The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has been described as an incredibly overwhelming, overcrowded and utterly exhilarating experience. And this year our Head of Strategy, Jonathan Izzard , made his official debut at the Festival.
Cannes through the eyes of a first-timer #1
Armed with an open mind and dusting off his GCSE French vocab, Izz spent his week navigating the madness of the French Riviera. And here is the first installment of his thoughts from the week. Honest, unfiltered and untouched by the dreaded AI content machine.
Have a read and let us know if you agree, disagree or have an opinion on where the industry is heading, don't hesitate to join the debate!
1. Cannes vs. the canicule: surviving the heatwave
The very first word uttered by the Uber driver from Nice airport upon arrival was la canicule, the French word for heatwave. And boy, did he have it right.
35 degree weather paired with waltzing up and down the Croisette, queuing for brand activations, and marching up steep hills to brand villas meant misting fans became the must have accessory.
The bottom line is that this extreme weather isn't going away. Both attendees and exhibitors need to actively adapt how they design and experience the festival footprint in the future.
2. The 51st state: the American influx
It was impossible not to notice the sheer volume of visitors traveling across the Pond this year. The US presence wasn't just made up of individual executives or pairs; we saw massive, organised groups.
Most strikingly, many were incredibly young. Given the mind-boggling cost of flights, accommodation, and passes, it begs the question: is Cannes a crucial nexus-point for US marketers to build EMEA budgets, or just an amazing holiday?
Regardless of the exact breakdown, the sheer effort and air miles logged by the Statesiders perfectly reflect the unwritten mantra of Cannes: if you're going to commit, then commit.
3. Panels & presentations: what makes a content session worthwhile?
There is no shortage of talks, panels, and content sessions at the Festival. The schedule promises big brands, wrestling with big questions. Well, that’s the idea anyway. The trouble is, too many panels devolve into safe truisms or poorly disguised case studies, a frustrating waste of time when you've queued in the blazing sun.
In Izz's eyes, the best session was a lively two-hander at LBBonline Beach between Mark Ritson and Andrew Tindall on audio marketing. Backed by research, chemistry and conviction, they fielded questions with a raw passion that built instant audience belief.
Panellists don't need a silver bullet or a perfect script. We want to see leading marketers actually deliberating in real-time. It’s more exposing, but infinitely more engaging.
This is just the beginning of the download. Over the coming week, Izz will be diving deeper into the rest of his festival thoughts. From the art of subtlety vs. escalation, to who struck the best balance between exclusive access and total lockout.
