INTERVIEW

 

 

Why did you choose to go into advertising?

 

I started 12 years ago at Mother, Junior Creative. I went to an industry event and met Phil Thomas, CEO of Cannes. Why don’t you work for me?

 

I’ve seen an exponential period of growth over the 10 year period here at Cannes. I now head a team who looks over the awards and another team who oversees learning/training resources and See it Be it and a consultancy arm—working with brands to help them be more creative & create environments conducive to creativity

 

How has Cannes changed and evolved?

 

15 years ago it was only agencies, but then 15 years ago Jim Spengel brought 15 people from P&G. Which was disruptive. He wanted to expose them to an international spread—to open their eyes to what could be achieved. He also wanted to introduce them to the commercial value of creativity. ¼ of Cannes is now brands, who are champions of creativity and we’re seeing that creativity is coming to the forefront.

 

How do you define innovation?

 

Innovation comes in areas of necessity or crisis. First, it’s about culture and creating a culture; there has to be permission and an ability to be creative. How many Lions have been won by sector (news, retail, etc)? Well, retail was the most innovative. We saw that in news as well. It’s out of necessity. It’s in those areas of great limitation where innovation flourishes. We’re looking for new ways to solve old problems.

 

Regarding the functions of innovation, well the danger is that it’s become super trendy. Some people overthink it. At Cannes at first they were obsessed with data and technology. They’d have a great idea and injected creativity. It didn’t feel like the creativity was inherent, but now we’re moving away from that. Now innovation is becoming part of the core of the idea. It’s invisible technology. It’s no longer all about the bells and whistles of advancement. Now, it’s what’s underlying and contributing to the campaign.

 

What do you perceive as the difference between innovation and disruption?

 

Disruption and innovation can be the same and different— you have to get to a situation when they're in a crisis or on the cusp of change. You can actively try to disrupt, but more often than not, it’s because there’s a need to disrupt. Innovation is about solving old problems in new ways—it’s the approach. Innovation is the approach to achieve disruption. Disruption is always cyclical—you just need the foresight.

Tell me about the innovation award. How does it differentiate itself from other awards?

 

With the first one, we realized it had to be judged live. We had to level the playing field by letting people just stand up and talk about it. Shortlist entrants are invited to present in front of a live audience. In the front row, you have a panel of jurors that grill you (like Shark Tank). Get to present for 10 minutes and then are asked questions for 10 minutes.

 

How does Cannes position itself?

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Cannes is awarding things that have passed; looking to position the Cannes as the start of the creative year—where you go to get loaded up with ideas.