Indian Advertising Fraternity Welcomes Cannes Lions Overhaul

The revamp introduces multiple changes that will simplify and streamline the process, reduce costs for agencies, and focus squarely on creativity

e4m by Venkata Susmita Biswas
Published: Nov 15, 2017 9:13 AM  | 4 min read

The Indian advertising fraternity's reaction to the revamp of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity has been overwhelmingly positive.

The revamp, which was prompted by the severe criticism organisers faced from advertising holding companies, introduces multiple changes that will simplify and streamline the process, reduce costs for agencies, and focus squarely on creativity. “The overhaul does address some of the major issues holding companies had highlighted in the past. From an agency point of view, all the steps taken are in the positive direction,” noted Arun Iyer, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas.

Category Consolidation

One of the major aspects of the overhaul is that the Lions will be organised across nine core tracks to “better reflect and support the fast-moving creative industries.” The festival’s content programme (speakers, panel sessions and workshops) will also follow the newly defined tracks. This streamlining was imperative as it was becoming difficult to classify campaigns into what categories they fell under. 
Agnello Dias, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Taproot Dentsu, who was on the Cannes Lions jury last year, said the overhaul addresses the main pain points to a large extent. Speaking about his jury experience, he said, “Judging is difficult as a large part of the discussion is wasted on what qualifies and what does not, instead of how good the piece actually is. Last year was the first time I felt that it had reached a stage where everything qualifies for everything.”

The organisers have also introduced a cap on the number of categories for which one campaign can be nominated. Each piece of work can now only be entered into a maximum of six Lions. This move will ensure more campaigns are recognised and awarded. Iyer particularly appreciated this change, noting that in the older format, only a handful of campaigns were packaged and entered into multiple categories. “This led to deserving entries getting side-lined. Now, a lot of the good work that used to get overlooked will get noticed,” said Rajiv Dingra, Founder and CEO, WAT Consult.

The Cyber, Integrated and Promo & Activation Lions have been discontinued. The organisers believe that separate categories for Cyber and Integrated Lions “do not make sense anymore,”as all campaigns are now integrated. Promo & Activation, which is highly important in retail, will be covered under the Brand Experience Lions category. Of this restructuring, Dingra said, “Cyber Lions was becoming too broad a category, given that every campaign now has a digital element to it and the term Cyber itself is a 2001 term. To turn that into Social and Influencer Lions was long overdue.” The new Lions being introduced include Creative e-commerce, Social & Influencer, Industry Craft, Brand Experience, and Sustainable Development Goals.

Cost Issues

The new pricing policy reduces the price of the complete pass by €900. Additionally, the organisers guarantee a fixed price for delegates of €80 for taxis from Cannes to Nice Airport and three fixed-price menus of €20, €30 and €50 for pass-holders at more than 50 restaurants in the city.

“Trying to make attendance affordable is a damn good idea!” exclaimed Iyer noting that sending delegates is a hugely expensive affair and lowering costs helps agencies. “All of these changes will improve the accessibility of the festival to the Indian advertising community. Agencies can now take more people to the festival,” said Dingra.

A five-day programme instead of an eight-day one will sharpen the focus on the festival and hold the attention of all the attendees. Noting a shorter event will reduce costs, Dias said that the “greater benefit is that it reduces cerebral blur.” Iyer said that bringing the entire event down to five days is a move in the right direction.

Going Forward

Now that festival organisers have made some moves to reduce the monetary pressure on agencies, KV Sridhar, Founder of Hypercollective, said, “Agencies must compensate employees within the agencies and focus on training and development of talent within the agency instead of spending heavily on award festivals. Talent enrichment must be a key focus area given that the advertising industry is facing a major talent crunch.” He cautioned against the addiction of awards and advised agencies to rationalise the amount of money that should be spent on awards.

While the fresh outlook of the Cannes Lions organisers has been well received, there is greater scope to improve the quality of the content at the festival. “The standard of sessions has dropped and it is now just a big pitching bazaar where everyone just pitches whatever they are doing. If we can get back to the enriching sessions of earlier times, where there used to be a massive takeaway of a different kind, that would be good,” said Dias.

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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur

The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:15 PM  | 1 min read
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With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.

The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.

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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out

The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:07 PM  | 1 min read
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Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."

The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."

COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.

Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.

He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.

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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK

Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 11:48 AM  | 1 min read
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e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.

Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.

According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.

As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.

A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.

Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.

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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall

The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 10:54 AM  | 1 min read
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Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.

“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.

“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.

"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."

"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."

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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias

Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 24, 2023 3:35 PM  | 1 min read
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KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.

Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy

Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.

Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."

Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."

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