Good news for tardy agencies: the entry deadline for the Cannes Lions been extended to April 8th, giving you an extra two weeks to make your submissions. As usual, the festival itself will take place in late June.
The deadline extension applies to all categories bar the Creative Effectiveness Lions; this category, new for 2011, was open to all of last year's winners, and will be judged on who can best prove the positive business results of their campaigns. Creative Effectiveness entries closed on March 4th - and successful case studies will be published on Warc after the winners are announced.
The 2011 festival will also feature an impressive line-up of speakers, with latest names confirmed including Twitter ceo Dick Costolo. Legendary chanteuse, and award-winning author, Patti Smith will also be in Cannes, speaking at an event organised by Grey. Let's hope this particular punk icon's foray into the ad world is more successful than past precedent suggests it might be...
It's going to be a busy month for Warc on the awards front - the deadline for our inaugural Warc Prize for Asian Strategy falls on April 1st; the $5,000 prize itself will be announced in May. You can read up on our entry criteria on the Warc Prizes section of our website; I also recently spoke to prize jury chief - and Ogilvy & Mather ceo - Miles Young, who has some advice for entrants.
And for a full list of upcoming awards dates, you can, of course, check our Global Awards Calendar.
