Think BR: Getting creative at Cannes

By Christian Schroeder, brandrepublic.com, Wednesday, 20 June 2012 10:00AM

This year's Cannes Lions festival is encouraging people to take different approaches to creativity, writes Christian Schroeder, chief executive, Lambie-Nairn

One of the biggest challenges in our industry is ensuring the work we produce is relevant and fresh.

So, as we launch full swing into the Cannes Lions International Festival - a week of discussing the cream of global original brand thinking and implementation - many of us will find our own approaches challenged and inspired by the work on show.  

In recent times the campaigns which are generally thought of as creative - and therefore the ones that gain the most standout at creative award shows like this - are the ones that dare to be different such as VW’s Darth Vader campaign and the recent John Lewis work.

All of these capitalise on a core brand truth to stand out from other work in their categories.

However, this kind of celebrated communication, which delivers for the industry in terms of recognition but also resonates with consumers, takes brave thinking to accomplish, not to mention when it comes to persuading the client to break away from the norm.

This is why at this year’s International Festival of Creativity, CannesAlso is hosting ‘Play, Make, Master’ which was created by ourselves and The Brand Union as a platform for creative stimulation.

A space where international delegates can come and experiment with different media, Play, Make, Master references activities from our childhoods - a time when we were free to be creative without the constraints of adult life.

As well as this, the CannesAlso Pavillion includes masterclasses in balloon art with experts from Airigami; those masters in animation, Aardman, will be on hand to tutor people in getting the best from modelling clay; and, with help from Bright Bricks, Lego is present for those with the yen to build something spectacular.

The aim is not just to find the best international creative executions in these media, but to encourage people to step outside of their usual thought patterns and let the ideas flow.

So while the international creative community are mingling in the south of France, the aim is that CannesAlso will generate some different approaches and techniques.

And who knows what kind of innovative and groundbreaking new ideas may result from this exposure to different creative media?

Christian Schroeder, chief executive, Lambie-Nairn

This article was first published on brandrepublic.com