The race to the Cannes Lions awards deadline often involves late nights, intense periods of cramming creativity into award entries, and meticulous crafting of submissions from case films to presentation boards. Now, with the deadline behind us, we can all take a collective breath – we’ve done it, and the madness is over for this year. Now it’s time to look ahead, since there’s a valuable stockpile of marketing assets that shouldn’t just gather digital dust. After spending all the time, money & sweat, what’s next for all these meticulously crafted assets?
After investing considerable time, effort, and resources into your Cannes Lions submissions, it’s important to maximize the return on your investment. These assets, designed to impress the toughest juries, can do much more than compete at a single event.
Creating Valuable Case Studies
Before considering additional award submissions, think about repurposing your campaign materials into compelling case studies for your website or future pitches. This not only showcases your strategic and creative capabilities to potential clients but also strengthens your agency’s portfolio. Detailed case studies highlight the thought process, execution, and results of your campaigns, providing a tangible demonstration of your success to stakeholders -and you now happen to have a perfect 2-minute video that explains it all in a concise form. Time to use it!
Entering Into Other Awards
Once you’ve capitalized on these assets internally, consider how they can continue to earn recognition in the industry. With several prestigious awards still on the horizon this year, your work has multiple opportunities to shine and garner more accolades. We’ve collected a few of the upcoming ones worth your attention below:
You have to be quick for this one, with an upcoming deadline of 10th May – but hey, you should have all your assets ready to go for the Gerety Awards. They focus on creativity through a female lens. With an all-female judging line-up, the judging criteria at the Gerety Awards is originality of creative ideas and quality of executions—compared to the best creative work ever seen by the jury, not just by the competition. Categories range from Communication to Media to Entertainment and Pharma – so most likely every campaign will find a home in here.
(Official) Final Deadline: 10th May 2024
Perfect for those involved in the entertainment industry. If your Cannes submissions marketing and communications campaigns for movies, television shows, or gaming, the Clio Entertainment Awards could be your next battleground. If Sport is the more appropriate arena, you’re in luck – the Clio Sports are also open for entries. Usually you only have to create a 500 word synopsis as a written submission, and then should be able to re-use all your Cannes assets – even the presentation images!
Clio Entertainment:
1st Deadline: 14th June 2024
2nd Deadline: 12th July 2024
Final Deadline: 2nd August 2024
Clio Sport:
Deadline 1: 7th June 2024
Deadline 2: 19th July 2024
Final Deadline: 6th September 2024
The Digiday Awards recognize companies that are transforming marketing and embracing digital innovation. They have limited categories, ranging from Best Creative to Best Use of Social and Best Search Campaign, so competition in each of these categories is high, and you’ll need to check if there is a suitable one for your work. Campaigns that showcased groundbreaking digital strategies and tech-driven solutions can find a competitive edge here. Although these awards aren’t great for trophy shelves (no trophies are given out), awards being attached to publications always have a PR advantage for winner
Regular Deadline: 21st June 2024
Final Deadline: 2nd August 2024
If your work falls within Media & Marketing, the M&M Global Awards could be for you. They have both sector and channel categories, so most likely your campaign will find at least one home here. You’ll only need your glossy case film in the case you should get shortlisted – these awards only allow for a written submission in the first step to form the shortlist, so make sure to polish your written submission. Everyone who gets shortlisted then will have the chance to submit the case film for the final stage of judging. These awards have been around for over 30 years, so they are worth checking out for your work.
Standard Deadline: 16th May 2024
Extended Deadline: 13th June 2024
Recognized for celebrating the best in modern marketing, The Drum Awards offer categories across various industry sectors and channels. Since last year, they’ve grouped most of their shows under one awards umbrella and turned it into a “festival”. Deadlines for this year have been pulled forward, and with awards ranging from Advertising to Design to Media and PR, you’ll be able to find a spot for your campaign to shine.
Early-bird deadline: 15th May 2024
Official deadline: 12th June 2024
Extended deadline: 10th July 2024
Celebrating creative excellence, innovation, and the power of ideas, LIA is a premier global award known for its broad international participation and high standards. One of five global shows recognised in the WARC 100 Ranking, the LIAs are a great show to enter. Not only are jurors seeing all entries submitted into their respective judging categories and it having an open door judging policy for full transparency, this show also gives back to young creatives through their Creative LIAisons program. So even if you shouldn’t win, by entering here you are giving back to your industry.
Early-bird deadline: 7th June 2024
Final entry deadline: 31st August 2024
Don’t overlook the regional versions of Cannes. Still coming up this year will be Eurobest – celebrating the best in European advertising. This offers another chance to highlight your campaign’s versatility and regional appeal. And of course, being only a regional festival, that means competition is lower—though juries are as stellar as at Cannes. Times are yet to be announced, but do check them in late Summer/Autumn.
Utilizing Your Assets:
Each of these awards has its unique criteria and focus areas. By tailoring your existing assets, you can align your campaign’s strengths with each award’s requirements. Whether it’s editing a case film to highlight specific results or tweaking your presentation boards to resonate with different cultural nuances, a small investment in adaptation could lead to further acclaim. However, that’s not always necessary, and you can also just focus on tailoring your written submission and changing any supporting materials to highlight a new angle for the chosen show and category.
Ready to take your campaigns to the next level but unsure where to start? Discover more opportunities with our Ultimate, Always Up-to-Date Marketing, Media, and Advertising Awards Show Directory. This comprehensive guide not only provides detailed insights into the essential advertising, marketing & media award shows but also helps you strategize your entries to maximize their potential. Don’t let your hard work limit itself to one show. Purchase access today and start preparing your assets for their next successful award journey. Your work deserves the widest acclaim—let’s make it happen. Secure your access now here.
