Bronwyn van der Merwe’s Cannes Diary #3

| | No Comments
Bronwyn van der Merwe’s Cannes Diary #3

Bronwyn van der Merwe, general manager, Fjord Asia Pacific is represented Australia on the Cannes Brand Experience & Activation Lions jury. van der Merwe, along with most of the other Australian and NZ jurors, writes exclusively for CB.

 

I’ve had an amazing week here in Cannes. I’ll leave feeling energised and inspired by the amazing work I’ve seen and the great people I’ve met and worked with.

Serving on the jury for brand activation and experience has been an honour. Hard work? Yes. But really worth it.

We awarded the Grand Prix to Microsoft’s Adaptive Controller for the Xbox, which featured in its Super Bowl ad this year showing how it enables people with disabilities to play video games. Why did we eventually choose this one? It’s simply a brilliant example of connecting outstanding brand activation with an ongoing experience that has a lasting and positive impact. There were some other very strong contenders, but after much debate, we all felt that Microsoft really landed an end-to-end experience.

What’s my big takeaway from the week? There’s still a gap between amazing activation, of which there’s plenty, and the delivery of brand experiences across every customer touchpoint. The best, like our Grand Prix winner, have closed the gap. And it’s where I think all brands have to head next.

So that’s me signing off: au revoir from Cannes!