Cannes Lions: Why Jung von Matt is staying in the dormitory this year
Jung von Matt is heading to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity with nearly a hundred employees—and they’re certainly not staying at the famous Martinez Hotel; instead, everyone—from junior staff to executives—is spending the night in a dormitory. Here’s the story behind it.
Cannes seems to get more expensive and exclusive every year, but 2024 will be different for Jung von Matt: The agency group - which has just been nominated for the Dan Wieden Titanium Lions in Cannes with its "Rights Against the Right" campaign - is ditching the fancy accommodation and renting out the Banana's Camp hostel. This way, as many employees as possible can experience Cannes and all the creative opportunities it offers; the agency speaks of a democratization of participation.
While other agency heads are fighting for rooms in exclusive hotels or expensive AirBnBs, Jung von Matt employees - both executives and juniors - will be settling into the hostel, which is just 100 meters from the center of Cannes and a 14-minute walk from the Palais des Festivals.
Center for learning, socializing and watching football together
As a center for learning, socializing and watching football together, the agency is planning a series of lectures, film screenings, BBQs and get-togethers. Selected festival content as well as some key UEFA EURO 2024 matches involving the teams from Germany, Austria and Switzerland will be shown there.
Each day begins with a joint brunch, a series of inspiring talks and workshops, including "Meet the legends" and "Creative Postcard Writing". In the evening, all Jung von Matt colleagues are invited to an aperitif. There will also be a welcome BBQ on Monday and a "Party-BBQ-EM" evening on Wednesday, to which clients, journalists and friends of the agency are invited.
All employees will sleep in the Banana's Camp dormitories, which can accommodate between two and eight people and share a bathroom, kitchen and common room. Employees from the agency's offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Stuttgart, Vienna and Zurich will be on site. They were selected on the basis of their participation in the projects submitted to Cannes.
We asked Wolfgang Bark, Managing Creative Director at Jung von Matt Limmat, how the unusual campaign came about:
Mr. Bark, what were the reasons for renting a hostel instead of going to Martinez?
With the hostel, we are democratizing the Lions experience. It gives 95 employees from our international locations the opportunity to travel to the Côte d'Azur and treat themselves to a full load of inspiration, getting to know each other and exchanging ideas.
What was the funniest reaction from employees, colleagues and CEOs to sharing the bathroom and bedroom?
As we all don't know exactly who we're staying with yet, the reaction will probably follow (laughs).
A great idea, what are the highlights of the week for you?
The week at the Croisette is actually a big highlight. And the Jung von Matt hostel naturally multiplies the possibilities even further. We are particularly excited about the "Meet the legends" format and the Party-BBQ-EM evening on Wednesday, which combines the best of two worlds: creative heaven meets football olympics. And a personal highlight for the Swiss delegation will of course be cheering on our five young talents at the Young Lions Competition. They won bronze last year, so the anticipation is correspondingly high this time.
