Rafik Belmesk, Chief Strategy Officer, Dentsu Creative Canada, breaks down key moments from the Jury Room at Cannes Lions 2024.
Share a bit about what it meant to you to be a juror at Cannes Lions this year.
I’m still in a bit of disbelief. It was an incredible privilege to be part of that experience with a group of intimidatingly smart, kind, and accomplished people – a massive career milestone for me. I hope it’s not the last time I’m invited! After a lonnnnng online pre-judging round, I was looking forward to the in-person jury – where other jurors would change my mind because they looked at the work through a different lens than I did. I’m glad to report that this happened a few times in Cannes through enriching and generous conversations and plenty of…um, debate!
Let us in on the Jury room. What key elements or qualities did you and your fellow jurors look for in the entries? Did anything surprise you as a juror?
We had the benefit of judging a very specific category: creative strategy. So, very early on in the process, we started stress-testing the work through this question:
Could this work have been possible without exceptional strategy?
The idea behind the idea had to be fresh and innovative – strategy had to play a clear and crucial role in shaping the work. We also looked for impact on brand, business, and society (ideally all three), especially as we got to awarding silvers and golds.
In terms of surprises, the level in the category was shockingly high, with many of the previous year’s gold and silver winners being submitted again, which made it very very competitive, beyond what I’d expected.
Tell us about the work this year, were there any surprises or unexpected insights that emerged in the entries?
There were a looooot of B2B beer entries. Whether it’s helping corner shop owners in South America or barkeepers in Europe, this was definitely a very surprising (and kinda funny) trend.
It was also refreshing to see brands trying to have an impact on issues that were related to their core business. It felt like we finally got passed the gratuitous social-good trend that perhaps diminished the legitimacy of purpose-led work in the past.
A final thing we realized when we finished judging is that being able to affect or change a law in your country (and prove that your work actually created change vs. surfed on existing momentum) was one of the ultimate KPIs you could hit.
How do you believe the winning campaigns reflect the current trends and future direction of the industry?
Strategy is probably the broadest discipline within agencies. I think our winners reflected that and got rewarded for different flavours of exceptional strategy. From data wizardry to profound human insights, or from brilliant reframes of societal issues to new ways of engaging with consumers. The body of work is indicative of all the ways strategy can drive positive and creative outcomes for brands and organizations.
What final thoughts or advice would you offer to future entrants hoping to create impactful and award-winning work?
Take big swings if you want to win big.
