“The product I sell is incredibly generic and boring. But we bring it to life through storytelling and imagination,” began Lars Silberbauer, the man responsible for the entirety of LEGO®’s online and social presence, as he took the stage.
It’s Saturday, June 17th and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2017 is well underway, with a host of the world’s most creative and talented people converging on a small French town. They’re here to share ideas, teach others about how to make the most of ideas and to congratulate each other for having had great ideas and executing them brilliantly.
The festival opens with Jason Heller from McKinsey and Co discussing the value of creativity. It’s a great way to start, and exciting to have data backing up the fact that creativity is linked to financial performance. Using an award creativity score (ACS – based on number, breadth and consistency of awards won) companies who place value on creativity and are awarded for their creativity are significantly better financial performers than those with a lower ACS.
And boy, must there be some serious financial performers if the standard of creative content is anything to go by.
Curiosity, Collaboration and Confidence are our core company values at HAVAS Just:: and all were well represented at different points throughout the festival. Trevor Robinson, OBE (responsible for that Tango ad) spoke about the need for confidence when pitching ideas; and Allergan discussed the confidence needed to break the pharmaceutical norms and enable comments on their Facebook pages.
Simon Le Bon talked in detail about the excitement and inspiration that comes from collaboration, enthusing: “work with anyone that will work with you!”.
Meredith Guerriero, head of health at Facebook gave some fascinating stats on connectivity and how patients use the internet. Finally, science fiction artist and body architect Lucy McRae talked about how experiential art inspires both industry and hope.
As the festival organisers say: Great stories start in Cannes. Having experienced everything the festival has to offer, we can safely say that is true. From the range of stunning work on display and eye-opening talks, we have come back buzzing with ideas and inspiration. Now, we’re raring to sink our teeth into the next creative challenge and feed these ideas into new projects.
Check back for more blogs soon, where we’ll cover the ideas discussed in the talks in more depth!