Industry engagement with the new Creative B2B Lion shows creativity coming from new disciplines and business areas
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced that a total of 25,464 entries from 87 countries are competing in Cannes this year.
And in its first year, a new category – Creative B2B – has received 415 entries, which breaks down as 269 entries into the Services category and 146 into the Products category. Entries have come from 188 companies including Siemens Munich; Meta São Paulo; Indeed Austin; Intuit Quickbooks London; National Australia Bank; Amadeus Madrid; LTI Mumbai; Salesforce San Francisco; CMPC Santiago; and Azgard Nine Limited Lahore.
China, Mexico, New Zealand, Sweden and UAE are among the 37 countries to have entered.
Launched to recognise creative excellence in the B2B sector, Cannes Lions chairman Philip Thomas, said that engagement with this category “demonstrated the breadth of creativity that exists in work for products and services that are purchased by professionals on behalf of businesses.”
“We started discussing a Lion that recognised B2B work way back in 2013 and having seen a recent rise in B2B work winning Lions we felt that now was the right time to put it on the global stage. It’s now the job of our juries to determine the global benchmark and set the creative bar in this sector.”
Creative Effectiveness up by 83%
The Creative Effectiveness Lions, the only global benchmark of the measurable impact of creativity, this year sees 258 entries from 30 countries - an 83% increase YOY - demonstrating the value of creativity as a lever for business growth. Creative Effectiveness Jury President Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer, Mastercard, said: “The strong uptick in the number of compelling entries is a great testament about how marketers are increasingly understanding the investment of the Creative Effectiveness Lions and their value in driving long-term brand building. Honouring our community’s most effective campaigns is critical in achieving brand purpose, creating cultural change and moving our overall marketing imperative forward.” Entries into the Creative Commerce Lions have increased 11% YOY with 374 entries from 37 countries. Cannes Lions CEO Simon Cook said: “Commerce is an area that has exploded over the past two years. Creativity now plays a role at every stage of the customer journey offering more opportunities for brands to connect with consumers in ways that we’ve never seen before. We’re looking forward to seeing the work that emerges this year and sets the benchmark in this new and exciting space.” The Titanium Lions have seen a fourth year of consecutive growth; and a rise in entries into the New Realities category sees entries making use of the metaverse, NFT and AI. And design-driven effectiveness has seen a second year of growth in entries for the Design Lions.
Geographical representation in Cannes
Entries from LatAm are up 12% YOY which is led by a strong YOY increase from Brazil of 31%, indicative of increased momentum after the country’s three Grands Prix wins last year and its long-held position as the third ranked Most Creative Country in the world. Entries from India are up 32% YOY with strong representation in Health & Wellness, Direct and Film. There have also been 402 entries from Ukraine which have been accepted free of charge.
Jury members from across the world are now in Cannes to judge the entries. The winners of the Lions will be announced at evening Award Shows taking place throughout the Festival, from June 20-24. They will also be published here and in print in the Lions Daily News.