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).
Quote of the week: a certain Tim Jones was invited, but ended up wearing the badge of another Tim Jones. He said, “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.
Having the right badge at Cannes
It’s true that at Cannes, we are all just a bunch of people hustling for business. So wearing someone else’s name is not that gig a deal. Except that is is. All the Cannes events have layers of attendance – and therefore badges that give access to different experiences.
Believe me, it’s nice to be able to withdraw to a cool lounge and offer a glass of champagne to someone to finish a conversation!
So depending on your badge (not your personality ;-)), you can attend screenings or breeze through queues automatically. I’ve had VIP Badges on occasion. Believe me, it’s nice to be able to withdraw to a cool lounge and offer a glass of champagne to someone to finish a conversation!
So stick to your own badge, OK?
