Adgully Exclusive | India is very important to the Festival: Cannes Lions' Terry Savage

The 58th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, will be held from the 19-25 June 2011 at Cannes, France. The International Festival of Creativity, also known as Cannes Lions, is the world's leading celebration of creativity in communications. As the most prestigious international annual advertising and communications awards, over 24,000 entries from all over the world are showcased and judged at the Festival.

The Festival also boasts of being the only global meeting place for advertisers, advertising and communication professionals. With over 8,000 delegates from 95 countries attend seven days of exhibitions, screenings, as well as over 50 high-profile seminars, 20 workshops and master classes presented by renowned worldwide industry leaders the international festival is a Mecca of knowledge and ideas.

To know more about the international festival and all the frenzy around Adgully caught up with Terry Savage, Chairman of Cannes Lions.

Talking about how the festival is going to be different this year, Savage says, "In 2011 it is certainly going to be bigger than in the last two years in fact it would seem that it is on track to reach the record number of delegates we saw in 2008 , it also of course has for the first time The Cannes Creative Effectiveness Awards , but the biggest change will be in the content of the seminars and workshops because that reflects what is going on in the industry today and so fast is the pace of change in our businesses that what we are seeing is changing each year . That is why it is so important to attend Cannes to keep abreast of what is happening globally in our business."

He further points out that the Cannes Creative Effectiveness Awards is a benchmark because one can only enter this category if one has won or has been shortlisted the previous year , thus establishing a direct link between creativity and effectiveness.

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has also announced the launch of The Cannes Creative Academy for Young Marketers, a week-long programme of structured and intensive learning specifically targeted at marketers and brand managers aged 30 years or under, working within a client organisation.

Talking about the aforementioned initiative, Savage says, "Cannes is about learning, education, inspiration and networking and the Marketers Academy is an extension of our many education programmes that run during the week . The Academy led by the ex P&G Global Marketing Officer Jim Stengel is about developing creative thinking in Young Marketers by giving them a dedicated course across the week where they will have access to some of the many thought leaders who attend Cannes . These global initiatives are what makes Cannes such an incredible learning experience for delegates and youth from around the world "

Savage says that the great work always rises to the top but the real commentary on the quality of the work will come from the 13 juries we have judging in Cannes in June. "Each category is different - and too complex to explain. One thing however that is important is that to be awarded anything at Cannes requires a two thirds majority vote - to achieve that level is not easy so anything that wins at Cannes any metal is going to be very good indeed," he points out.

Elaborating on the importance of India in Cannes' scheme of things, Savage says, "India is very important to the Festival in terms of both entries and delegates and in our estimation will get even more significant as time passes. There have been some great winners from India in the past few years and of course the quality of judges from India is always very strong which augers well for the country."

When asked what is in store for digital advertising at the International Festival, Savage says that digital is everywhere and mainstream and is woven into the fabric of Cannes as it is woven into the fabric of our lives.

As a message to aspirants, while signing off he adds, "Register now - it is a life changing experience , if you go work very hard ,use your learning because that is your edge until next year. | By Prabha Hegde [prabha(at)adgully.com]