Even the most experienced Cannes Lions attendee doesn't really know
what to expect when she or he is a judge for the first time. I'd heard
the stories, of course: long days, locked away in windowless rooms,
headphones on, reviewing hundreds of entries. Would it be exhilarating?
Would it be fun? Would I be glad I'd done it?
Fortunately, my answer is "yes" to all three. We saw a lot of wonderful work, and we saw some missed opportunities, too. Here's an insider's perspective on what it will take to win a Media Lion in 2017.
Make the subcategories work for you
This year's Media Lions offered five main categories and 30
subcategories. By the time I'd reviewed the "longlist" for the second
day, I had already seen some cases that had been submitted in three or
even four different subcategories. The problem was that the write-ups
weren't always tailored to each subcategory (and fellow juror Ashish Bhasin kept
us on point in that regard). It's true that judges look at hundreds if
not thousands of cases, but our jury took great care to score based on
each subcategory's exact criteria. Therefore, my advice to anyone
entering a single campaign in multiple media subcategories: Be sure to
write each submission to fit. It may not be a lot more work and will
definitely increase your chances of winning.
There were also some campaigns that won in specific functional
subcategories but hadn't been entered or weren't short-listed in their
own "sector" subcategories. Take autos, for example. We short-listed
only four entries that resulted in one bronze Lion for Renault Italia's "Business Booster," but
BMW, Volvo and Audi all won in other categories (Outdoor, PR and
Print). I did not judge the auto submissions on the long list, but it is
possible that some brands didn't enter in their own sectors and missed
out on achieving even greater success.
Be clear on the definition of media creativity
What is creativity in media? In my mind, the entries could be divided
into two camps: creativity in the use of the medium itself (or creating a
new medium), and creativity in the craft of media planning and buying.
Creativity in the media channel would mean the idea and execution were
intrinsic to the channel itself. Wonderful examples of creativity in a
medium included 89FM's "Truth Detector," GFR Media's "Pepito" and Henkel's "Breaking News." All three took what some now refer to as "old media" to new and inspired heights.
Campaigns that were less effective were those that seemed forced rather than feeling like an intuitive, natural fit for the channel(s) used. When discussing such entries, Nick Waters, our jury president, remarked that teams must "think about what should be done rather than what could be done." Sage advice.
Campaigns that were less effective were those that seemed forced rather than feeling like an intuitive, natural fit for the channel(s) used. When discussing such entries, Nick Waters, our jury president, remarked that teams must "think about what should be done rather than what could be done." Sage advice.
One last flag regarding creativity in the use of a medium: when
solutions seemed overengineered for the problems they were trying to
solve. Pushing creativity can sometimes compromise practicality.
Apologies, but Mosquito Killer Billboard comes to mind. I also applaud the intent of the dedicated folks from WaterAid, but the "hope locker" donation system seemed too complex and expensive.
When it comes to creativity in media planning and buying, we looked for
whether a campaign told a story over time, whether it used media
channels at each step in ways that truly leveraged each channel and
whether the campaign truly laddered across channels (e.g., McWhopper print, then OOH, then social, then experiential), rather than just appearing in a lot of places.
A fellow judge, Chris Stephenson, articulated
a way of thinking that many of us applied during our time together:
assess the work in terms of whether it was "of" or merely "on" the media
channel. It's the difference between using the same creative and type
of execution across paid, owned and earned media channels versus
crafting unique work that takes advantage of each individual medium. The
best work had been created uniquely for the channel used. A great
example was Oogachaga's use of disappearing messages in "Snapchat from the Closet" for gay teens in Singapore, where homosexuality is still illegal.
Make sure the end-frame visual tells the unique media story
The very last visual is key. The end frame is what lingers on screen when judging decisions are made. Here are two things to consider: First, it's worth remembering that
although this is a creativity festival, campaign effectiveness is still
important in the Media category. My thanks to Maria Garrido
for keeping us focused on the weighted criteria: 30 percent insight and
idea, 20 percent strategy, 20 percent execution and 30 percent results.
Too many end slides used tiny, illegible text to recap the elements, if
they did so at all. And second, many ended with a key creative image
that didn't summarize what made the campaign's media thinking truly
worthy of a Lion. Make sure you finish with the media story, not just
the creative idea. "House of Little Moments" from Taiwan did this particularly well.
On to 2017!
In the end, only 266 of the nearly 3,000 Media entries were
short-listed, but this doesn't mean the remaining 2,734 lacked merit.
Far from it. In some cases, these entries lacked specific media thinking
and may have been better suited to other categories. Although they
failed to medal in our category, Netflix's "House of Cards – FU 2016" won gold in Integrated, for example, and HP's "Magic Words"
won gold in Cyber. The list goes on and on—and acts as a reminder of
the importance of tailoring submissions to each category and
subcategory.
Finally—to answer the question I am still getting weeks later—my personal favorite was This Bike Has MS
from Australia. I learned that it's hard to raise funds for multiple
sclerosis because those with the disease may not "look sick." Fueled by
this insight, a nonprofit in Australia created a special bike whose
rider would experience the debilitating symptoms of the disease. The MS
bike became its own media channel and was integrated into relevant
content and events. Even better, the original idea sparked teams in 40
nations to create MS bikes. Excellent.
So my overall advice for next year? Anyone can say "Get motivated! Get
inspired! Do what has never been done!" All true. But from deep in the
judging room, scoring tablet in hand, I would also suggest watching as
many of the winning and short-listed videos as possible, and when it
comes time to enter next spring, think about this insider's advice: Be
bold with your idea but simple and native in execution. Keep your
entries grounded in the category's scoring criteria and tailor each
entry to the subcategories. And, of course, create a great video—no
nonvideo entries were short-listed!—and close with an end frame that
ticks all the boxes.
Good luck!
Phil Cowdell is the CEO of MediaCom North America. He was a member
of the final Media jury at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival
of Creativity.
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.Source: http://www.adweek.com
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