Creative B2B Lions
The Creative B2B Lions celebrate a business product, proposition, service, solution or experience whose primary buyer is a business decision-maker or group of decision-makers/buyers who make purchases/transactions on behalf of other businesses.
On this page
Introduction
The history of the Creative B2B Lions
The Creative B2B Lions launched in 2022 in collaboration with the B2B community. The Award was created to recognise game-changing creativity and effectiveness in work for B2B products and services.
In 2023 the ‘Integrated Campaign’ sub category was added to ensure the Lion recognises the multi-touchpoint, multi-stakeholder nature of the buying journey. The weightings of the judging criteria were also altered to place more emphasis on the strategy of the work.
For 2025, we’ve introduced a question within the Creative B2B Lions to help clarify the type of work submitted. Entrants will need to specify if the work is for a traditional B2B model where one business sells directly to another, a model involving a partnership between businesses to reach consumers or work aimed at attracting consumers as a way to engage a business customer. This is to ensure the jury can view the work through the correct lens.
What kind of work can be entered?
Eligible work may include cross-channel storytelling campaigns that amplify a brand's message across online and offline platforms, as well as brand experiences—both physical and digital—that strengthen customer relationships through immersive storytelling, live events, or interactive technologies like AR/VR. Innovative use of content that increases business activity, targeting and engagement strategies leveraging data insights, and measurable work that demonstrates effectiveness are also eligible.
Long-term brand building campaigns that show sustained strategic impact over time, breakthroughs on a budget that deliver maximum results despite limited resources, and challenger brands that disrupt the market with progressive thinking. Purpose-driven work addressing social, ethical, or environmental issues, market disruption strategies responding creatively to global challenges, and exceptional craft in areas like art direction, copywriting, and digital execution are also eligible.
What’s the Jury looking for?
Innovative, impactful work that elevates business-to-business communications through exceptional creativity and strategic execution. Campaigns that engage professional audiences, foster meaningful connections, and deliver measurable results. This includes work that demonstrates creative storytelling, innovative use of data and insights, and compelling content tailored to business buyers.
Work that redefines how B2B brands engage with their audiences, showcasing exceptional craft, long-term brand building, or game-changing ideas that challenge industry norms.
PUB MUSEUMS | HEINEKEN | LEPUB, MILAN | GOLD, CREATIVE B2B LIONS | 2024
The Categories
A. Creative B2B
Any product or service that is bought by professionals on behalf of businesses.
Online or offline multichannel experiences made to engage and amplify a brand’s message, product or service.
Physical or digital experiences that are set up to engage and strengthen relationships and make the brand more memorable. This may include but is not limited to immersive brand storytelling, experiential marketing, live events, use of mobile, VR/AR, installations, virtual worlds and multiscreen and multidimensional experiences. Does not include prototypes of early-stage technology.
Creative use of content to increase business or customer activity. This could include, but not be limited to, film, audio and radio, branded content, PR, etc.
Work that effectively attracts new customers, drives engagement or strengthens existing customer relationships through targeting. The work should show innovative use of data and insights leading to an increase in new business or customer activity.
Work that demonstrates deliberate and thoughtful introduction of measurement techniques that have had real impact on the performance of an organisation. This could include, but not be limited to, traffic, conversion rates, renewal rate, brand awareness, salience, consideration, innovation in measurement, etc.
Customised brand positioning strategies that demonstrate long-term brand affinity, growth and effectiveness. Methods should demonstrate how a long-running campaign was instrumental in achieving a brand's strategic objectives.
There is an increased eligibility for this category of over 3 years: 08 February 2022 – 10 April 2025.
Creative use of modest budgets and/or resources in relation to the market and/or industry to create maximum impact. The work should demonstrate how fresh insight, smart spending and compelling strategic thinking solved a business problem despite limited resources.
Brands that have creatively adapted their approach in response to competitor pressure by challenging the status quo to create game-changing work that uses progressive thinking and innovative creativity.
Purpose-driven work/brand activism that addresses social, ethical and environmental issues. The work should demonstrate how the brand’s purpose has created value and affected communities by connecting customers to culture.
Brands that have creatively adapted their strategy in response to local / regional / global issues, embracing new ways of delivering their brand while showing consideration for the consumer.
Creative B2B ideas brought to life through exceptional craft. This could include, but not be limited to, art direction, digital craft, film craft, copywriting, illustration, typography, photography, etc.
Work that successfully carries a brand’s message across multiple platforms/channels, both online and offline. The work should demonstrate how B2B content featuring a brand’s message, product or service has been seamlessly implemented on various channels to amplify meaningful experiences and customer engagement.
Creative use of influencers to drive industry conversation and purchase decisions and improve brand perception and impact business objectives, community or consumers.
Eligibility
Work will need to have been executed during the eligibility period of 8 February 2024 – 10 April 2025. The work being judged should have first been implemented within this eligibility period.
Exceptionally, category A06. Long-term Brand Building has an eligibility period of 08 February 2022 – 10 April 2025.
Is there a limit to how many times I can enter?
There’s no overall limit to how many times the same piece of work can be entered into Creative B2B Lions as long as the categories chosen are relevant.
TRUCKER NAPP | VOLKSWAGEN & LIVELO | ALMAPBBDO, SAO PAULO | BRONZE, CREATIVE B2B LIONS | 2024
Previous Winners
Meet Marina Prieto
Cannes Lions 2024 Grand Prix DAVID Madrid / JCDecaux / 2024
Media company JCDecaux used unbooked media spaces to transport a Galician grandma to stardom. Fuelled by speculation around who had commissioned the spaces, the reveal doubled media investment.
MEET MARINA PRIETO | JCDECAUX | DAVID MADRID | GRAND PRIX, CREATIVE B2B LIONS | 2024
Why the work won
The 2024 Creative B2B Jury awarded this work with the Grand Prix for its human-centric, low-budget approach that delivered undeniable results. Julie Scelzo, Chief Creative Officer at Dentsu Creative, Chicago, and 2024 Jury member praised it for remembering that “business people are people too” and combining “the emotional with the rational”.
MEET MARINA PRIETO | JCDECAUX | DAVID MADRID | GRAND PRIX, CREATIVE B2B LIONS | 2024
Inside the Jury Room: Creative B2B Lions
To hear more from the Jury and how they decided on the winning work, check out the video below.
Entries & Judging
What are the judging criteria?
A number of criteria will be considered during judging, weighted as follows: 20% creative idea; 30% strategy; 20% execution; 30% results.
What do I need to provide with my entry?
To enter, you’ll need to complete an online entry form, which can be found on the Cannes Lions entry site. In the ‘Written Explanation’ section, you’ll be asked to provide the Jury with everything they need to know about your work.
You’ll also be able to submit optional supporting materials to provide additional context with your entry.
All case films, films, demo films and original content must be subtitled in English.
Detailed information outlining the entry process can be found on A Guide to the Cannes Lions Awards.
What if I don’t have all the details right away?
Don’t worry – you can fill in the form in any order and save your progress at any time while it’s still in the pending stage. However, please only check out when your entry is 100% complete as no changes can be made to your entry once you’ve clicked “Submit” and “Checkout”.
The Written Submission
Here’s the questions you’ll be asked regarding your work.
To start your entry to the Creative B2B Lions, go to our Awards page.
The Jury will refer to the written explanation you provide throughout the judging process. Our advice is to provide as much relevant detail as possible.
When answering the following questions keep the main element you’re trying to celebrate in mind (e.g. the storytelling, the strategy, the craft, the use of data).
The bullet points under each question are prompts designed to guide your thinking, based on the factors the jury will be considering when reviewing your work. You might not need to use them all, and that’s totally fine. They’re there to help you consider what’s most important in your work.
Questions
The word limit for this section is 100 words.
This question is compulsory.
- B2B (Business-to-Business): Businesses providing products or services to other businesses.
- B2B2C (Business-to-Business-to-Consumer): A business selling to another business, which then delivers products or services to consumers.
- B2C2B (Business-to-Consumer-to-Business): Businesses that engage consumers who, in turn, influence or resell products/services to other businesses, often through platforms or partnerships.
There is no word limit for this section.
This question is compulsory.
Please provide any brand and cultural context that would help the jury understand any cultural, national or regional nuances applicable to this work.
You should outline why this piece of work was created for this particular brand, in this market, at this particular moment in time, with all of the cultural and market conditions.
The word limit for this section is 250 words.
This question is compulsory.
Please select the objective(s) that were most important when creating this work – what the work set out to achieve.
For the jury to accurately assess the work, it must first establish its objectives. As you progress through the entry system, you must link your results back to each objective selected.
- Overachieve on brand metrics (e.g. awareness, engagement)
- Change consumer behaviour (e.g. attitudes, frequency, penetration)
- Create short-term sales growth (e.g. sales, promotions, discounts)
- Improve brand health (e.g. consideration, preference)
- Create sustained sales success (e.g. profit, sales)
- Create long-term brand and sales growth (e.g. shareholder value, retention, loyalty)
There is no word limit for this section.
This question is compulsory.
Please provide a summary of your entry.
- Describe the background and context behind the work.
- What creative challenges did the work face?
This should be an overview of the work and an analysis of its effectiveness. You should describe how the objectives of the campaign have been successfully met.
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory.
Consider the following when describing the creative idea of the work:
- Does the work cross boundaries/have the ability to think beyond conventional boundaries or categories?
- Does the work evoke surprise/have the power to continue captivating attention?
- Does the work transcend the original challenge?
- Does the work incorporate breakthrough thinking?
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory.
Consider the following when describing the strategy:
- Was the strategy based on consumer behaviour and/or cultural insight?
- Did the insight come from research and data?
- Did creativity play a key role in the interpretation of the business challenge?
- Was this piece of work relevant to the defined target audience?
- Does the work genuinely solve a real problem?
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory.
Consider the following when describing the execution:
- How effectively was the concept brought to life?
- What specific implementation strategies were employed to ensure success?
- Which channels were utilised for placement, and were they optimal for reaching the target audience?
- How extensive was the scale of the execution in relation to the defined objectives?
- Did the execution adapt to any unexpected challenges or changes in the environment?
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory.
Please refer back to the objectives selected when answering this question. Consider:
- performance against brand metrics (e.g. awareness, engagement)
- change in consumer behaviour (e.g. attitudes, frequency, penetration)
- indications of short-, medium- or long-term sales success (e.g. achievement against business targets, shareholder value, profit, revenue, ROI, sales, share)
- brand health improvement (e.g. consideration, preference)
- potential changes in government regulations or societal/economic events (e.g. changes in economic, political, social factors).
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory.
- Yes
- No
This question is compulsory.
I would like the Jury to see this response when judging this work (tick box)
Please outline how this piece of work has aligned with the brand’s sustainability strategy. This could involve either operational measures to reduce the impact on the environment, and consumer strategies to encourage positive behaviour change, or both.
Please provide details of the benchmarks used for measuring the success of this piece of work’s contribution to the overall strategy. This could include, but is not limited to, targets around advertising business operations - advertising production - media planning and buying.
This question is optional.
I would like the Jury to see this response when judging this work (tick box)
Based on the brief, what consideration was given to representation and diversity of the team(s) involved?
What consideration was given to accessibility in the work and what role did DEI thinking play throughout the development of the work?
This question is optional.
If there are additional results you wish to disclose to the Jury but prefer to keep confidential, please enter them below.
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is optional.
Category Specific Questions
Budget Details
Please provide budget details that show how the campaign achieved breakthrough results on a limited budget. Tell us about:
- the overall budget
- the breakdown of costs
- how the campaign maximised reach vs expenditure
- the significant impact this adjustment had on the campaign's effectiveness.
We highly recommend that you provide as much context as possible to understand the budget spend. Please complete as many of these questions as possible. However, we understand that different cases will have different types of results.
*(Any confidential information should be entered in the confidential information field)
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory for A07.
Please tell us about how the work challenged or was different from the brand’s competitors.
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory for A08.
Please tell us how the brand purpose inspired the work
- Explain how the purpose is ingrained in the core values and mission of the brand’s DNA.
- Discuss the impact of these initiatives on communities, society or the environment.
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory for A09.
Please tell us how market disruption inspired the work.
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory for A10.
THANKS FOR COKE-CREATING | COCA-COLA | VML, NEW YORK | GOLD, CREATIVE B2B LIONS | 2024
Contact us
Everything you need to know to enter
For more detailed information on how to use the entry site, craft a compelling submission or submit your work we have a whole range of resources.
From Entry Guides that give you a step-by-step overview of the entire process to the Entry Kits that provide all the detailed rules and requirements for each and every category.
We are here to help
As Awards Experts, we know the Lions inside out. We can help with:
- Sharing the updates to the Awards for 2025
- Offering best-practice advice on how to craft a compelling entry
- Discussing your work and relevant categories
- Scheduling regular catch-ups to answer any questions that arise throughout the entry process.
Whether you have a specific query or would like expert advice, get in touch today.
Email: awards@canneslions.com Helpline: +44 0 20 7046 1155