Kiku Gross on LinkedIn: For as grateful as I am to be here… this: (2024)

Today’s an earlier edition of Kiku’s Declassified Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Survival Guide—brought to you by a low social battery and love of air conditioning.Tip 1: All that serendipity woo-woo they tell you about before your first Cannes? It’s true. For instance, if I followed my schedule exactly on this day, I never would’ve found the cutest little cafe to eat a ✨cwiassont✨ at, nor would I have gotten this SICK tattoo. (Thanks 🤙🏾ty gates and Mother !)Tip 2: Bring the extras. The umbrellas, the charging cables, the underwear. All of it. Every extra. Bring it. It rained on my trip, which is, apparently, some kind of rare, unbelievable thing. At least, that’s what every Cannes veteran (and the tattoo artist who lived here!) told me. I did not prepare for rain, and I paid dearly for it. (I got wet. 🥺)Tip 3: The best dinner is one shared with friends! I was lucky enough to catch up over a… strange… pizza with the one and only Lisa Bright. I’m a very sentimental person, so getting to enjoy a meal with her at my first Cannes was another “rose-tinted-grandma-you’ve-told-this-story” moment for me. It left both my tummy and my heart full. (No, I did not get a picture of my pizza. Instead enjoy my much more aesthetically pleasing granola bowl.)

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Hear that? It’s the sound of another installment of Kiku’s Declassified Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity survival guide! Today is about big experiences and the big feelies that come with them, because trust me, after spending all day in that French summer sun, your emotional regulation? Yeet. Tip 1: Go during a year that France is hosting the Olympics, because then, while you’re already there you can see them light the Olympic torch. That way, “summer 2024” is now a mythical rose-tinted memory that you will fondly tell your future grandkids about, and also any friend who will listen. …wait what do you mean that was just a lucky coincidence and I’m not the main character??? I don’t understand??? (In all seriousness, thank you Chad Hickey for allowing me in your space to watch this ✨historic✨ event.) Tip 2: Know people that have work shortlisted. It’s really cool to see something at Cannes that you formerly only knew from a tiny MacBook screen. It’s honestly kind of magical—and it’s not even my work! (S/O Anne Love Feild (AKA Love Feild, lol), Tucker Stosic and Tim Vaccarino !) Tip 3: Learn when to call it. There’s a ton of cool stuff out here, but in order to not have a meltdown, toddler style, on those big red steps, it’s best that you listen to your body and go to bed when you start to fade. Sorry to my cohort members who hoped to party hardy with me. I do not have a hardy bone in my body. But like, imma be real with you all, it’s better this way. Also, sorry, no food pics today. Just trust me when I say I really am eating all the free food I can get my hands on. I mean, have any of you SEEN me at a conference? I love a free snack.

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Welcome back to Kiku’s Declassified Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Survival Guide! Today’s tips are all about swag, because holy balls do you get a lot of stuff to carry around. Tip 1: Don’t wear glasses. Inevitably, when Meta gifts you really cool sunglasses, you won’t be able to use them properly (no matter how badly you want to) because you need your regular glasses to see/not walk directly into traffic on ✨La Croisette.✨Also, it’ll give you fomo when all your cohort is using them willy-nilly. Man I wish I could see for free! Tip 2: Wear your wristbands on your lanyard. David Griner will contest this tip and tell you to just roll around with a wrist full of arm candy like a, quote, “90s club kid,” but for those of us who hate the idea of having wet stuff on our wrists, you can get into those fancy beach houses just fine if they’re dangling around your neck. (Nobody knows what PLURR means anyways.) Tip 3: bring a big, gigantic tote bag, preferably one that turns into a backpack. See, I thought I was going to be cute with a little mini bag, but let me tell you something… by the time I got to the party Givsly hosted for us, that little bag was holding on for dear life. You do get a bag from Cannes, too, but it doesn’t turn into a backpack and your shoulders will get sore. #FirstWorldProblems, I know. Bonus Tip: If you have any friends doing cool stuff, wear their swag around. It’ll make you feel cool and them happy. (P.S. yes, that last picture IS a chrysanthemum pizza. I’ve never felt so seen.)

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Welcome to Kiku’s Declassified Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Survival Guide—AKA “Cannes for Normies.” TL;DR—if there ain’t a “C” in front of your title, this is for you. Tip 1: Get someone to sponsor/send you. The Creative Ladder sent me and already had a schedule planned, which was great, because I suck at planning… well, most things. Also! It’s very overwhelming! Sometimes these lovely programs also send you to fancy dinners hosted by Meta and dentsu. Ask me about my raspberry ceviche sometime. (But first ask me about Advocacy at Sea and how kind folks like Christena J. Pyle (she/her), Nate Nicely, Jason Dailey, Asha, Amy, Scott and Paul are!) Tip 2: Nobody has business cards anymore. What is this, 1960??? Instead, take a nifty little screenshot of your LinkedIn QR code and make it your phone lock screen. Not only will it help you make friends faster but people will also think you’re very smart and big brained. Which is very important here, you want people to think you’re very professional even if you are decidedly not. Tip 3: Make peace with the fact that you will be sweaty. So very, very sweaty. There is no escaping it. There is no preventing it. Accept this fate now. It’s easier this way. … And that’s all for now. Sorry, I’ve only been here 1 day. But maybe if you come back tomorrow I’ll share more learnings. Or maybe just more food pics. TBD.

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Personally, I'm just going to wear a shirt that says "IF LOST RETURN TO The Creative Ladder" all week, but for the rest of you, the one, the only David Griner has come to save the day! (If you see me looking lost out there please rescue me. My landlord and his wife are already worried about me.)

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Say hi to my cohort! I plan to be bffls by the end of this whole thing. 🙂↕️

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Hello marketing world! My lovely friend is looking for work and I suspect there may be folks in my network who could, at the very least, point her in the right direction. Sharing is caring! 💖

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You've heard of Emily in Paris... but are you ready for Kiku in Cannes? (Sorry, I had to do it once.)I'm thrilled, excited, humbled, and even nervous to announce that I am one of the six The Creative Ladder alumni who has been selected to head to Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this year! Thank you to Lisa A. B., Dionna Dorsey and Abnia Loriston for this incredible opportunity! Once-in-a-lifetime, really! I know I have some fancy folks in my network, so hmu if I'll see you in France!

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