We share highlights from Cheerful Twentyfirt’s winning entry in the Best Creative Concept category at this year’s micebook Awards… 

Stagwell, the challenger network built to transform marketing, wanted to make a name for themselves at the busiest advertising festival in the world.

At Cannes Lions 2023, they wanted to bring together marketers, brand partners and their agencies for an experience beyond the expected – something totally different to the usual cabana-style beach activations at Lions.

So, Cheerful Twentyfirst built them their own arena on the beach. Inspired by the concept of adult play, Sport Beach offered better than court-side access to the world’s biggest sports influencers and culture drivers.

A sand-to-stadium beach build, this 420 pax activation brought audiences out of their seats to break down barriers and build long-lasting partnerships right there, on the court. C-suite marketers could be found playing ball with NBA stars whilst A-list delegates worked out alongside NFL legends.

On and off the court, strangers became teammates giving brands and athletes the opportunity to literally team up like never before. Sport Beach was the 3rd most searched story of the week, behind Spotify’s two headline concerts. One in three Cannes Lions delegates claimed their pass to their now iconic beach event.

The chief brand officer at Stagwell Group said: “Sport Beach exceeded expectations and the general consensus is that we ‘won’ Cannes. In many ways, that is down to Cheerful Twentyfirst.” 

Judges praised the “incredible, unique and well thought out creative concept, with great results and feedback.”