According to Adweek, the increased presence of clients at Cannes is leading the festival to consider the launch of a Creative Effectiveness Lion next year.
This year, reps from 400 client organizations attended, accounting for 15 percent of the delegate base, an amount expected to double within five years, according to Phil Thomas, CEO, Cannes Lions.
Clients “want a better understanding of what creativity can do for their brands,” noted Thomas.
Mark Tutssel, Leo Burnett’s global CCO and a Cannes judge, said Cannes winners tend to be solid business successes. In previous years, Burnett has conducted surveys tracking award-winning ads with business performance. In its most recent survey, Burnett found an 86 percent correlation between award-winning work and effectiveness.
“As Cannes evolves, it reflects the changes in our industry,” said Tutssel. It used to be that “the real world of advertising was about how well [an ad] sells. And then there [were ads just] designed to win awards. It’s no longer an either/or situation.”