Digiday covers the latest from marketing and media at the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. More from the series →Cannes Lions has a way of making experienced professionals do spectacularly stupid things. Here’s what the veterans wish they’d known:
Have a talk with yourself before you step onto the Croisette: for one week, otherwise rational adults will become strangely obsessed with who got invited where, who’s on the yacht, who’s at the hottest dinner, and whether they’re on the list. Don’t get sucked into the high school dynamics of it all. The people who get the most value out of Cannes aren’t chasing validation; they’re building relationships. Five days from now you’ll be back home worrying about deadlines, family, pets, and why your summer utility bill is outrageous — and the party everyone was talking about today is forgotten. The value of Cannes isn’t being seen at the right party, it’s leaving with ideas and relationships that still matter once everyone is back on Zoom.
Simon Stone, GM International at LoopMe
Don’t walk past the Gutter Bar on the way home anytime after midnight (especially if you have early morning breakfast meetings) as you will get sucked into a late night of drinking and will struggle to escape before 3 a.m.!
