How to Host an Event at Cannes Lions (Without an Internal Events Team)

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is one of the most important gatherings in the global marketing, media and creative industries.

But while thousands attend every year, only a small percentage actually stand out.

And the difference?
They don’t just attend - they host.

Why Hosting Matters

At Cannes, the enhanced value happens outside the conference rooms:

• Private meetings

• Community events

• Brand activations

• Experiences

Hosting your own event gives you:

• Control over your audience

• A reason to invite prospects and purpose in attending the conference

• A platform to build relationships

The Problem Most Teams Face

Most companies:

• Don’t have an internal events team

• Have event managers unfamilar with cannes / Don’t know where to start

• Underestimate the complexity

• Large enough budget for the event they envision

This leads to either:

• Doing nothing

• Overspending on the wrong format

The Best Event Formats for Cannes

1. Private Breakfasts or Dinners

   Small, curated breakfasts and dinners are often the highest ROI format.
   

2. Co-Hosted Events
   Sharing costs and audiences makes this ideal for smaller teams.
   

3. Activations & Cannoise Inspired Experiences
   Best for brands with larger budgets, and clear messaging.

How Much Does It Cost?

Typical ranges:

• Dinners: €9k–£27k

• Co-hosted: €10k–£45k

• Activations: €25k+

Key Mistakes to Avoid

• Leaving planning too late

• Inviting too many people

• Focusing on scale over quality

• Selecting the wrong format and time of day

Final Thoughts

Cannes is not just an event, it’s an opportunity. For most teams, the smartest move isn’t going big. It’s going strategic.

If you’re attending Cannes and considering hosting something, start simple, or speak to a team who can guide you through it.

Why Event Strategy Matters for Long-Term Business Success

In today’s competitive business world, events are more than just gatherings—they’re powerful tools to build connections, engage audiences, and reinforce your brand. But the true value of events comes from having a long-term strategy that aligns with your business goals. Instead of treating each event as a one-off, developing a cohesive event strategy can deliver sustained benefits, including a stronger community, deeper engagement, and increased brand presence over time.

Building a Loyal Community

A well-crafted event strategy helps foster a loyal community around your brand. Consistent, high-quality events create anticipation and encourage ongoing participation. Whether it’s a flagship annual conference or smaller quarterly workshops, having a series of touchpoints ensures that your audience remains engaged with your business. By connecting regularly, you can build trust, loyalty, and meaningful relationships with clients, partners, and even employees.

Increasing Audience Engagement

An event strategy enables deeper audience engagement before, during, and after your events. Pre-event campaigns create excitement, while on-site personalisation and post-event follow-ups keep attendees actively involved. With each event, engagement builds, leading to stronger relationships with your audience.

Reinforcing Brand Presence

Events are immersive brand experiences that can significantly reinforce your company’s presence in the market. A strategic approach to events ensures consistent messaging and brand representation, helping position your company as a leader in its field. Regularly hosting well-planned events keeps your brand top-of-mind and enhances brand equity.

Maximising ROI

A long-term event strategy ensures that each event contributes to your broader business objectives. Whether your goal is lead generation, customer retention, or brand visibility, strategic planning maximises ROI by aligning each event with measurable outcomes. By consistently improving and refining your event approach, you enhance your returns over time.

Investing in a long-term event strategy is key to ensuring that your efforts lead to sustainable growth. By building a loyal community, increasing engagement, reinforcing your brand, and maximising ROI, a strategic approach to events helps drive long-term success. At Serenity London, we specialise in helping companies develop event strategies that deliver lasting results. Let’s work together to elevate your events and achieve your goals.

Thoughts on Studying Events Management at University

When choosing a course at university, I had to think about what I wished to have achieved by the end of my course. The answer was securing a graduate job, which would bring me the feeling of satisfaction and make me financially stable. Organising events and seeing them come to life is what gives me the most satisfaction, so it was easy to chose this course among so many others.

When studying Event Management, I learned a lot about policies, documentation needed and the processes of professional organisation of events. It became obvious, that managing events is not an easy job and requires a lot of resilience against stress under all circumstances. Although it is a stressful environment, the feeling of accomplishment that comes with watching your event come to life is one of the most rewarding aspects of this industry.

Studying Event Management also increases employability. Before starting my course, I thought maybe I could land a job in this industry without studying for three years. But the more I looked at entry-level job advertisements, the clearer it became that a degree would be essential if I wanted to pursue a career in professional events.

So, this course can be the most satisfying thing in the world and help you to secure a well-paid job, but it can also be very stressful! Great stress management is therefore a useful skill to have before starting this course. And remember - do not be afraid to ask for help :)

Meg