Gemma Ross’ Cannes Diary: Final wrap up

| | No Comments

IMG_1292.jpgGemma 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.

That’s a wrap.

In the wee hours of Monday morning after 17 hours of deliberating we emerged from a dark room in the Palais with an impressive list of Lions and an exceptional Grand Prix winner.

Over six days our jury of 25 led by our esteemed President, Rob Rielly, has embraced, analysed and debated 3,452 entries from 17 countries.

What was clear from the outset was this category is by far the most relevant and exciting for the times. I’d go as far as saying a showcase of some of the best work in the Festival. The opportunity to connect brands with its existing and potential consumers via meaningful interactions has never been so fertile.

IMG_1302.jpgThere wasn’t a sector or category not investing in ways to bring to life their purpose, products and positioning in market via promo and activation. Agencies and brands from every corner of the planet used heavyweight creative, innovation, and product design thinking to capture the attention of its audience.

It was evident that this disicipline is now firmly ingrained in the world’s IMG_1313.jpgmost progressive big and small brands as a way of doing business. Solving commercial problems through experiences, new products and services and platforms that enrich customers daily lives and becomes part of the cultural fabric is now table stakes. It not only has to generate leads and revenue but become newsworthy, go viral, and raise the bar for its category.

 

A great example of this was our Grand Prix IMG_1388.jpgwinner REI #OptOutside. A brave un-promotion that saw the leading retail chain close its doors on the busiest shopping day of the year in the US to encourage its staff and customers to head into the outdoors. It not only made them champions of the product they sell but spearheaded a movement that saw other retail brands follow suit.

Another take away for me was the increase in genuine partnership between clients and agencies to make this high level of work possible. Ideas that required not only the insight and creative solutions but clients to commit research and development resources to collaborate with the creative process and buy into brave new business models.

Our jury was in awe of Brewtroleum and it was a very nearly our Grand Prix. It demonstrated how exciting our industry can be when you couple great creative and a brave client to not only win over customers loyalty but make a difference to the environment and set a new benchmark for the industry.

 

Of course there were brilliant effective creative ideas that we all wish we came up with. The Baby Stroller Test-Ride campaign that gave parents the opportunity to test out what their babies couldn’t give them feedback on. A simple and smart campaign that brought smiles to our faces every time we discussed it.

As a jury we made the call to be tough on charities and celebrate real brands doing purposeful work. There was some great work being done for deserving causes but we looked at it through the same lens as real brands. We separated our emotions and ensured it stood shoulder-to-shoulder with commercial campaigns that were unique and impactful. There was one charity in particular that delivered this for me. Chocó to Dance was a refreshing and entertaining fundraising campaign that turned a nation’s strength into an opportunity to improve its weakness and created a win-win solution for the donor and donee.

It was a privilege to work alongside my fellow jurors reviewing an incredible body of international work. I highly recommend taking the time to immerse yourself in this list of 107 campaigns that picked up metal last night.

Full list of Cannes Lions 2016 Promo & Activation Winners here

Thank you creativity. I leave full of inspiration and love for the best job in the world.