On the road to Cannes!

I’m going on a trip, and I’m taking: my sunglasses, an imaginary drawer full of creative media ideas and my team partner Max Zorg. In a few days, we have the honour of representing Germany in the Media category at the Cannes Young Lions! How come? I think what really got us the ticket to the Young Lions was more than just our winning idea. Our trip to Cannes actually began five years ago.

Timestamp 1 – August 2019

The first year at the Mediaplus Group is behind us, the first campaigns have been implemented and the first brainstorming sessions for creative media have also taken place. In summer 2019, we are selected for the internal qualifying round of the Media Youngsters – a national competition for up and coming media professionals in the framework of the ‘German Media Prize’. In eight hours, we create a media strategy for the first Electro MINI. We can expect to meet up with many other challenges. 

Timestamp 2 – December 2019

A few months later: the qualifying round for the Media-Youngsters is taking place. Fully focused, our brains go into overdrive for a whole eight hours while developing a media idea for Klosterfrau Melissengeist. At the end of the day, we hear that we are among the top 10, sadly not good enough for a place on the podium. Instead, headache pills and better time management are added to our imaginary list of what to take on the trip. 

Timestamp 3 – April 2022

It’s time to pack for another trip, this time to Hamburg. We entered the national preliminaries for the Cannes Young Lions and have been selected. We are up against four other agencies, and the challenge is the planning of an outdoor campaign for OTTO. For the next 24 hours, we’ll be sticking post-its, planning and brainstorming. After the presentation comes the big disappointment: despite all our efforts, it wasn’t enough for a ticket to Cannes. Nevertheless, this setback taught us all a lot of lessons: less pressure, earlier commitment to an idea, more sleep. Lessons for me in particular, as well: more training for presentations in English. 

Timestamp 4 – April 2023

Another invitation to the Cannes Young Lions contest comes fluttering into our inbox. Last year’s disappointment is forgotten, and we’re heading to Hamburg with a new drive. This time around, the name of the game is 24 hours at full throttle to develop a creative media idea for dpa’s #usethenews initiative. All the work and the lessons learnt in the years before are paying off. An idea is quickly found, Max plans the campaign without lengthy discussions, and I design the presentation. After a good night’s sleep, the presentation goes off without a hitch and, in the end, we finally get to hear the magic words: Victory! We’re going to Cannes! Tears again, but tears of joy! 

Timestamp 5 – Back to the present

So what’s our secret for the ticket to Cannes? We worked together on our list of things to take with us and have added all sorts of things to it over the past five years. The following things ended up in our bags:

·       We took part in three contests and were unsuccessful twice. The courage to try again and again and still carry on without despairing certainly belongs on our list.

·       Max and I have been working together on a whole range of projects for different clients for five years. It is important to know each other’s superhuman powers, to make use of them, to show appreciation of each other and, at the same time, to ensure that both of us enjoy complete freedom in our respective fields.

·       Celebrating successes together, deep talk, tears and laughter, becoming friends. 24-hour contests are very strenuous and are fraught with potential for emotional chaos. Blind trust and understanding are therefore hugely important.

·       Having the ‘BÄM Kollektiv’ and the management as our biggest supporters in the background is worth its weight in gold. A team that encourages you to take on new challenges again and again – that’s the insider tip on our list.

And the journey ever ends! The next 24-hour media challenge awaits us, but this time with sunglasses and a glorious view of the Mediterranean in Cannes. And when we return, we will almost certainly have added a few more points to our list.

Author: Victoria Wissmann, ‪Senior Client Consultant & Creative Media Manager at Mediaplus

We wish our colleagues Victoria Wissmann and Max Zorg in the Media category, Hila Narducci and Mareike Dubbels from Serviceplan Bubble in the Digital category and Leonie Krein from Serviceplan Campaign in the Design category all the best for Cannes. The five of them represent Germany in the Global Young Lions Competition at the Croisette!

Also, we have our fingers crossed for our colleagues Johanna Praschberger and Michaela Mandl from Mediaplus Austria who won the Austrian qualifying round and will be representing Austria in the Media category.