Cannes Lions Brand Marketers Academy: Diary of a Cannes First-Timer

Let me start by acknowledging how unreal the experience of Cannes Lions and the streets of Cannes were during the festival week. It was a sensory overload and the vibe was just right, with cool activations and brand kiosks around every corner designed. It certainly felt like a dreamland, where every second person on the street seemed to be a marketer. This year, I was fortunate enough to be selected to attend and represent India at the Cannes Lions Brand Marketers Academy. The most rewarding aspect of the academy was to be in the same room with 29 exceptionally talented individuals from 19 different nationalities, markets, and languages. Everyone shared a unique perspective with delightfully distinctive accents, yet we all were united by our love for building brands. Fernando Machado led this incredible experience with his infectious enthusiasm for creativity and our industry, as impressive as his legendary career, left an indelible mark on all of us. By the end of the week, we aspired to be just like him.

My days typically began with a ritual of walking across the beautiful Croisette, overlooking the glittery Mediterranean Sea and French yachts, before grabbing a quick pain au chocolat or croissant with an espresso for breakfast. Our packed schedule for the six days involved daily sessions with a different CMO every hour. We didn't just watch award-winning work; we delved into the creative process behind it, learning directly from the people who brought it to life. We also gained insights into industry trends and explored the qualities required to be a successful modern marketer in today's world. One particularly insightful learning for me came from a conversation with Marc Pritchard, who shared his experience of a lifetime, building brands at P&G. He emphasised on the importance of searching for insights from everyday moments and exploring how brands can influence positive behavioural change by looking beyond existing behaviours, which we usually call insights.

While Lauren Hong from Droga5 (New York) and I were the only representatives from the agency side, we were committed to understanding the expectations of every client-side CMO who entered the room. A key session was with Diana Frost, CGO at Kraft Heinz, the brand that dominated the awards especially the creative effectiveness grand prix and many other categories this year. We learned how she manages a highly effective system that bridges the gap between in-house agencies and external partners, allowing creative teams to drive exceptional work consistently while streamlining the implementation process. She emphasised on the importance of building relationships and suggested using WhatsApp over presentations for pitching new ideas to eliminate the time and roadblocks between ideation and execution.

All of us, at some point, have had great ideas or initial concepts that often end up on the last page of our notebooks but never get executed. Later in the week, we met Juan and Ricardo, CCOs from GUT, who conducted a session titled ‘What Is Dead May Never Die.’ They took us through a series of their projects that almost died but eventually won big in terms of effectiveness and creativity. As someone who is constantly thinking of proactive ideas, I’ve always struggled with execution. This session helped me understand the framework used by GUT to minimize the chances of rejection and revealed the secrets to reviving an idea.

The session on Thursday morning wasn't a typical marketing masterclass. It was a crash course for becoming a Cannes Lions jury, hosted by the jury president himself. Marco transformed the room into a full-fledged jury room. Our task was to filter entries, shortlisting the best, assigning scores, passionately debating their merits, and ultimately choosing a grand prix winner. The room crackled with enthusiasm, we dissected each campaign, passionately advocating for our favourites. Perhaps a little too passionately – Marco had to gently remind us to cool down. This session was a invaluable experience, one that I'll leverage not just when evaluating future campaigns, but also when crafting my own work to be award-worthy.

There were countless takeaways from this incredible experience, but the most beautiful aspect of the academy was the collaborative spirit between the academy. Each marketer approached the program with an open mind, willing to learn alongside their peers regardless of their accomplishments. One such instance was when I was representing the exceptionally talented Brand Marketers cohort on a panel at the CMO accelerator program along with four other peers, the rest of the group immediately turned into photographers, capturing this moment for us and flooding the WhatsApp group with cheering messages, even though we were nowhere close to our phones. This kind of genuine love and support is rare, and it's something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

In addition to the six days of learning from industry veterans, we experienced the formation of a strong relationship amongst the 30 of us. We learned together, but we also danced together, sang together, ate together, partied together and wandered the streets of Cannes together.

This, for me, captured the essence of Cannes Lions this year – a collection of learnings and experiences, both within the Palais and outside of it. It's an experience that I believe will greatly influence my career for the better.

If you're under 30 and passionate about marketing creativity, I strongly recommend overcoming any inhibitions and applying for this life-changing experience next year.