many brands that are aimlessly wanting to produce more, forgetting the power of an actionable insight that holds their “big idea” campaign together. Every single case that was shortlisted into the Cannes Lions had one thing in common; they were rooted in an insights that transcended platforms and connected the brand to their business potential target seamlessly and in an entertaining manner.
If you can’t beat the big 2, adapt to them
Ever since Facebook and Google began their invasion of the media and marketing world, it started a love/hate relationship with agencies and brands. At the rate that things have been progressing, the big 2 have already started capturing the lion’s share of marketing budgets; which is expected as that’s where people are these days. The forecast is for them to get even stronger and more dominant over the next couple of years as they diversify their offering and analytics. Now this mainly impacts agencies, as both companies offer brands a self-serve system cutting out the middle men, which has put pressure on the big marketing conglomerates’ profitability. To be better prepared for the future the only way to survive is to accept this new status quo and adapt agency offering around what the big 2 are capable of delivering as opposed to fending them off.
AI, the next step change in humanity
It took a little over a decade for us to see how the development of the smartphone changed our lives forever. We are now witnessing the same with artificial intelligence. As the technology develops, we are seeing many companies invest in AI as it becomes smarter, faster and easier for people to use. Whether be it IBM’s Watson, Apple’s Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana they have all become so powerful that they currently have learning capabilities and are able to perform redundant tasks in seconds that used to take people several hours and days. In the coming 10 years this will highly impact the jobs that people do and how they live their lives running errands, ordering food, playing music and even driving their cars. The next step would be to see how brands interact with AI, when it’s them calling the shots on what products to recommend and purchase.
Partnership, not client/agency relationship
Procter & Gamble’s Chief Brand Officer had the stand out talk for me. He came out on stage with nothing more than wanting the industry to get its act together and get back to getting great work done. The client/agency relationship has gone through so much strain and blame over the past couple of years as agencies continued to get their hands around the complexities of the changing landscape. One thing he made clear is that the client/agency relationship must transform into a partnership and that note alone is refreshing to hear from one of the world’s most active advertisers. Agencies must restructure their teams to become an extension of their clients’ marketing functions and aim for the same business objectives.
There is no doubt in my mind that the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is the best place for any marketer to fall in love with the industry once again. Especially when the entire focus of the event in recent history is all about getting great work done around powerful insights, leveraging analytics and technology, to drive business growth for brands.
Through MG OMD’s CANNESdidates programme we had the chance to attend the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2016. We spent 3 days listening to inspirational talks, trying out new technologies and attending a few parties.
We’re certain you don’t want to listen to us boasting about the various celebrities spotted, so instead, over the next 2 days we will talk you through some of the key learnings from the most interesting talks we attended, focusing on the overall topics of purpose, collaboration and creativity that ran throughout the festival.
STRESS DRIVES CREATIVITY
Carl Addy, Creative Director for The Mill, talked about the SNAFU: a word for chaos and messed-up situations and how they are fuel for creativity. As people, we are built to perform and problem-solve through creativity – that’s how we evolved as a human race from the Stone Age to the modern world we live in now. However, it is key to make a clear distinction between good and bad stress. Bad stress leads to tunnel vision, whereas good stress creates a challenge and avoids stagnation. It is important to note that creativity is not about the right or wrong answer – sometimes it’s better to be more interesting than right. Also, we need to be comfortable with not being able to control everything and learn to work with our gut feelings.
Summary: Don’t be scared of stress – it helps you to think creatively and come up with new solutions. Don’t try to control everything and trust your instinct.
HOW TO WIN A CANNES LION
‘Cracking the code of creativity’ session by Razorfish and Contagious analysed 25 years of Cannes Lions winners with the goal of identifying the key factors that maximise the chance of winning a Lion.
To be honest, the general feeling was that winning a Lion is extremely hard; the percentages speak for themselves:
Bronze Lion 1.7%
Silver Lion 1.83%
Gold Lion 0.73%
Grand Prix 0.07%
So how can we maximise our chances? Interestingly, the research showed that there is no correlation between creativity and media spend, no correlation between the GDP of the country and creativity and no correlation between the size of the agency and the likelihood of winning a Lion. So it seems the code is far from cracked, however here are a few indicators that do have some influence:
Clients and agencies that stick together have a much better win rate! 10+ year client/agency relationships experience x2 the average winning rate
Submissions that have more individual people involved are more successful by 26%
Submissions with a larger share of below director level individuals are more successful
Submissions with 3+ agencies credited have 42% higher rate of winning
Summary: Every campaign has a chance to win a Cannes Lion no matter what the budget, the key is relationships between the agencies and the clients as well as involvement across all levels of the businesses.
SHIFTING FROM TARGET TO GOAL
The actor, Will Smith, had one of the most inspirational talks of the festival discussing how the internet has changed the movie industry and how social media puts pressure onto film directors to make great movies due to instant reviews.
Then he hit a more philosophical note regarding how brands and individuals need to shift from targets to goals. This would build both brand and personal legacy. Question all of your decisions – are they helping you reach your goals?
Summary: Do you know what your brand and personal purposes are? If so, make sure any decisions you make help you to get there.
IT IS TIME TO CHANGE THE WAY WE WORK WITH CLIENTS AND OTHER AGENCIES
Al Moseley from 180Amsterdam spoke about moving from the imperialist model to the Roman orgy. Sounds very saucy but it posed a lot of truth. Currently, competing agencies in front of the client are like gladiators fighting in front of an Emperor. They are constantly fighting their corner and waiting for approval. All too often the consumer gets forgotten in this process as well as keeping track of the bigger picture. We need to be reminded that the real Emperors are the consumers and they are the ones to please.
Agencies and clients should move to a more collaborative Roman Orgy model where everybody has clear ambition, knows the rules, trusts each other and creativity is encouraged. This will provide a sound basis for a collaborative culture, healthier relationships and overall commitment to the common goal. To start the collaboration process, Al Moseley encouraged all parties to agree on three key questions:
1.) Do we know the ambition and purpose? Do we share the ideology?
2.) Is everyone empowered to contribute in a positive way?
3.) Are we prepared to push boundaries and if so, where do we draw the line?
Summary: We are stronger when working together; creativity should be a collaborative effort rather than a clash of egos and bravado. Everybody needs to be equally invested in a relationship and have the same ambition and purpose.
FUTURE BRANDS ARE CHANGING THE WORLD FOR THE BETTER
Keith Weed from Unilever talked about the power of individuals, influencers and impacts, but primarily focused on the latter.
Advertising has the power to change habits, hearts and minds meaning that big multinational corporations, such as Unilever, have the chance to touch people across the world at scale. They moved from advertising to sell products, to advertising with a purpose. Some of these examples – Lynx – Find Your Magic , Persil – Dirt is Good, Dove – Self Esteem Project fight stereotypes and encourage social good. We create better advertising if we create more progressive, purposeful ads.
The good news is that purpose led ads are more successful. At Unilever – sustainable living brands grew 30% faster than the rest of the business.
Summary – The returns on purpose-led advertising are not limited to a feel-good factor and a sense of moral achievement – It also provides growth and revenue.
WHAT IS INEVITABLE IN THE NEXT 20 YEARS
Wired’s Kevin Kelly covered four out of 12 predictions for the future. He highlighted that these changes are inevitable, but specifics can’t be known until it actually happens.
1.) Virtual reality (VR) will be the next platform after the smartphone and will take shape in Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality. The key to these new realities is that we are not trading clicks and views, we are trading emotions and experiences. So don’t try to put a banner in VR – give people a story and an experience they can relate to. New realities allow us to move to the internet of experiences. Check out Magic Leap – they pave the way of future MR.
2.) ‘Cognifying’ – making everyday things smart via artificial intelligence (AI). Kelly calls it the second industrial revolution (some say the fourth). When electricity was invented, we no longer needed to use muscle power to move things. With AI, there will be no need for us to complete certain thinking tasks that require efficiency.
Example: When we applied electricity to a water pump, we no longer needed to manually pump the water out of the well. Now take the electric water pump and apply AI – and you no longer need to think when to pump the water.
3.) Don’t worry about AI taking over – it will be better than humans on specific tasks, but not for everything. Just because a dog is much better at smelling or a mouse in hearing, it doesn’t mean they comprehend the bigger picture. In the same way, Siri is smarter than we are in understanding maps and navigation, or Google Now is smarter than we are in finding the information, but it is just that. AI will become a service, a grid that you can tap into to get extra cognitive power (like electricity, gas or water presently). We will be able to ‘borrow’ some extra thinking power to complete our tasks faster and with more precision. There are, of course, still be questions to be answered, such as AI ethics, for example, with autonomous AI cars, at the point of an imminent crash, who’s safety will it put first – the passenger’s or the pedestrian’s?…
4.) Centaurs – teams of humans and AI working together, rather than AI taking over. It will take over jobs that require efficient process and precise outcome. AI will also create new jobs for humans (the same way the internet did), where efficiency is not a priority – such as arts, experiences, scientific innovation – areas that require creativity, bravery and testing. AI will be able to diagnose and cure diseases like cancer, perform gene modification – but we will pave the way in identifying what to actually research (using AI of course).
Summary: The future is always hard to predict, but at present, we can assume it will be tech-driven with machines having the capability to make us super-human.
In conclusion, we had an incredible time at the Cannes Festival of Creativity 2016 and are so grateful to MG OMD for the opportunity to attend. Through hard work and a winning idea, we got to witness the incredible advancements of thought and technology taking place in our industry first-hand and through the mist of sunshine, sea and the occasional glass of rosé, we learnt to look to the future and embrace the changes that promise to impact us all. We are ready, are you?
My inspiration from this year’s Festival of Creativity in Cannes came from experiencing people who were the Real Deal.
‘Real Deal’ness was heard in every word of Condé Nast Artistic Director Anna Wintour’s elegant presentation. Activist Cindy Gallop and legendary film director Oliver Stone physically embodied it, raging against the machine. Under Armour Founder and CEO Kevin Plank and Droga5’s David Droga are creating it in the Under Armour brand. Kate Stanners, Global Chief Creative Officer at Saatchi & Saatchi and Christopher Bailey, Chief Creative and CEO of Burberry, gently took listeners behind the scenes of being one. Tim Armstrong, CEO and Chairman of AOL Inc. shared how he leads with it.
We can learn from them, both from a personal point of view and as marketers.
Brands, like people, have to be the Real Deal to be great. As Kevin Plank put it, “Brand is everything. People instinctively recognise this passion, honesty and purpose. It’s compelling.” Or as Christopher Bailey described Anna Wintour: “Anna is never, ever half-hearted. It’s always personal.”
So here is my composite of Cannes-canniness.
Everything counts
Anna Wintour talked about “using all your gold”. She suggests looking with fresh eyes at one’s processes and resources to find latent value that can be put to good use. For example, the length of time journalists take to research and develop a feature can be viewed as costly, however seen through her ‘using all your gold’ prism, it yields multiple stories offering a compelling run of articles leading to the final story. This shift helped Condé Nast titles embrace the immediacy of digital whilst increasing the value of their final print output across Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Vogue. Anna quoted David Remnick, New Yorker editor’s mission, of generating stories of “immediate interest but lasting significance.”
Under Armour’s philosophy is summed up with their #IWill hashtag Kevin shared how this sense of tenacity and commitment informs three behaviours encouraged in internal meetings –
What did I hear? – Listen to each viewpoint.
What do we think? – A point of view is required, seen through their brand lens.
What are we going to do? – Make a choice, and decide actions.
Cindy Gallop, who set up Cannes’s Glass Lion Award and who had several high profile speaking turns at the Festival, did not stop there. She set Twitter alight picking up on the unconscious gender bias in The Case for Creativity, a book by James Hurman distributed to all Festivalgoers, which only quoted male creative and marketing expertise. Cindy also called out an awarded entry for its casual sexism; resulting in it being pulled from the festival.
The value of sheer Bloody Mindedness
Each of them is driven by a mission and a belief system. This gives them certainty: the certainty to embrace uncertainty – an essential part of the creative process to get to something new. A clear mission offers a fixed end point, a long-term goal, which allows for flexibility and the necessary trial and error along the way. Sheer bloody mindedness keeps them on track. As Tim Armstrong said: “Success is messy. You need to cultivate the ability to live with it if you want creativity to flourish.”
Kevin Plank: “A brand is not a brand if it doesn’t have a point of view.” According to David Droga, founder of legendary creative shop Droga5, it is this belief that makes Under Armour such an exciting business to work with. It offers clarity, direction and the ability to make sure that everything from product to philanthropy comes from that single brand source. As Kevin put it bluntly: “We don’t do fluffy ad spots that don’t have a point of view.” Cue their Cannes Lions Film Craft Grand Prix this year for ‘Rule Yourself’ with swimmer Michael Phelps.
Oliver Stone demonstrated his belief in another way. When asked which were his favourite films, his response was: “Every single one. They all matter. Well, they matter to me.” Qualifying that with: “Hopefully audiences feel what I felt when I made them.”
The case for Grand Ideas
Anna Wintour made the case for ideas: “of time and heft, fuelled by high ambition. Big challenging stuff matters. You can’t shortcut your way to creativity. Effort and attention pays off.”Our job in the creative industries is to dazzle our audiences – push them past where they’ve been. A perfect case in point was Vanity Fair breaking news with their cover story on Caitlyn Jenner – developed in secret over three months and written by contributing editor Buzz Bissinger, with a shoot by legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz.
Anna dared us to be different in the pursuit of grand ideas – like Amy Schumer redefining a more human and personal style of comedy; James Corden reinventing late night telly and harnessing Youtube with his quirky friendliness; Beyoncé creating a visual album with Lemonade (almost a feature film in itself.) These are people redefining the game, coming from a place of sincerity and creativity.I could hear Cindy chime in here on gender equality, “Women challenge the status quo, because they are never it”.
Tim Armstrong flipped the telescope on big ideas, talking about working “on a molecular level” – one individual to one message at a time, and sweating the little things in your business.
Kate Stanners described the need for shifting to ‘an altitude view’ as she progressed from department leader to agency leader. This helps her create an environment where grand ideas flourish, with a focus on both the work and the people: “My job is to work on the big stuff and the nasty stuff. And the good stuff? You are not big enough until you can give ideas and their attribution away.”
The Real Deal may sound unattainable, so I will end with a final quote from Kevin Plank, on Under Armour’s success: “I never thought it couldn’t happen. Why not us?”
OMD IS ONCE AGAIN THE MOST MEDALED MEDIA AGENCY IN CANNES
OMD has once again proved to be an indomitable force as we were hailed as the most awarded media agency network, earning a total of 63 lions across many different categories. Winning 3 grand prix, 9 gold, 16 silver and a staggering 35 bronze. OMD has again without doubt stolen a march on its competitors at one of the most prestigious creative events in the industry.
OMD’s accolades were awarded for work across a broad spectrum of client categories – including automotive, CPG, financial services, media, retail, sports goods and technology – by OMD agencies across the globe. On top of being the most awarded media agency in the Media category, OMD also topped the ranking in 7 further categories including Digital Craft, Creative Effectiveness, Cyber, Integrated, Film, Film Craft and Health & Wellness.
OMD WINS SPAN GLOBE AND CATEGORIES
OMD SWEDEN – SLOW DOWN GPS, IF INSURANCE (6 TOTAL – 1 GOLD, 1 SILVER, 4 BRONZE)
OMD SWEDEN – THE ORGANIC EFFECT, COOP (4 TOTAL – 1 GRAND PRIX, 1 GOLD, 1 SILVER, 1 BRONZE)
MG OMD UK – TINY DANCER, JOHN LEWIS INSURANCE (3 TOTAL – 1 GOLD, 2 BRONZE)
OMD SWEDEN – THE FISH, KLARNA (2 TOTAL – 2 BRONZE)
OMD SWEDEN – THE CHEESE, KLARNA (1 TOTAL – 1 BRONZE)
OMD SWEDEN – THE SWIM, KLARNA (2 TOTAL – 2 BRONZE)
OMD UK – HUMANS, CHANNEL 4 (2 TOTAL – 2 SILVER)
MG OMD UK – THE MAN ON THE MOON, JOHN LEWIS (2 TOTAL – 1 SILVER, 1 BRONZE)
MG OMD UK – MONTY’S CHRISTMAS, JOHN LEWIS (1 TOTAL – 1 GRAND PRIX)
OMD UAE – I CAN TEACH YOU TOO, DUBAI CARES (1 TOTAL – 1 BRONZE)
OMD ITALY – DACIA FAMILY PROJECT, RENAULT ITALIA (1 TOTAL – 1 BRONZE)
OMD GERMANY – KEYS OF HOPE, DEUTSCHER CARITASVERBAND / CARITAS INTERNATIONAL (1 TOTAL – 1 BRONZE)
OMD ITALY – BUSINESS BOOSTER, RENAULT ITALIA (1 TOTAL – 1 BRONZE)
OMD UK – HUNTED, CHANNEL 4 (1 TOTAL – 1 BRONZE)
MG OMD UK – A GROUND-BREAKING CAMPAIGN TO COMBAT LONELINESS, JOHN LEWIS (1 TOTAL – 1 BRONZE)
OMD UAE – CHAMPIONS HIJACK, GO SPORT (1 TOTAL – 1 BRONZE)
OMD USA – THE SUPER BOWL DUNK, GATORADE (5 TOTAL – 1 GOLD, 1 SILVER, 3 BRONZE)
OMD USA – GE PODCAST THEATRE PRESENTS THE MESSAGE, GE (3 TOTAL – 2 GOLD, 1 BRONZE)
OMD USA – IN-A-SNAP, LOWE’S (3 TOTAL – 1 SILVER, 2 BRONZE)
OMD USA – NYT VR, THE NEW YORK TIMES, NYT VR, T BRAND STUDIO, GOOGLE, GE, MINI (1 TOTAL – 1 GRAND PRIX)
OMD USA – THE LADY GAGA + INTEL PERFORMANCE, INTEL (1 TOTAL – 1 GOLD)
OMD USA – COLOR BARS, APPLE (1 TOTAL – 1 SILVER)
OMD USA – INTEL WINTER X GAMES 2016, INTEL (1 TOTAL – 1 BRONZE)
OMD USA – RAINBOWS, DORITOS (1 TOTAL – 1 BRONZE)
OMD USA – PEPSI + EMPIRE PARTNERSHIP, PEPSICO (1 TOTAL – 1 BRONZE)
OMD USA – HISTORY OF SOUND, APPLE (1 TOTAL – 1 BRONZE)
OMD NEW ZEALAND – UNFORGOTTEN SOLDIERS, SKY TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND (7 TOTAL – 3 SILVER, 4 BRONZE)
OMD NEW ZEALAND – HELLO, NZ TRANSPORT AGENCY (1 TOTAL – 1 GOLD)
OMD COSTA RICA – #LEYDEMIERDA (#SHITLAW), TERRITORIO DE ZAGUATES (2 TOTAL – 1 SILVER, 1 BRONZE)
OMD DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – END THE SILENCE, LA SIRENA (2 TOTAL – 1 GOLD, 1 SILVER)
Mainardo de Nardis, Global CEO, OMD Worldwide said, “We are thrilled and proud to have been awarded and recognised once again for our commitment to stronger, smarter and better work for our clients. Creativity remains at the core of everything we do at OMD and as the landscape changes in our industry we have the agility and the talent to lead and equally make our clients leaders in their categories as well. We wish to thank all of our incredible clients that make this possible – and our people, without whom none of this would be possible”
This year our very own Chris Mitchell and James Reeves headed to Cannes to take part in the highly prestigious international Young Lions competition, representing the UK to compete against some of the best of the best to solve a live 24-hour brief. Here’s what they had to say about the experience.
Cannes Lions 2016 has for us, UK Young Media Lions, come full circle. At noon on Friday the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon was joined on stage by the CEOs of the “big six” communications groups, to announce a new initiative called “Common Ground” in support of the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Of all the 17 sustainable development goals, Omnicom Media Group has chosen to focus on education. Somewhat coincidentally it was with a focus on this particular goal that our week began as we were briefed competing with 42 other nations to tackle the challenge of education for the most vulnerable within 24 hours.
Despite having tackled a British Red Cross brief on the subject of the European refugee crisis to be awarded UK winners, we remained daunted by the scale of the brief. However, in equal measure we were also excited as the inspirational environment of Cannes was quickly teaching us media can save lives, as well as sell, entertain and inform.
We unfortunately didn’t win but, upon reflection, there was much to take from the process of competing;
When faced with something we know the least about we are forced to be the most curious and seek out new information. Regardless of arriving an award worthy answer or not, this process of seeking new information as means to an answer will always be beneficial.
Deadlines limit the luxury of dwelling, force you to be direct and trust yourself.
When you think there is nothing there will be something. With some seriously asserted effort you are forced to think laterally, ask why with more force and connect dots that weren’t initially obvious.
Good ideas can crop up from any source at any time, but practising the process of idea generation will increase the propensity for great and help you identify which path to take along the way.
And of course, never forget to enjoy it. It is our job to be creative and there is nothing more fun than that.
CANNES, France, June 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — For the fourth time in five years, Omnicom Media Group (OMG), the media services division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC), tops the list of media agency holding company winners at the annual Cannes Festival of Creativity, with its agencies OMD and PHD taking home a total of 15 Media Lions.
OMD was the most awarded agency network in the category, earning a total of 11 Media Lions – one gold, three silver and six bronze; OMD was also the credited partner for the Grand Prix winners in the PR, Creative Effectiveness and Mobile categories. PHD earned one gold, one silver and two bronze Media Lions.
The combined performance from OMD and PHD propelled Omnicom Media Group to the top of the category, winning more than twice as many Media Lions as the next most awarded media holding company.
OMD Wins Span Globe and Categories OMD’s 11 Media Lions were awarded for work across a broad spectrum of client categories – including automotive, CPG, financial services, media , retail, sports goods, and technology – submitted by OMD agencies across the globe. Winning agencies, clients and campaigns included:
GOLD LION
OMD Dominican Republic – “Ending the Silence” campaign for La Sirena
SILVER LION
OMD UK – “Humans” campaign for Channel 4 (2)
OMD Dominican Republic – Ending the Silence campaign for La Sirena
BRONZE LION
OMD Italy – “Business Booster” for Renault
OMD Sweden – “Slow Down GPS” campaign for IF Insurance
OMD UAE – “Champions Huack” campaign for Go Sport
OMD UAE – “I Can Teach You Too” for Dubai Cares
OMD UK – “Hunted” campaign for Channel 4
MG OMD – “Campaign to Combat Loneliness” for John Lewis
OMD USA – “Intel Winter Games” for Intel
Strong Showing for PHD APAC Agencies Three of PHD’s four wins were claimed by APAC agencies, including a Gold Media Lion won by PHD New Zealand for DB Breweries “Brewtroleum” campaign; a Bronze won by PHD Australia for Australia and New Zealand Banking Group’s ” Smart Girls – Equal Future” campaign; and a Bronze won by PHD India for Hindustan Unilever’s Lo Kar Lo Bat” campaign. PHD UK took a Silver Lion for Sainsbury’s “Sharing the Gift of Reading at Christmas” campaign.
“The scale and scope of Omnicom Media Group’s win at Cannes this year proves that relentless focus on excellence, innovation and talent always achieves results,” says Daryl Simm, CEO of Omnicom Media Group Worldwide, “not only in terms of industry recognition, but most importantly, in driving business growth for our clients.”
About Omnicom Media Group Omnicom Media Group (OMG) is the media services division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC), the leading global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company, providing services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries. Omnicom Media Group includes the full service networks OMD, PHD and Hearts &Science; the Annalect global data and analytics platform; the Accuen global programmatic buying platform; global performance marketing agency Resolution Media; as well as a number of specialty media communications companies.
Gerry Graf (of Barton F. Graf fame) weighed in on the collaboration discussion at this year’s Cannes Lions festival – in a bed. Wearing pyjamas.
Graf’s co-presenters – Nico Pimentel, co-founder of Castro Innovation House, and Linus Karlsson, Creative Chairman of Commonwealth/McCann – helped take us through the process of their own collaboration (jumping into bed with Graf in their pyjamas too), to demonstrate how to come up with a great idea. It was a process punctuated with failed Skype calls, collaborative karaoke and an introduction to the ‘Gollum Idea’. (That’s when you come up with an idea so precious to you, that you just can’t let it go. And fittingly, Pimentel’s concept of the Gollum Idea, became a Gollum Idea itself, popping up three times in their conversations before hitting the rejected pile.)
The first and most important step is actually just to collaborate. That’s what Amy, Daniella and I did to get here. Then, come up with lots of ideas and trust that the bad ones will lead to good ones. Defend the great ones but don’t think yours are precious just because you came up with them. And have a thick skin: you won’t always agree on everything, but for Graf, politeness is the poison of collaboration, so listen even when it’s not what you want to hear. Step out of your comfort zone, work with somebody, take their criticism head on and your ideas will be richer.
The best work is born when you collaborate and do something different.
