Gemma Ross’ Cannes Diary: Day One
Gemma Ross, co-founder and director, Hustle & Bustle is NZ’s representative on the Promo & Activation Lions jury. Ross, along with most of the Australian and NZ jurors, is reporting exclusively for CB.
Bonjour from the not so sunny Cannes.
On Monday afternoon I arrived at my first ever Cannes Lions and Lions Jury service. Flying into the South of France my rookie excitement was at an all time high. Like most creative comms people, Cannes has been a career long dream. Since the preliminary judging commenced a month ago anticipation has rapidly built and some veteran Cannes-goers have shared with me some pretty decent yarns that have not only inspired but made me brace myself for the ride…
For the past three years my business partner Andrea and I have been head down ass up building our wee agency. As all start-up business owners can relate to the energy that goes into simply opening the doors each day, managing and growing a team, winning new business and delivering good work for your beloved clients is immense. Frankly, there hasn’t been a lot of time for awards and I’m looking forward to stepping out and immersing myself in the magic of ideas at the heart of this wonderful industry.
On Monday evening we were welcomed with a sophisticated affair on the terrace at The Carlton Hotel. Everyone put their best first impressions foot forward and looked the French Riviera part. Our jury of 25 is 
representative of all corners of the globe and when we’re together it feels as multicultural as I imagine a UN gathering. We were also joined by the Direct Jury with familiar Kiwi faces, Dave King, who’s now based at Innocean in Sydney, and Tony Bradbourne from Special making an appearance. They told me I’d make lifelong 
friends here and already it feels like that’s true – what a marvellous bunch.
Early Tuesday morning six days of judging kicked off with a hiss and a roar. Our President Rob Reilley set the scene with news that Promo & Activation was this year’s 3rd largest category behind print and outdoor, featuring 3,458 entries from 71 countries – an increase of 8.2% from last year and all-time record high.
The first three days of judging sees us split into sub-juries dedicated to ranking the bulk of the work, before landing on a shortlist on Friday, debating our metal contenders over the weekend, and finally celebrating the rockstars Monday evening.
Two days neck deep into judging it’s fair to say this category is broad and it is buoyant. There isn’t a country, region or category that is not heavily investing in promo and activation campaigns and they’re throwing every tactic, craft, innovation and technology at it.
I’ll share more on the good and the bad when we come up for air and have a shortlist forming…