Get to know the Creative B2B Lions

The Creative B2B Lions are back for a second year — and this time we've made some important changes to better showcase what pure B2B creativity looks like, and celebrate the most effective work out there.

For the 2023 Cannes Lions Awards, we've removed the distinction between Products and Services and combined them into one single category, and placed more emphasis on the strategy and results sections in our judging criteria. Finally, we've introduced an all-new ‘Integrated Campaign’ category — to recognise the multi-touchpoint, multi-stakeholder nature of the buying journey for B2B creative work.

Find out more about what these changes have been made and how to put your best work forward when entries open in January 2023.

In Brazil, structural racism and a lack of government support meant that the majority of small, black-owned businesses and brands were prevented from thriving.

Recognising the issue, Mercado Livre, Latin America's biggest e-commerce marketplace, decided to shine a light on their most inspiring Black entrepreneurs by subverting one of hip hop's biggest traits — name dropping big brands. Instead of shouting out Gucci and Balenciaga, their song mentioned Soulbrio, ResistoOPM, Da minha Cor and other small black-owned Brazilian brands that launched their businesses and brands on Mercado Livre.

Black Business Beats was praised for its representation of black culture for giving these small black-owned brands unprecedented visibility. From featuring just 10 small brands, each received around a 60% increase in sales, a reach of 20M+ people and the song featured in 200+ Spotify playlists with 97% positive feedback.

According to the UN's Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), next to the oil industry, leather production is one of the most polluting sectors in the world.

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, for every ton of pineapples harvested, 3 tons get wasted.

How are the two related? It turns out the answer to leather's carbon problem might be found on pineapple leaves. Dole, one of the largest producers of pineapples in the world, partnered with textile company Ananas Anam to produce Piñatex: a vegan, sustainable alternative to leather, made from the fiber of pineapple leaves that would otherwise have gone to waste.

This revolutionary idea had several positive impacts: bringing job creation and socio-economic stability to rural areas of the Philippines, and diversifying income streams for producers. Piñatex has gone on to become a best practice case, with over 200 brands in more than 80 countries now using the material to be more sustainable, including Hugo Boss, H&M and Nike, who used Piñatex to create their 'Happy Pineapple' sneaker drop.