BRINGING YOUR IDEA TO THE

CANNES LIONS
STAGE:
YOUR STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

CANNES LIONS
INTERNATIONAL
FESTIVAL OF
CREATIVITY
18 25 June 2016

We believe creativity is the driving

force for business, for change and for
good. Thats why we are campaigners
for creativity: we inspire creative
bravery that changes the course of
communications.

2016 CONTENT PROGRAMME

The Cannes Lions content programme
is where the worlds greatest creative
communicators seize the chance to set
the agenda for the year ahead. This
is your platform to reflect, to rally and
to inspire. If you think you have an
idea that the whole industry needs to
hear, your pitch needs to be creative
(in every way). This creativity must flow
throughout, from idea to execution
remember this is a festival of creativity.

Quick tip:
Take this guide with you when
brainstorming your content ideas.

STEP

BRAINSTORMING YOUR CONTENT PROPOSAL

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING...

WHAT DO YOU
WANT TO BE
KNOWN FOR AT
CANNES LIONS
2016?
Cannes Lions is all about creative
communications and so creativity must
always sit at the heart of your idea.

WHAT
IS YOUR STORY?
Take a moment to think about the story you want to tell at Cannes Lions. The best
Cannes Lions talks tend to focus on a single clear message or idea. This is your
opportunity to speak to a room full of creative communicators from around the world.
What are you going to say?

Some of the types of stories which resonate well with the

audience include:
An inspirational piece or
a big idea

Something that moves the audience emotionally

A big announcement or
game-changing development

A story that changes the landscape of creativity

Burning industry issue

A story that explores current affairs and their

impact on the future of the industry

Insights for the creative world

Trends and insights that will change how people

approach their work

Call to action

Inspire and challenge the audience

Beautiful creative story

Inspire the audience with compelling stories of

creative journeys

Fresh ways of creative thinking

Inspire the audience to think differently and

challenge their creative beliefs

Reviews of good work

These go down particularly well with our

audience, especially when they include examples
from several different agencies

In-depth case study

Detailed analysis and deconstruction of

campaigns and creative executions

How-to guide on a
creative issue

Educational stories that impart knowledge, new

skills or techniques

Quick tip:
When reviewing your proposal, we will be asking how does this idea
enhance or enable greater creativity? we recommend you do the same
and test your idea before submitting it.

WHO
SHOULD TELL YOUR STORY?
The suggested speakers play a huge part in the success of a proposal. There are
unlimited types of speakers you could bring to the stage, but relevancy is key not just to
the idea, but also the Cannes Lions audience.

Does your speaker line-up consist of the following?

Creatives
Senior creative figures, C-Suite creatives, rising stars, high achievers,
mavericks and industry legends are always popular with our audience.

Creative celebrities
They have featured prominently at the Festival in recent years but they
are absolutely not a requirement for securing a slot at Cannes Lions
and most importantly must be highly relevant.

Thinkers and doers

This category includes creative minds from outside the industry,
including philosophers and theorists, but also scientists, engineers,
makers and creators.

Moderators
These are as important as speakers so we advise that
all moderators/interviewers have professional interview
experience, preferably in a broadcast medium.
They must also have some relevance to the topic or
interviewees.

Quick tip: Speaker numbers

We recommend that you have no more than
four people on stage at one time (including
moderator/interviewer). Too many people
on stage looks messy and distracting for
the audience.

HOW
CAN YOU TELL YOUR STORY?
We cant stress enough how important it is to get the format and delivery of your session
exactly right. People often leave this to the last minute focussing instead on the speaker
and the synopsis and it shows. A great story poorly told is a great story gone unheard.
The Cannes Lions audience expects to be inspired, sometimes challenged, certainly
entertained. This is a global stage on which only world-class ideas will be remembered.
Different formats and delivery styles work better depending on the spaceso we ask
you to give this element great consideration and encourage you to be as creative and
innovative as you can with how you want to convey your idea.

Example formats and delivery types include (but are not limited to):
Keynote-style presentation
One or two people deliver a talk, with
optional presentation materials

Quick tip:
This is not a corporate conference,
its the International Festival of
Creativity. Successful session
holders will be presenting to some
of the most highly powered, smart
and well-informed people on the
planet, casually dressed in shorts
and sneakers. You are competing
with the pull of a cool glass of ros
in the warm Mediterranean
sunshine! To impress
this audience you need
to have something
powerful to say and
an exciting way to
say it. Corporate
sales presentations
simply wont work.
Sessions with
style, wit and
substance
will.

Structured debates and discussions

A structured panel session, with a
professional moderator and no more
than four people
Incisive interviews
Picking the brains of great creative
leaders and icons
Practical demonstration
These could be show-and-tell, or even
involve the audience
Performance piece
This could include musical, theatrical,
poetry performances or real-time
artistic projects
Interactive/practical element
Includes solo and team challenges,
competitive elements, collaborative
projects
Live Q&A
Question and answer formats, with
audience participation. Could include
debate or voting elements
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STEP
WHERE DO YOUR IDEAS FIT?

1
CREATIVE INSPIRATION SEMINARS

Grand Audi / Debussy

45 minutes
Up to 2,280

Creative Inspiration sessions should kindle the spark of

creativity. There is no specific theme to the programme
on these famous main stages and the programme will
cover creativity in all its forms.
The Creative Inspiration stages are large, imposing
auditoriums that only skilled and experienced speakers
will be able to handle. They are the perfect place
for keynote-style solo presentations, professionally
conducted interviews with high-profile guests, live
performances and complex demonstrations. We have
a skilled technical and stage crew to assist with on-site
delivery so were open to all ideas.

2
CREATIVITY IN FOCUS

Forum Room
(Audi A)

Workshop
Room (Level -1)

30 minutes

90 minutes

280

60

For 2016, the popular Cannes Lions Forum and

Workshop programmes will be combined under a new
content strand called Creativity in Focus. This strand will
address everyday industry issues and challenges, delving
into key topics that provide need to know and how to
insight.
The Creativity in Focus programme, with a mixed
structure of stage-bound and interactive sessions,
provides a place for learning and enquiry. Sessions must
feature clear take-away elements for the audience to
build their own personal creative toolkit.

THE CREATIVITY IN FOCUS THEMES FOR 2016 INCLUDE:

1

New creative processes

Understanding audience behaviour

Deconstructions and analysis of creative work

from around the world

Maximising creativity across channels

Understanding the age of the

personalised everything

The secrets of working successfully with clients

Working with creative talent

Disruptive creativity

The Creativity in Focus stages are more casual presentation

environments, where the speakers are very accessible to
the audience. It is an ideal space for confident and
capable speakers, or more specialised presentations.
There are opportunities for live Q&As, audience
interaction and in the workshops there is
unlimited opportunity for interaction and
practical elements.

Quick tip:
The best content is delivered in
the right environment. When
submitting your content idea feel
free to propose where you think
it best fits but please be open to
guidance from the Cannes Lions
Content Team.

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CANNES LIONS CONTENT GUIDELINES:

There is NO charge to speak on any of the stages.

If your idea is successful, the cost to cover the logistics behind your
idea (travel, fees, accommodation and so on) must be covered by
you, the session host.

All speakers receive a two-day Festival pass giving them access

to the Palais on the day of their session and the day prior (for
rehearsals).

All content must be original and fresh and created specifically for
the Festival.

Due to high demand, we can only feature a speaker/organisation

once during the Creative Inspiration and Creativity in Focus
programme, however organisations can host additional sessions
at Health, Innovation and Entertainment.

You, the session holder, are responsible for conception, creation

and execution of your session. However, all speaker confirmation/
changes must come through the Cannes Lions Content Team.

Successful proposals are chosen on the merit of the idea and the
speaker.

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STEP

WRITE AND SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL

This timeline illustrates the different deadlines and

milestones in the content selection and development
process. If you are unable to meet any of these
deadlines, please contact a member of the Cannes
Lions Content Team to discuss your application
(see the contact page for details.)

12

SAL

DEA

SUBMIT A PROPOSAL

NE

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D
LI

PRO

All proposals must be submitted through the

online content portal (content.canneslions.com).
Proposals submitted directly to the team will not be
considered.

DECEMBER

2015

EVALUATION
All proposals are evaluated by the Cannes Lions
Content Team. Each submission is considered on
the merit of its content or speaker. You may be
contacted for more information.

JANUARY

2016

OFFERS
FROM
FEBRUARY

A member of the Cannes Lions Content Team will

contact you with an initial offer of a slot, subject
to speakers being confirmed and session content
agreed. Spaces are limited and some proposals
may be offered a slot on a different stage to the
one they initially applied for.

2016

CONFIRMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Once offers are accepted, session content and
speakers have been confirmed and relevant visual
assets have been received, we will announce
speakers on the relevant pages of canneslions.com
and in marketing communications. We sometimes
announce speakers while session content is still in
development.

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STEP

PREPARE FOR YOUR MOMENT IN THE SPOTLIGHT

DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY

M ARCH

2016

ONWARDS

18-25
JUNE 2016

As sessions and speakers are announced, the

Cannes Lions Content Team can help speakers in
the development of their sessions. We can offer
guidance on presentation styles and techniques
appropriate for each space. The Speaker
Logistics Team will work with each session holder
to assist with any technical requirements and
offer guidance on session promotion before, and
during, the Festival.

THE 63rd CANNES LIONS

INTERNATIONAL
FESTIVAL OF CREATIVITY
Its show time! This is the moment where your
months of hard work pay off. On-site, the Cannes
Lions Content Team are there all the way, right to
the moment you step out on that stage, secure in
the knowledge that youre about to deliver the best
presentation possible. Enjoy it!

THE FESTIVAL
WHAT IS CANNES LIONS?

The International Festival of Creativity, also known as Cannes Lions,

is the worlds leading celebration of creativity in communications and
encompasses Lions Health, Lions Innovation and Lions Entertainment.
Founded in 1954, the Festival takes place every June in Cannes,
France.

The Festival is also the only truly global meeting place for advertisers,
advertising and communication professionals. More than 15,000
delegates from 95 countries attend a week-long programme of
exhibitions, screenings and talks by worldwide thought leaders. As the
networking and learning opportunity of the year, Cannes Lions is the
must-attend event for anyone involved in brand communications.

As the most prestigious international annual advertising and

communications awards, over 40,000 entries from all over the world
are showcased and judged at the Festival. Winning companies
receive the highly coveted Lion trophy, a global benchmark of creative
excellence, for Film, Print, Outdoor, Interactive, Radio, Design, Product
Design, Promo & Activation, Film Craft, Mobile and Integrated
advertising, as well as the best Media, Direct, PR, Integrated, Creative
Effectiveness, Creative Data, Innovation, Entertainment and
Music ideas.

CREATIVE INSPIRATION
CREATIVITY IN FOCUS
LIONS HEALTH

LIONS INNOVATION

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LIONS ENTERTAINMEN T

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THE CANNES LIONS WEEK

1825 JUNE 2016

2015
ATTENDEE BREAKDOWN

Attracting a broad range of people from across the breadth

of the creative communication landscape, the seniority of
the audience is split between 70% leaders including creative
directors, art directors, CEOs, CMOs, VP, Chairman and
30% the next generation leaders, including brand managers,
copywriters, account managers and marketing executives.

Advertiser / Client
20

Agency

COMPANIES
REPRESENTED
15%

4,378
5%

4%

Not for Profit

Production

16

56%

Media Owner

THE CANNES LIONS CONTENT TEAM

Charlotte Williams, Head of Festival Content*
Responsible for all Creative Inspiration sessions and overall
content enquiries.
[email protected]
+44 (0) 20 3033 4075

Mark St. Andrew, Senior Content Manager

Responsible for all Creativity in Focus related enquiries.
[email protected]
+44 (0) 20 7715 6061

Carolyn Hubbert, Speaker Logistics Manager

Responsible for all speaker technical and delivery requirements.
[email protected]
+44 (0) 20 3033 4013

David Davies, Managing Director, Content

[email protected]
*Please note Alethea Rous, Head of Festival Content, is on maternity
leave from 19th November 2015. In her absence Charlotte Williams
will be responsible for all aspects of the Cannes Lions 2016 content
programme so please direct your enquiries to her.

For more information please visit canneslions.com.

If you would like to be considered as a session holder

for Lions Health, Lions Innovation or Lions Entertainment
please follow the links below:
Lions Health, 18-19 June 2016
Speaking Opportunities: Annie Smith
[email protected]

Lions Innovation, 21-22 June 2016

Speaking Opportunities: Natasha Woodwal
[email protected]

Lions Entertainment, 23-24 June 2016

Speaking Opportunities: Mark St. Andrew
[email protected]

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