Effie Academy at Cannes Lions

Your participation in the program includes:

• a Gold Cannes Lions pass
• Exclusive access to the Global Effie Awards Best of the Best Winners Cocktail Party
• Access to a curated schedule of effectiveness-focused talks from leading brands and agencies
• Exclusive talks from Effie leaders and guest speakers
• 2.5-day workshop to sharpen your marketing and effectiveness skills through a mix of theory and hands-on application grounded in Effie’s four-pillar framework
• Mock judging experience to hone your strategic skills
• Access to the first module of the Effie Effectiveness Fundamentals e-learning course so you can carry your learning forward after the week ends, diving deeper into the framework you’ll have explored and cementing the strategies and insights you experienced at the Festival.

You’re a mid- to senior-level marketer with 8–15+ years of experience working across brands, agencies or platforms. You drive business growth, manage budgets, and oversee key client and account relationships.

This programme is ideal for:

• brand leaders – brand directors and senior managers or above
• agency executives – VPs and directors across strategy, planning, communications, and creative, at director level and above
• media - client solutions managers at senior level and above.

Please note: To ensure an enriching and well-balanced learning experience, we carefully select participants from a variety of disciplines and company types. Our goal is to foster a dynamic environment that maximises the learning potential for all attendees. We reserve the right to manage the composition of the group to maintain this balance, which may include offering an alternate pass. If you have any questions about the programme, feel free to reach out to Nisha Stephen,  who leads our Effie Academy at nisha@effie.org.

Effie Academy at Cannes Lions is a week-long programme that combines the full experience of the Festival along with dedicated learning moments in an intimate group of peers.

• proven insights into what makes ‘ideas that work’, with exercises and discussions based on Effie’s globally recognised framework
• a mix of theory and hands-on application, including a mock judging experience to sharpen your strategic skills
• candid discussions with industry leaders on how to turn best practices into real-life success
• exceptional networking opportunities with cross-industry marketers to widen your perspective and expand your connections.

• Pillar 1 – Challenge, Context, Objectives | Diagnosis
  How to define business challenges and market context, and explore growth opportunities.
• Pillar 2 – Insights & Strategy | Challenge to Solution
  How to craft a strategic idea rooted in powerful insights.
• Pillar 3 – Bringing the Strategy & Idea to Life | Strategy to Activation
  How to translate strategy into impactful and relevant activities.
• Pillar 4 – Results | Impact
  How to measure success and extract key learnings for future work.

This programme goes beyond theory. It’s a hands-on experience designed to elevate your strategic thinking, spark creativity, and make effectiveness part of your everyday work. You’ll leave with the tools, insights, and inspiration to drive real business impact.

If you have any questions about the programme, feel free to reach out to Laila El Agizy (laila@effie.org).