5 Ways Creative Ladder Advocated for the Next Generation of Talent at Cannes Lions
A year ago, The Creative Ladder’s launch was announced at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. So we were excited to make a big return—and a big impact—at Cannes Lions 2023.
The Creative Ladder’s goal for Cannes was clear: support the next generation of creative leaders, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds. Leveraging partnerships across marketing, advertising and tech, our team developed a wide array of programs and initiatives aimed at educating, inspiring and uplifting rising leaders.
Here’s a quick look at just a few of the ways that mission came to life at Cannes Lions 2023, thanks largely to generous support from our sponsor Capital One:
Our first-ever Cannes cohort
Supporting rising talent at Cannes Lions is important, but nothing beats actually bringing emerging leaders who otherwise likely wouldn’t have a chance to attend.
Building on The Creative Ladder’s success bringing talent cohorts to major industry conferences, we invited eight of our brightest program alumni to attend Cannes Lions at no cost to them.
This year’s Creative Ladder Cannes cohort included:
Kennyatta Collins, freelance brand strategist
Ithan Payne, creative director, Ithan Payne Creative
Krupa Hemraj, senior marketing manager, Frida
Flávia Guetter, senior manager, brand marketing communication, RBI/Popeyes
Stephanie Salvador, director of communications, Estrella Jalisco/Anheuser-Busch
Sylvana Sabella, director of social and activations, Subway
Caitlin Marino, director of strategic partnerships, Sony Music
Paula Fontes Cardoso, client services manager, Quartile
Each day, this cohort enjoyed VIP-level access to some of the world's most innovative leaders and creative pioneers. Thank you to Deloitte Digital, Adobe, Mother, Dentsu, VaynerX, Meta, Grey Group, Havas, Maximum Effort, MNTN, Adweek, TBWA\Chiat\Day and so many more for making time to meet with this cohort of emerging leaders.
Reflecting on the week, cohort member Krupa Hemraj told us: “The connection and the stories of others inspires me to continue to advocate for myself, continuously let my work do the talking, and know that hard work and persistence will pave the way.”
2. ‘Rising Together’ event for global creative talents
The Creative Ladder is only one of many organizations around the world advocating for access and inclusion in creative industries. So what better place than Cannes Lions to bring our teams—and talents—together?
‘Rising Together’ was a three-hour leadership development and networking event co-hosted on Day 1 of Cannes by The Creative Ladder, The Embassy of Dutch Creativity, and Dutch advocacy group PlusPlusOne.
Dozens of emerging creative talents from a wide range of countries attended the event, which featured advice from global creative leaders Laura Visco, VJ Anand and Kika Douglas Catroviejo.
3. Young Lions kickoff with Soyoung Kang and Stevie Archer
The Young Lions program—a global competition in which rising creatives compete to attend Cannes for free and represent their home countries—is close to Creative Ladder’s heart for multiple reasons.
Not only do we love how this enduring initiative uplifts the next generation of creative leaders, but The Creative Ladder was also the nonprofit beneficiary of this year’s U.S. Young Lions pitches.
So we were honored to be asked by Cannes Lions to identify the ideal speakers who could kick off this year’s global Young Lions competition on Day 1 of the festival.
The choice was, admittedly, an easy one: Soyoung Kang, CMO of eos, and Stevie Archer, executive creative director at SS+K, are two of the biggest rising stars in the creative marketing world. More importantly, each shares a passion for sharing what they’ve learned with younger talents.
Their talk included some much-needed advice on trusting your gut, embracing the ideas that scare you and putting the audience first. “Don’t try to come up with ideas,” one of their tips advised. “Try to solve problems.”
4. ‘How to Get Famous’: Tips for ramping up your industry visibility
See It Be It is a program that’s quickly become an iconic part of how Cannes Lions uplifts rising talent. The initiative identifies women starting out in creative leadership around the world and brings them to Cannes at no cost.
Each year, our co-founder David Griner meets with the group to share advice on generating press coverage for their work and generally boosting their visibility within the global industry.
This year, he was joined by his former colleague and podcast co-host Shannon Miller, executive director of development at agency Courage. Here’s a look at their presentation:
5. Lions Academy: ‘Making the Most of Your First 30 Days’
The learning-oriented content at Cannes Lions grows more robust each year, with much of it housed in the Lions School. There, three academies run in parallel throughout the week of the festival, catering to the specific needs of students, brand marketers and creatives.
The Creative Ladder was honored to be asked to facilitate a conversation on breaking into leadership roles. We chose to focus the panel conversation (moderating by our program director, Abnia Loriston) on tips for making the most of your first 30 days in a new leadership position.
Christy Hiler, owner and president of agency Cornett, advised starting by asking yourself two key questions: “What do I want for my organization?” and “What do I want for myself.” The next step, she says, is to share the resulting vision “early and often.”
Kalen Thornton, vp of sports, entertainment and gaming for PepsiCo, said his best advice for early days in leadership is to admit that you don’t have all the answers. “Leaning into the fear of the unknown is critical to driving change,” he says. “I never thought I’d be in Cannes, on stage, in some Js, talking about the future of leadership.”
Thank you again to Capital One for its generous support of The Creative Ladder’s Cannes Lions initiatives. Without the brand’s tireless commitment to supporting the next generation of creative industry talent, none of the programs above would have been possible.
See you next year, Cannes!