Matt’s Word 6 June 2013
So here we are again. Another year has flown by and we are once more preparing for Cannes Lions. I guess I’m a bit of a veteran now – I’ve been attending for longer than I care to mention. And now, more than ever, I feel it’s one of the most important weeks of the year.
I’m actually writing this from Cannes. I’m here to meet with our French fixer and the staff who run LBB’s beach, La Plage Courage, that we host with a team of lovely sponsors for a week of meeting and greeting on the beautiful French Riviera. Of course, the week involves its fair share of fun, but it’s also a week of bloody hard work – LBB goes about Cannes in a very organised manner. Saying that, according to the local Mayor, the 20,000+ people who descend on the town for its busiest week of the year, it might appear like organised chaos.
As long-time veterans know, and others may not, the week is split into two distinct groups – attendees and non-attendees, who I guess are known as ‘the fringe’. At LBB we cover both.
The editorial team will we be hitting the Palais, checking out the greatest and latest work, reporting back on seminars, interviewing adland’s superstars and those set for future stardom. There really is no other festival where you can see such an international and diverse body of work and meet the people who made it. Fact!
The other half of the team will be managing the LBB beach down at the other end of the Croisette. La Plage Courage is situated at the Croisette beach, between the Carlton and the Martinez, so please don't hesitate to come down and say 'hi'. Dreamt up ten years ago by my wife (and founding partner of LBB), the beach is now in its fourth year and is a place to call home for the week; somewhere we and our sponsors meet and entertain our guests.
The name ‘La Plage Courage’ is a celebration of the incredible Fireflies riders, who annually ride from Lake Geneva to Cannes to raise money and awareness for the Leuka Trust. LBB and its sponsors are fully behind the cause and aim to make as much money and conjure up as much buzz as possible. Please do the same by coming to the LBB beach and showing your support!
I feel that Cannes has evolved over the last 15 years or so, experiencing some pretty stand-out changes in the last five or six. It is now a place where you can meet and hold sensible conversations with clients, agencies, production companies and post houses from all over the world – and all in one place. As LBB was purely and simply built upon listening to all of those different industry specialities, it really is a must for us. We all have an appreciation of how much this industry is changing and, as I said earlier in the year, how important collaboration is right now.
And that is how I view Cannes really. A place where I can sit and listen to the issues that people in our industry are having in communicating and collaborating. We then bring those findings back to HQ, discuss them and put a plan into action as to how we can help you fix them.
With that in mind, this year we will be bringing the next version of LBB to Cannes for you all to see. Yes – we are re-launching very soon. We have built what we believe to be a game changer and is fully based on your ideas and thoughts. The site will become a tool that you can use for multiple resources in one place. We’d love to meet with you and hear your thoughts on this next move.
On behalf of the LBB team, we look forward to seeing you in Cannes…
… Oh and just before I go, to those who have been going to Cannes forever: enjoy yourself!
For those of you that haven’t... Well here are a few pointers:
- Make sure you drink plenty of Badoit. It’s a lovely French sparkling water with a little hint of salt. A super remedy for any late and/or heavy night.
- Rosé is NOT water.
- The Gutter bar is fun, but not a must. Most of the people that have managed to get that far through the day will probably not remember you the next morning.
- If you manage to get time for lunch with your favourite client, take them to La Colombe d’Or. I think I can honestly say that it’s the most amazing restaurant in the world. It’s about 45 minutes outside Cannes, but 100 per cent worth it. If you don’t have the time then I recommend Le Maschou in the old town. It’s simple and amazing and you need to book.
And on that summary I’m beginning to realise that I’m sounding a little old. Crap!
Matt
