Now, WPP may skip Cannes Lions

With award functions like Eurobest competing with Cannes Lions and other creative festivals that take up much of the time and costs of agencies, the WPP group has threatened to pull out entirely.

WPP chief executive officer Martin Sorrell and worldwide creative director John O’Keefe will sit down with Duncan Painter, chief executive officer of Ascential, which owns industry groups such as the Eurobest Awards.

“Final decisions on WPP and Cannes will await the result of a meeting Martin and I have with Duncan Painter in a couple of weeks’ time,” wrote O’Keefe in a message that went out to WPP executives last week. The implication is that WPP has insisted that Cannes streamline the entirety of the weeklong experience in the interest of cutting costs.

Interestingly, however, WPP agencies in Europe have sent in 117 entries and offered keynote speakers and jurors for Eurobest 2017. What’s next?

Source : http://www.adweek.com/agencies/wpp-tightens-the-screws-on-cannes-lions-owner-amid-threats-to-skip-next-years-festival/