Hilary Milnes’ Post

🦁 😿 Did your Cannes Lions submission not achieve the success you hoped for this year? Despite investing time, effort, and resources, not every entry makes it to the top. But every setback is an opportunity to learn and improve! We are offering free 15-minute "Cannes Lions Post-Mortem" feedback calls to try and help you understand what went wrong. Simply send us your case film and the Lions and categories in which it was submitted. Our team of experts, with firsthand experience in the Cannes Lions jury room, will provide valuable feedback from a jury perspective. Gain a deeper understanding of what may have caused your lack of success and learn how to make the necessary changes for a stronger showing next year. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your chances of success at the Cannes Lions. 👇 Link to book your free call today is in the comments! #CannesLions #CreativeExcellence #Feedback #MarketingStrategy #AwardsExperts #Advertising

On Cannes, Part 2. To get the most out of your Cannes experience, a few pointers from someone who has been there, done that, many times (me below, keynoting on my favorite topic - brand narrative and storytelling, in the world of the ephemeral web): 1. Look at the Work - take a day, or two, to really look at the work. It's a trope to believe that all the inspo, comes from listening to panel discussions about how long walks on the beach fuel someone's creativity. No doubt, it does. But, pass on a few and take the time, to really look at the work. Absorb it, study it, learn about how it was made. Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity does an amazing job of exhibiting all of the award entries, so take the time to explore. 2. Schedule Key Meetings, Ahead of Time - Cannes publishes a list of all the attendees. Rarely are most key players in our industry, gathered in one place for so long. Do take the time to set up one on one meetings, with the folks that really matter to you. Equal parts, business and inspiration. 3. Avoid the Gutter Bar - yes, I've been there. I know the scene. If you do go, leave by 22:00. Late nights and hangovers, are better left for your time back home. Make the most of Cannes - and the dollars being spent on you to attend - by being on your best form, well-rested and clear-eyed to properly digest all that Cannes has to offer. 4. Take Notes, Share Notes - if you take notes as if you're in Uni, you'll better absorb the material being shared. You'll be more present in the moment, engrossed in the creative discussions happening all about you. Yes, your friends and colleagues back home will delight in seeing you holding a Rose at a beach party...but they'll be forever indebted, if you impart some wisdom and help them better understand, what was discussed. SHARE your notes. Nothing creates better absorption of material, than sharing your pov and takeaways, with your colleagues and mates. Record to share, and apply your pov - because your take on the event, is value-added indeed. Ok...more soon! SOCIALDEVIANT #Cannes #Creativity #Lessons #Advertising #CreativeAwards

Cannes Lions Award Entries Are Down 38% Compared to All-Time High in 2016. The average cost per entry is about LKR 345k and traditional categories that make up the bulk of entries have declined since 2016: Print & Publishing, for instance, has fallen from 3,777 entries to 734. #CannesLions #Advertising

Well, we’ve certainly had a few days’ delicious frenzy of Cannes bashing and whingeing. If everyone is honest, though, everyone wants to go. It’s fun, so just admit it. And all the bitching is focused on the wrong devil. Cannes isn’t the problem, though it is hard to escape facile comparisons to “The Masque of the Red Death.” The pestilence of terrible leadership is definitely spreading quickly. And all the big wigs jetting off to Cannes leaves an understandably horrible taste in the mouth for everyone struggling to makes sense of (and find meaningful work in) a fantastically myopic and stupidly self-obsessed industry. When all the sparkling rosé has been drunk and all the backs slapped, advertising “leaders” still face considerable challenges, mostly of their own making but also some new complicating developments. I see Fishbowl, Twitter and Reddit stuff all the time like you all do, and the people making the work are not happy. And it goes way beyond the usual baseline bitching and moaning we all do as a group therapy/solidarity type thing. This is deep rot. So let’s stop the easy pokes at the excesses of Cannes. I’m tempted, too, but I’d rather figure out how to effect change somehow, anyhow. I’m not optimistic though. There’s a smug, comfy, entitled, hauteur emanating from too many corner offices. And many, many—too many—agency people think they work for NGOs not real clients. What’s going to shake up the industry and make it relevant and respected again? Because it ain’t right now.

ICYMI: Cannes may be over, but the Adland is still buzzing with insights and debriefs on the groundbreaking work showcased at the festival this year. Ben Essen has shared some thoughts on how creativity thrives on reimagining the past, featured in his piece for Campaign. He states, "...all the ground-breaking Grand Prix winners contain recognisable fragments of great ideas that have come before." He continues, "A [better] question for any creative review is: "We know this worked before, so how do we twist it for a new context?" This lets us leverage the proven effectiveness of past campaigns while infusing them with contemporary relevance." Read his analysis and explore the trends and winning work that filled the Croisette conversation: https://lnkd.in/ecYZXVfn #CannesLions #Creativity #Adland

When a client asks me: "What is the most audacious, most valuable goal we should set for our brand?" I always say the same thing: "To become a Branded Utility..." When they ask what THAT is, I explain it as so: "You know how you get your electricity from the Electric Company, your gas from the Gas Company, and your water from the Water Company? Well, those are all Utilities - they are the go-to providers for the core goods and services you NEED to survive. Now, you know how you get your search results from Google, you get your streaming content from Netflix, you get your tech from Apple, you get your running shoes from Nike, you get your coffee from Starbucks, and you pay for everything with American Express? Well, those brands are all Branded Utilities; they are the premier go-to providers for the OTHER essential goods and services you need to survive." Simply put, your brand has achieved... quintessence. Well, to the immense credit of Philip Thomas and the incredible team at Ascential, they have successfully elevated the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity into a "Branded Utility..." Simply put, the Cannes Lions brand has achieved... quintessence. #incroyable

A Carrot named Cannes ! First of all, Congratulations to every winner, every shortlist and every entrant at Cannes 2024. The festival of creativity is not what is celebrated at The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès. It starts the moment you get that one thought that sprouts as a potential idea which you want to share and wait for it to be accepted. And then when you take efforts to sell the idea to your client. Making sure the idea is executed, refined and crafted to perfection. When you spend days and nights perfecting the case presentation. Then eagerly wait for the competition to be thrown open for entry. Finally looking for the right category to be entered in and then looking forward to the shortlist announcement. From the day you get the idea to the day you get the results, every moment is a celebration of creativity. From ideation to appreciation to acceptance to approvals to execution to submission, every milestone is a celebration. And just after the festival, the race will start. To hunt the Lion next June. No matter how many Lions you bring to your shelf, the Lions never cease to attract you. Every Lion home is a reason for bringing the other Lion home. It’s not about why you didn’t get the Lion this year, It’s about how long can you feed the Lion in you and keep it alive. Because the blood you tasted will keep on feeding the Lion of your dreams. It will never dry. The Lion will chase the ideas in your veins and get it out without waiting for any brief. The Lion will roar and get the approvals. The Lion will not let you sleep. As long as the Lion is looking for it’s prey inside, you’ll continue to hunt. It takes a Lion to hunt a Lion. So keep the Lion on its paws and be ready to rule the jungle. #canneslions2024 #cannes #canneslions #cannes #advertising #AdvertisingAwards

Cannes Lions has its own ‘walled garden’ – but is it a bug or a feature? In my final column covering this year’s festival, I ask why there is still a (very physical) disconnect between the creative and media industries here in Cannes - and why creativity isn't just a realm for the ‘big ideas’ visionaries. With even the Lions judges themselves saying that the standard of some entries “just wasn’t exceptional” and with creatively awarded ads now performing ‘average’ compared to previous years, do we need a rethink on what modern marketing creativity actually is? And is this a way to build a more joined up festival next year? Read my full column in the comments below, FREE TO READ today alongside my five daily travelogue articles written on the ground in Cannes Lions 2024. Just login or create a free account for early bird access to all 6 articles. Thank you to... Hugh Stevens, LiveRamp, Orlando Wood, System1, Sir John Hegarty, The Garage Soho, Charlotte Rawlings, Campaign UK, Andrew Tindall, System1 ...for their input and/or inspiration in writing this article. Joseph Arthur Jyoti Rambhai Reem Makari Celine Yaseen Samantha Johnston Jess MacDermot #performancemarketing #canneslions #marketing #creativity

Why I didn’t bash Cannes this year. I get it. The price of entry, the boats, the parties. It all looks and sounds pretty ridiculous. But I think that’s actually what makes Cannes so important. Not as an example of effectiveness or creativity but as a colosseum where advertising's gladiators clash, bare their teeth, and assert their dominance. And in that sense, Cannes is actually really important. It’s is important to a lot of clients. It's important to agencies to attract talent. It's important to agencies to attract business clients. It’s important to creatives to pad their resumes. It’s also important to the industry as whole. And while you scoff at the lavish parties, the wasteful spending, and the shameless self-promotion that is letting loose implies, have you considered that this excess is precisely the point? Every industry has one big event a year. Even the National Dentist Association. People need an opportunity to let loose and talk about things. And a world drowning in noise, where attention is the scarcest resource, Cannes is advertising's largest stage upon which it can scream: "We still matter, dammit!"I As such, it’s also the stage upon which important industry changing discussions need to take place. I'm not gonna lie. It' would be nice to have a reason to come down from the mountain with my hammer and mirror and go next year. Even if it's just to force the industry to take a look at itself and smash it. Which, in the end probably wouldn’t really accomplish much. For as anyone who’s ever worked in this industry long enough knows, today's cynic is tomorrow's Cannes Lion winner. X&O 😘 #NotAnAdvertisingAgency #CannesLions #AdIndustry #PowerDynamics #Disruption