What Publicis' Natalie Lam is looking for on the Lions print & publishing jury

With Cannes Lions 2022 approaching, Campaign Asia speaks with select jury members from this region about what they're looking for and what they personally hope to get out of the experience.

In this article, Campaign speaks with Natalie Lam, a member of the Print & Publishing Lions jury. Lam is chief creative officer across APAC and MEA at Publicis Groupe. Based in Hong Kong, she has just recently been named jury president of digital at LIA Chinese Creativity Show 2022 and added to Adweek's Creative100 list.

What are you hoping to get out of Cannes Lions this year?  What do you hope the industry will talk about?

Needless to say, I hope to immerse myself in great work and be inspired. I think everyone will need this to move on from two years of isolation and remote working – finally, we can indulge in the joy of creativity again. I hope our industry will collectively recognize we need to move on to bring back joy and fun to our work. 

How do you think the print & publishing categories this year will have changed?

The jury is much smaller than in previous years so there will be much more in-depth discussions. Also, we won’t get to see physical pieces, so we’re judging more on the why and the craft. I’m hoping that we’ll see more modern, innovative work in this category with fresh craft, and move on from the heavily metaphorical and staged work of the past. Consumers are bombarded with so much content these days, regardless of media channels, so a strong idea with great craft that doesn’t take a long time to understand is even more needed. 

What might winning entries look like to you? 

Simple, modern, powerful, fresh. 

Name someone you wish you could run into at Cannes and explain why. 

Lots, not just one person. Firstly, all my fellow creatives at Publicis Groupe, from APAC & MEA to global, as we’ve never met in person after all this time! And of course, all the great creative minds around the world.