If there’s an industry event that really captures the heart and spirit of outdoor advertising it’s the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

A smorgasbord of bespoke art installations, experiential activations and lavish brand experiences curated around the Palais des Festivals, La Croisette and the beach fronts. A major out of home activation all in itself, centred around the Cannes Lions.

Out of home entries excelled this year, with two of the UK winners aided and abetted by Ocean.

Taking the Titanium Grand Prix was “Long Live the Prince” a campaign from Engine which aimed to give a victim of violence the life he deserved. JD Sports gave space to Kiyan Prince’s likeness on London’s Piccadilly Lights, supported by Ocean. Powerful stuff.

In the Media category a Bronze Lions was awarded to Forever Beta for I’m Here. The campaign, which used tech to draw attention to Big Issue vendors, giving them the biggest voice possible via personalised billboards, was a winner of Ocean’s 2021 digital creative competition. This is the place where we foster those bold, original ideas which go onto the win even bigger accolades.

Audiences are back. Creativity is off the scale.

As our CEO Tim Bleakley observed during his Cannes presentation, “the new normal is a mirage”. People want to be, and are back, in the out of home environment.

Covid may have warped audience behaviour, but that was a temporary aberration. Something evidenced by the crowds in Cannes after a two year hiatus.

Tim told us that out of home is at a pivotal moment. Reach and time spent is on the up as integrated opportunities turbo charge the channel, giving it an even stronger position in the media mix.

Providing a platform for creativity is clearly not a Big Issue. Experimentation is key. But with that can come risks. Here’s how Ocean mitigates that.

• Keep an eye on the “creators economy” which is already forming part of DOOH’s next wave of content. Check out Ocean’s metaverse partnership with The Immersive KIND for Pride in London. A DOOH media first and one splendid example.

• The creative use of data meanwhile is facilitating innovative ideas to deliver impact. Look at The 2030 Forecast, a first of its kind climate literacy initiative that is using outdoor digital displays to show a weekly snapshot of carbon emissions footprint from energy, industry, road transportation and domestic aviation. A sure-fire Cannes 2023 winner. Seen on Ocean screens in Sweden and the UK first.

• DOOH is an incredibly entertaining channel that creates strong emotional bonds between brands and audiences. DeepScreen™ is a prime example with five out the six advertisers on the Piccadilly Lights in London activating 3D campaigns last week. Read David Tait’s blog to find out more.

• Ocean Labs has developed a toolkit to help agencies and creatives elevate their brand messaging using a suite of best in class tech. The Labs is a new demonstration hub in our London office, so book a slot, come in and see.

How to win awards? Think of ideas at scale to impact many people in a tailored way. All you need is a Cannes DOOH attitude.

Ocean’s 2022 Digital Creative Competition launches on Monday, July 11^th.  To find out more visit www.oceandcc.com