Cannes or Bust » MIPIM

The agency behind MIPTV & MIDEM campaigns

admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 07:51:15 +0000

If you have ever wondered what the trick is to securing better deals and growing in the TV and content business, MIPTV has the answer: the trick is to be there. Even in the age of LinkedIn and social networking, trade fairs remain the place where the industry gathers, discusses and does business.

This is the theme developed by The Write Stuff & Consorcom, who have worked on 6 MIDEM campaigns, as well as several for MIPTV and MIPCOM over the years. The company has also worked for EAS in Amsterdam as well as developing the names for Amazia in Hong Kong and MIPIM Horizons. A little disclosure is in order as the same company runs Cannes or Bust!

To see more of their work, visit The Write Stuff.

MIPIM 2010 kicks off in Cannes

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:42:49 +0000

Mipim 2010 has kicked off in Cannes. The annual property market suffered a severe drop in attendance last year. Depsite promising signs in late 2009, the news is that the figures have not grown significantly. But they have not dropped off either. Nonetheless, the proximity of the finance and property means that many questions are hovering over the event. The situation in the southeast of Europe – notably Greece – will generate a lot of debate. Poland and Russia are very present. Perhaps surprisingly, news about the situation in the UK is also a subject of some concern.

Many of these debates will spill over in real time through Twitter and the blogs. On this point, it’s interesting to note how enthusiastically the UK property sector has adopted Twitter. Follow the Tweets. The backstage photo is from David Lisnard, taken from his office at the back of the Palais this morning.

Company fined €100,000 for setting up stand outside Mipim

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:10:13 +0000

On the face of it, it was an inventive idea. But the face has soured. According to a report from Reality Check, property company Drivers Jonas has been fined €100,000 for setting up shop in the Pavillon Croisette in Cannes rather than taking a stand in the Palais des Festivals at a cost of €7000. MIPIM sued them for “parasitical” behaviour.

I’ve always known people who attend Cannes fairs without paying the entrance fee. I can remember seeing Freddy Cousaert (who got Marvin Gaye back into the record business) holding court from a kerbside table, calling over passing acquaintences to do business. Organisers Reed Midem exert quite an influence on the town and during the Cannes film festival, people without a badge cannot enter many of the major hotels. They take these things seriously in this town.

Squatting a restaurant looked like a great idea. But I doubt they will be trying it again any time soon. There’s a clear line between entertaining people outside the Palais and riding piggyback on a major event. If you’re attending Cannes and want to organise something like this, my tip is to play safe and take passes to the event in addition to entertaining in the café/restaurant/club. The key point seems to be that they were not even registered with MIPIM, and were therefore perceived to be leeching the event. Drivers Jonas is considering an appeal.

Swanning on the Riviera?

admin — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:04:25 +0000

Some things can always been counted on. After each Mipim, the British press always run an article or two about how their councillors are spending their tax-payers’ money living it up on the Riviera. This year is no exception, when a six-person team from Croydon was accused of “swanning around on the French Riviera”. The price tag was £10,000. I’m not sure if that includes the entrance fee. And apparently there was some stand space involved. So if it brings in some investment, it can’t be that bad. It’s worth mentioning that this is not the first time Croydon has been represented.

MIPIM: "More work, less sunbathing" according to FT

admin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:01:16 +0000

In confirmation of the trend at Midem last January, the Financial Times notes that despite the lower attendance, participants at Mipim 2009 were globally satisfied. “Whether attendees were down 10,000 or 20,000 is irrelevant, as the fewer that went were there to work, rather than drink and sunbathe”, it noted.

Specifically, the market was taking courage from the fact that German banks have started lending again – at high rates and very selectively – but money is circulating. Companies benefiting from stronger currencies were in a good position to avail of the new opportunities, such as London’s City district.

MIPIM yacht rentals down, but that's hardly news

admin — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:59:11 +0000

According to a report in Britain’s The Daily Telegraph, not all the 100 yachts that had been booked for Mipim will be used. In fact, they give the precise figure of 36 being cancelled. If true, this is not surprising. It’s obvious that given the current financing crisis, most companies are looking more carefully at expenses. What is sometimes overlooked, however, is that these yachts also double up as accommodation. The incredible popularity of Mipim means that people are sometimes in hotels as far away as Nice, which is very impractical. Last year, the organisers even parked a liner in the bay to help with accommodation, although rough weather meant that some of the guests couldn’t get off!

A quick look at the hotel bookings in Cannes shows that there are still rooms available close to town.

On its site, Mipim points out that a downturn in property value offers better opportunities for investors. It also highlights a number of interesting projects in Shanghai, Paris, Duisburg and Cologne.

MIPIM: book your hotels now

admin — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:56:19 +0000

Programmed for March 10-13, the Mipim real estate trade fair looks like it will be busy despite the crisis in real estate worldwide. But rather than analyse the prospects for the business, this is a just a quick reminder to people that would like to book hotels: there are still a few left at reasonable prices, but you really should book now.

A quick look at a few hotels, gave prices from €455 (Hotel Thomas) to €5200 (Villa Garbo – much closer, much nicer) for four nights. As ever, the best value is outside town in La Bocca, with the Residhotel Cannes Festival posting rates of €472. All prices are single, with only a few rooms left per hotel.

To check availability, check Cannes hotels for Mipim.

MIPIM: The Russians are coming

admin — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:37:36 +0000

For its 20th anniversary edition, the real estate trade fair MIPIM will inaugurate a dedicated area for Russia. Nadine Castagna, Director of MIPIM, explains this new move: “The Russian Federation is a major player in global economic development and has emerged in recent years as MIPIM’s 4th most represented country after the United Kingdom, France and Germany. For the event’s twentieth anniversary, we are inaugurating a dedicated exhibition space, in the same way as we created single exhibition zones for London and Paris ten years ago.”

Last year, an amazing 10% of participants were from Russia. MIPIM will be held March 10-13, 2009.

"We're all white, middle-aged men anyway"

admin — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:29:02 +0000

Mipim is not really my scene. But the recent article in Britain’s The Lawyer still seemed vaguely familiar from having attended so many different Cannes events. On the one hand, you have the sharp players that have everything worked out and know when to schmooze in town and when to whisk the right people out of sight for a quiet “chat”. On the other, the people straight off the boat that end up in the bar way too late. If you ever think of bringing a company to Cannes – whether it be for Midem or Mipcom – this gives an idea of how business is done outside the Palais (but don’t forget the foot soldiers that can pick up plenty of business inside the Palais – this article doesn’t even mention them). Check it out on The Lawyer.

Quote of the week: a certain Tim Jones was invited, but ended up wearing the badge of another Tim Jones. “It doesn’t matter, we’re all white, middle-aged men anyway.” The funny thing is, if you replace the pin-stripes in the article by leather jackets, he could be describing Midem or the festival.

5 UK property professionals to cycle to Cannes

admin — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:25:53 +0000

If ever there was an initiative that itself deserves the title “Cannes or Bust”, it must be this. Five property professionals from Liverpool in the UK are to cycle to Cannes for Mipim instead of flying. The goal is to raise £500,000 for charity. Covering the 1,500 kms will take them six days. The five are James Tottle (Savills), Barry Crichton (Drivers Jonas), Jon Matthews (HKR), Mark Whittaker (Peel Holdings) and Chris Brown (Igloo Regeneration).

If anyone has a link to this initiative, please post it below.