Provoke and inspire
15-05-2015 (07:16) - Gastcolumn
5 months ago I started work at Havas Media. In a little over a month I will be judging the Cannes Lions Media Awards. When I spoke to a recruiter 6 months ago one of his main selling points about media agencies was that the business is ever-changing and that change happens fast. He wasn’t kidding.
Another reason to join Havas Media was an interesting research project we run each year called Meaningful Brands. The goal is to better understand how brands add not only value to our lives, but also meaning. Not all brands manage to do this; the research shows that we could well live without 74% of brands out there. That seems harsh, but I guess it’s our wake-up call to try even harder as marketers and make sure that what we do is truly relevant to people and that we engage with them in the true sense of the word.
This is what will be at the back of my mind as I spend 6 days going through a supposedly endless stream of creative work from around the globe. Yes, the work should be grounded in sound strategic insight, and yes the creative brilliance should make you green with envy and yes the work should have led to amazing, business-boosting results. But from a personal perspective I am most curious to see how brands are really trying to make a difference in our lives and are using creativity to achieve it. There were some excellent (Dutch!) cases like Terre des Hommes and G-Star that won big last year and it will be interesting to see if the trend continues this year.
That’s why I really hope I’ll get to experience some of the rest of what’s going on as well. Some of the speakers are really sensational. They’re either seasoned industry veterans or people who have earned their creative stripes in other areas. Either way they’re sure to provoke and inspire new thoughts and ideas. I’m sure I’ll return to Amsterdam completely stoked and completely exhausted. Right on time for the birth of my third child in July. It’s not just the wonderful world of media that is ever-changing.
De komende maand is het weer tijd voor de Cannes Lions. In de maanden naar het festival toe zullen de ambassadeurs van de Orange Lions, juryleden en andere gastschrijvers hun licht schijnen op reclame, marketing en design en vooral: wat kunnen de Nederlandse creatieven in Cannes bereiken? Ditmaal is het woord aan Gijs de Beus, Director of Strategy bij Havas Media en jurylid voor de Media Lions.
Gijs de Beus, Director of Strategy Havas Media
