Cannes Lions festival sees minor decline, shifts towards quality focus

From the Personal Branding Blog

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity reported a minor drop in award entries, around 1% down from the last year and a significant 38% less from the record count in 2016. The slight decline doesn’t undermine the event’s significant industry standing. Instead, it hints at a change towards a quality-centric approach from the participants.

Interestingly, some award categories saw an increase in entries. This points towards a shift in industry dynamics and possibly traces to changes in marketing strategies and innovations. Companies seem to be concentrating their efforts more precisely rather than diffusing across various categories.

An interesting factor impacting the submission numbers is some companies’ decision to pause their participation in such events. For instance, when Publicis Groupe withdrew their participation in 2018, it noticeably affected the entry count. Another influencing factor is the restructuring of award category by festivals. Such changes might redistribute the submissions across varying categories thus altering the dynamic each year.

Entries for long-standing categories have been on a downward spiral since 2016.

Shifting focus to quality at Cannes Lions

New categories like Creative Business Transformation and Innovation Lions are not generating as many submissions. This trend suggests a change in the industry focus, with creativity in business transformation and innovation becoming crucial. Experts believe the scanty submissions these new categories could be due to the vacant understanding about the category nature or lack of resources to effectively compete.

Despite these dynamics, Simon Cook, Cannes Lions CEO revealed impressive growth in the Creative Effectiveness Lions category, with increased entries from brands and media owners. This growth reflects the industry’s acknowledgement of creativity as a critical business tool. The CEO is optimistic about the trend continuing.

Despite the fewer submissions, Cannes Lions Festival continues to thrive, generating over $129 million (£101.8 million), a 30% increase from the previous year. This prosperity springs from branching into fresh business areas like digital programming and virtual reality experiences. The event provides an essential networking opportunity, connecting individuals across the industry worldwide. It continues to be a major player in the creative industry, highlighting innovative and future-oriented work.

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