- Access isn’t enough: Cannes rewards curiosity, preparation, initiative and active participation.
- Simple ideas can be powerful: Great work starts with a clear human truth and exceptional craft.
- Curiosity drives creative growth: The best creatives keep learning, questioning and adapting.
- Representation creates possibility: Programmes like Open Chair connect underrepresented talent to global networks and opportunities.
- Leadership means opening doors: Creative leaders should share knowledge, mentor others and create more inclusive industry spaces. *
Before attending Cannes Lions, I imagined it as the pinnacle of the advertising industry: a place where the world’s best work is celebrated and where conversations shape the future of the creativity. It certainly lived up to those expectations, but also offered some unexpected lessons.
Lesson one: access alone is not enough
Like any meaningful opportunity, Cannes rewards those who actively participate. You cannot rely on chance encounters with industry leaders. You need to introduce yourself, ask questions, build relationships and make the most of every moment. Access may open the door, but curiosity, preparation and initiative determine what you gain from walking through it.
Being at Cannes through Open Chair made the experience even more meaningful. The programme gave us more than access to the festival itself. It also created opportunities for deeper conversations with some of the most influential women in the global creative industry.
These moments felt different from watching someone speak on a large stage. We were able to sit closer, ask honest questions and hear personal reflections about leadership, creativity, doubt, resilience and growth. It reminded me that real inspiration and learning often happen through proximity… there is a difference between admiring someone’s career from a distance and sitting close enough to understand the decisions, challenges and experiences that shaped it.
Lesson two: the best ideas are simple, but simplicity requires craft
Spending time inside the judging rooms was equally valuable. It allowed me to see how global work is discussed and evaluated and helped demystify what separates a strong idea from an exceptional one.
One of my biggest creative takeaways was the power of simplicity. Some of the strongest work was not the most complicated. It began with a clear human truth, an everyday behaviour or a tension people could immediately recognise.
But Cannes also reminded me that simplicity should never be confused with a lack of craft. A simple idea still needs to be executed with enormous care. At that level, every detail matters. The storytelling, design, production choices and consistency across every touchpoint can determine whether a piece of work is simply shortlisted or goes on to make history.
Lesson three: Curiosity is what keeps great creative relevant
The industry’s most accomplished creatives remain incredibly curious. Despite their success, they continue to ask questions, seek new perspectives and evolve alongside culture and technology. Their openness to learning reminded me that creative growth is never complete.
Lesson four: representation creates possibility
This is why initiatives like Open Chair matter. Talent exists everywhere, but access does not. Many young women and underrepresented creatives have the ambition and ability to succeed globally, yet lack the networks or visibility needed to enter these spaces. Open Chair helps bridge that gap by connecting emerging talent to people, ideas and opportunities that can reshape careers.
As an Asian woman who has built my life and creative career in South Africa, it was particularly meaning full to see strong Asian female representation on the global stage. Representation becomes powerful when you experience it personally. Seeing people with similar backgrounds, identities or journeys occupying influential spaces expands your sense of what is possible. One person’s opportunity can quietly expand another person’s sense of what she is allowed to pursue.
Representation is also about creating an industry where women feel safe and supported enough to participate fully, ask questions, take up space, challenge ideas and share their point of view without feeling that they must first prove they belong.
The responsibility that comes with opportunity
My vision for women in this industry is not simply to see more of us in the room. I want to see more women shaping the room: influencing the work, changing the culture, making decisions and creating space for the next generation to rise without facing the same barriers.
My Cannes experience has made me more intentional about the creative I want to produce and the leader I want to become. The best work is simple but unexpected, rooted in human truth and executed with care. I also want to remain curious, playful and open to inspiration beyond the traditional advertising world.
Most importantly, I returned with a stronger sense of responsibility. My goal is not simply to become a successful creative, but rather a good female creative leader who leaves a meaningful impact through the people I work with, support and mentor.
For me, legacy is not only the work that carries your name. It is also the confidence you help build in others, the opportunities you share and the environments you help make safer and more open.
Access to global creative spaces should not end with the me. The learning needs to travel home. It should influence the work we create, the people we develop and the rooms we help open for others.
* Summary created by AI
Sohyeon Bang is senior conceptual art director at Machine, South Africa’s only leading integrated creative company where award-winning TTL brand building capabilities are combined with B2B, specialist content, and internal communications expertise for truly borderless ideas.
Want to get in touch? You can find Machine’s contact details here.
