south africa exposed
Cannes Lions 2006
18 - 24 June

Public Meeting - 31 March 2006

Cannes Overview

I am not sure how familiar you all are with the event we hosted last year and the venue – but want to present a very broad overview of what we are planning for Cannes 2006.

I am not going to go into detail on the various packages available this year to sponsors, as we are in the final stages of locking them down, and will mail them out to all members by the end of this week. But numerous companies have contacted Tercia already asking to be put down for sponsorship – so don’t waste time signing up!

Due to the unprecedented success of South Africa House at Cannes last year, we have managed to secure the same venue again this year. The restaurant is directly next to the Palais, where all the main events happen, and is also en route to all the other hotels and meeting venues along the Croisette. We have now all had experience with the current venue, and know were all the benefits and potholes are, and can therefore only improve on last year based on the knowledge of what did and didn’t work.

Last year we didn’t use the interior of the venue as well as we could have, and also felt the film offices needed a better area to host guest and clients. Therefore we would like to propose that the Commission and Film Offices take the interior of the restaurant this year, with the following suggestions:

• A lounge area with comfortable seating for client meetings; tables and chairs for Internet points –with WiFi access (inside and out)
• Host an exhibition of some sort inside the house. Kathy EB and Lance Gibbons have been commissioned to produce a glossy coffee table book, which combines beautiful locations with sayings and quotes from Thabo Mbeki’s “I am an African speech”. We propose that we tie the exhibition and the book together in terms of a theme. Possibly auction these photographs at some stage
• Create a much more informal meeting area inside, which sofa’s, good music, and a much more upbeat atmosphere

We will also concentrate on making the outside area look cleaner and more slick, and plan to raise the bar significantly on the general feel of the venue. We are hoping to be able to offer live music (or DJ’s) at various times, and create an atmosphere that encourages clients to stop by for a drink –whether they have arranged meetings or not.

We feel we can definitely improve greatly on last years branding and layout of the venue and have commissioned COBRAND to do all the design, branding, creative and look for the house this year. They have already come up with an exceptionally good proposal……………..(this is where you can either show it, or say that its not been approved by the group yet, or something!).

The group feels that we are now embracing “the full value chain” and want to focus on our creativity and not just the fact that we are a service destination. To get the attention of the worlds top creatives means we need to be creative and clever in our branding and look.

We have taken print ads out in the following publications:

• 3 x Cannes dailies
• 1 x Callsheet full page
• 1 x Screen Africa full page
• 4 x fmg online newsletter

Our brief on advertising is the full value chain – and again we want to make sure our advertising is on par with the best in the world this year.

We very successfully ran the directors challenge last year, and are considering launching a creative challenge this year through the creative circle – inviting agencies to pitch on our print campaign.

The winning creative team will be allowed to send two HDI’s from the team to Cannes for a fully paid up trip – inclusive of a full delegate package worth over R20 000.

The Department of Trade and Industry have committed to sponsoring 4 historically disadvantaged individuals at Cannes this year through SAX – and we are also going to be running a directors challenge, which will entail HDI directors submitting a reel (2 – 5 spots) to the panel for judging. The most promising directors (2 of them) will again get a full sponsorship to Cannes including delegate registration.

Again we are hoping to run this through the creative circle.

We are looking at hosting an opening cocktail party for all South African members on the Wednesday evening - hosted by the CFC, regional film offices and DTI.

Then – the piece de resistance for 2006 – is that we have managed to secure exclusive sponsorship / partnership of the shots party.

As you all know, Shots is one of the biggest parties during the week of Cannes, and has an existing attendance list of over 2000 filmmakers and advertisers from around the world.

This is a huge coup for SAX, and one that we know is going to raise our profile at Cannes 2006 significantly.

We have been given complete creative control over the party in terms of theme and look –and are hoping to take over our own entertainment to give the party a very African Feel.

We are currently looking in to taking fire dancers and drummers, a local DJ and a popular local artiste.

We also get co branding on all invites, the shots website (and link to party) – the opportunity for co branded party bags, double page spread advert in shots 95, discount on all advertising to members in the shots Cannes issue, SAE logo on all branded material, work showcased on shots party reel which plays during the evening, party tickets for SAX members and drinks vouchers, logo on 3 jetty banners, editorial coverage, help with PR of event – and they will make South Africa house the pick up point for all tickets this year.

We are currently looking into various sponsorship opportunities on the party bags, which we will send out with the sponsor packages by end of week.

So our key issues to focus on this year are:

• To involve much more of the industry, especially advertising agencies
• Put much more focus on creative – we are not just a location service destination
• Showcase much more south African work
• Improve on our branding and look for the house
• Make the house even more accessible and inviting than last year with use of WiFi, interior seating, exhibition, etc
• Hopefully showcase some very hip and contemporary south African talent in the form of musicians, entertainers and artists

Last year we put on a fine show at Cannes - with lots of gumption and very limited resources. This year we have raised the bar, managed to access more funding, have huge support from the DTI and Cape film commission and therefore plan to have an even bigger impact.

We need your support. Last year we managed to secure 85 industry members who raised a total of over R900 000. That is what got the attention of the DTI, which led to this years funding and support. So please join guys, blah, blah!!!!

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Who is the Cape Film Commission?, Bianca Mpahlaza, CFC, PR
Cannes Lions 2005 - Commercial Producers Perspective, Oliver Nurock
             Reel Africa
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