22 Jun 2012
Cannes Lions – The Awards
The winning campaigns have displayed a few running themes this year. Catching the judges’ eye in particular were the brands who were ‘living’ their story, rather than simply ‘telling’ it.
Ongoing projects, rather than campaigns ending with a full stop
The transparency created by social networks and connected consumers means that brands must truly live the life they preach if they want people to buy into their product. That’s why we have started to see more ongoing projects and storylines rather than one off campaigns that end ‘with a full stop’.
The Direct Grand Prix winner American Express with their Small Business Saturday campaign was an excellent example of this. The credit card company launched the shopping day in 2010, in order to give small businesses a day of their own during the holiday shopping season. Since then they have built on the idea which has become fully embedded in US culture. The US senate even unanimously passed a resolution to make Small Business Saturday an official day.
Nike+ FuelBand by R/GA New York – Unsurprising winner of Cyber Lions Grand Prix. Nike+, which started as a marketing idea has now turned into a concept which runs through the entire business, is there a better example of an ongoing storyline from a brand?
Old Spice is another brand that has successfully developed an ongoing brand story, particularly impressive is the brands ability to react in real-time to its consumers and real world events. This year Old Spice picked up a Bronze Lion for its Devastating Explosions campaign.
‘Data’ and ‘Content’
These were the most used words at #CannesLions and were the chosen topic for discussion at many of the festival’s seminars. Agencies and brands are swamped with data these days and so it is now much less about who’s using data but more, how they are using it.
Using data allows brands to create campaigns that are targeted, insightful and offer utility, giving them a far greater impact than ever before.
Gold and Silver Lion winner, Hellmann’s Mayonnaise Recipe Receipt campaign was a particular favourite. At the supermarket we always find hundreds of recipes, but most are useless as you only have one or two of the ingredients. Hellmann’s solved this problem by creating a personalised recipe for shoppers at the checkout from the items they had put in their trolley. A very simple and clever idea, increasing Hellmann’s Mayonnaise sales by 44% in the first month alone.
The Museum of Me, for Intel was another worthy winner, picking up a Gold award in the Cyber Lion category. The interactive movie promoting Intel’s smart new processor creates a personal museum, pulling people’s data from Facebook and visualising it as a virtual gallery to take users on a journey through their lives.
Connecting Lifelines by Honda Japan was another great example of a brand using data effectively, picking up a Gold and Silver Lion and being shortlisted for many more. After the tsunami struck in March last year, Honda decided to help the aid effort by mapping out which roads were still functioning properly so people knew how to access different areas across the country. Soon Honda was trending on Twitter and the data was even used on the Google Crisis Response page. It’s nice to see brands using their real-time data to help people like this and shows that, by providing utility, brands can create a lot of heat.
Engagement
Arianna Huffington spoke about how “relentless engagement,” as opposed to glossy ads, is what’s needed to better engage with consumers. Today it is about creating a two-way conversation with consumers, talking at them is no longer enough to gain loyal fans.
Our favourite campaigns driving consumer engagement and interaction:
Mini France’s Mini Maps by DDB Paris – Awarded Gold Direct Lion https://apps.facebook.com/minimaps/
Amex’s Small Business Saturday. The ongoing campaign won several awards including the Direct Grand Prix.
Nike+ Bid Your Sweat by JWT Mexico – An auction where the only currency is Nike+ kilometers racked up by peoples hours of sweat and dedication.
Mobile
Everyone is talking mobile right now and this was no different at Cannes with a whole new category being created this year to celebrate and acknowledge the work in this area.
Here’s a look a some of our favourite award winners:
Coca-Cola’s Project Re: Brief won Grand Prix, taking the iconic 70’s ‘Hilltop’ ad and recreating it with modern technology. People are now able to send a stranger across the world a Coke through their smartphones. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Z-GevoYB8
Red Tomato VIP Fridge Magnet – Gold Lion (Innovative technology for mobile) The simple push of a button and you have your favourite pizza at your door in minutes. Who wouldn’t want one? http://redtomato.biz/magnet/
Parking Douche – Gold Lion (News, Weather & Media) Rubbish parking is a big problem in Russia and so The Village.ru decided to help people out letting them take pictures and publically shame bad parkers. Targeted using location-based services, a pop-up banner would appear over articles being read online in that area. The banner explains that the badly parked car is annoying people. By sharing the identity of the badly parked vehicle on Facebook, the banner is then removed from the site, allowing the article to be read once more. A fun app, solving an everyday problem. http://vimeo.com/42188610
Digital Out-Of-Home
It was a shame not to see more digital out-of-home campaigns pick up awards, especially when spend in this area has increased by 19.2% this year and is estimated to grow another 20% next year.
Here’s the few that did manage to get a mention:
Asics Run With Ryan – Silver Direct Lion
The Australian Defense Force’s Mobile Medic – Silver Direct Lion
And personal favourite, Mercedes’ Key To Viano, also taking home a Silver Lion.
