From politics to climate change, day one at Cannes Lions has not disappointed. As ever, the biggest names in media and advertising have gathered to discuss the most pressing issues facing Adland today.

Each day this week, the Good-Loop team will be sharing key insights and takeaways from La Croisette, starting with Monday's most memorable moments.

Enjoy!

The power of advertising

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky made a powerful speech, in which he described marketers as "the most creative people in the world, always on the cutting edge". He referenced the work that brands have done to "reach the depths of the human soul [and] make people talk about issues" and told the audience that "your campaigns and your work will make our fight for freedom legendary".

Zelensky's words will resonate with brands across the globe, but as David Rubin, CMO, New York Times, pointed out, in order to be effective "everything has to be aligned and joined up - mission, brand, business and product…when things go wrong, people focus on the short term, and that's when mistakes are made".

This is a very special moment in Cannes Lions history.

An address from @ZelenskyyUa , President of Ukraine.#CannesLions2022 pic.twitter.com/8Ob5Xqqhun

— LIONS | The Home of Creativity (@Cannes_Lions) June 20, 2022

Sustainable business solutions deliver long-term growth

The Lions State of Creativity report revealed that 85% of marketers believe that creativity centred on sustainability is either critical or very important to business today.

Commentary on the report also revealed that the most successful marketers are balancing Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) with brand growth, and that there is continued evidence that proves sustainable business solutions deliver long-term growth and shareholder returns.

Marketers are pivotal to achieving this balance as campaign planning and measurement processes glean a wealth of consumer data that can be transformed into meaningful sustainable practices that satisfy consumers and grow the brand.

Purpose in media

The panel session "It's Not Climate Change, It's the Everything Change" certainly gave us lots to think about when it comes to best practices in purpose-based marketing.

Here are our highlights: As purpose becomes more and more important in marketing, it's vital that marketers evaluate what their brand stands for and ensure that this is reflected in all they do. Let's take climate change as an example of something a brand wants to fight against. What might you do?

1. Evaluate potential charity partners to work with?
2. Offset carbon emissions?
3. Donate a percentage of profits?

But what about your media? Are you aware of the damage to the environment your advertising campaigns might be causing? Have you explored ways to reduce emissions produced by your campaigns? If not, you can't say that you're truly preserving what you stand for.

Choosing to work with media partners that align with your brand values sends a powerful message - one that goes beyond words. By removing ad spend from platforms that do harm to the environment, brands are spearheading change.

A Woman's Place is in the Room

Good-Loop CEO and founder Amy Williams joined a Reddit panel to talk about what the ad industry should be doing to get more women into senior positions.

Amy shared various experiences from her journey growing Good-Loop from a start-up to where we are now.

What does 'a woman's place in the room' mean to you?@GoodLoopAmy at Reddit Explorers Club, "A Woman's Place is in the Room". #RepresentationMatters #DEI pic.twitter.com/GXy9CGGkm4

— Good-Loop (@GoodLoopHQ) June 20, 2022

Amy also talked about some of the challenges:

"It's tough when you have a situation as a very small business to pay for people who aren't working due to parental leave. However, you need to support people with families, and we're at the point now where we have grown the business so we can offer equal male and female cover for parental leave."

Also in the news…

Craig Bagno, managing director, global strategic excellence, at McCann Worldgroup, published an article in PR Week examining brand purpose over six years of Cannes Lions winners. Here's what we learned:

• 74% of the winning ideas were purpose-driven
• The incidence of purpose-driven Grand Prix winners is trending upward over time: In 2016, only 66% of winning ideas were purpose-driven. In 2012, purpose made up just 17% of winning ideas, as just a glimmer on the industry's horizon
• There is a formula to brand purpose: Identifying an injustice isn't enough; it needs stopping power
• Kinship with consumers is key - everyone needs to win, not just your brand but people, society and the planet.

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