Now in its 60th year, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will take over the South of France June 15 - 21, 2014. Covering everything from mobile and billboards to design and branded content, Cannes Lions is the world’s largest celebration of creativity in communications and serves up some of the most prestigious international annual Advertising and Communications awards.
iBeacon (Apple’s name for the Bluetooth Low Energy specification) has been a hot topic in creative circles, so Eventbase decided to incorporate this innovative new technology into the event’s official app. Eventbase first launched this technology at South By Southwest (SXSW) in March, but at Cannes Lions it has further extended its iBeacon capabilities.
For the first time, Eventbase is using iBeacon technology built in to iPhones to let users see profiles of the people around them and send messages through the app. Called Cannes Connect in the app, this “Around Me” feature includes LinkedIn integration that will highlight people you already know at the event and make more detail for personal profiles.
Eventbase has also incorporated Gimbal proximity beacons with iBeacon technology into the exhibit halls where attendees can also expect the Cannes Lions app to provide them with additional context for various campaigns featured throughout the festival. QR codes will be present as an alternative for Android users, but the majority of people using this feature have adopted iOS and will be engaging via iBeacon. Because of the beacons’ location-awareness, app users will receive a prompt asking if they’d like to learn more about the specific campaign they are looking at. From there, a screen will appear displaying the team who produced the project, and other work they’ve done.
Additionally, when audience members with an iPhone enter a session their phone can detect an iBeacon in the room and prompt them to check-in to the session and particpate in an in-app discussion and real-time polls using an Eventbase feature called Session Live.
The Cannes Lions app is also introducing a new feature called Mind Trip, which allows attendees to access what seminars visionary leaders are favouriting and looking forward to. As such, Mind Trip will showcase a selection of workshops, classes, galas, and awards ceremony.
Eventbase is sending six of its employees to the fest this year to offer support, and—like other attendees—glean insight from the world’s thought leaders on new innovative ways for brands to interact with their customers.
Download and rate the Cannes Lions official app.
