Grey Dhaka scores hat trick at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

Popularly known for its international film festival, Cannes also hosts the world’s most prestigious advertising festival annually. Titled Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, it aims to celebrate creative efficiency and problem solving in the global advertising arena.

Over 30,000 entries are submitted each year from more than 89 countries to 27 specialised categories. These entries then go through a rigorous screening process by some of the greatest creative minds in the field, for a chance to take home the prestigious Cannes Lions award.

This year, Bangladesh bagged two silvers and one bronze, along with five shortlists. The concerned entry – United Commercial Bank (UCB) AgroBanking powered by Shwapno, was submitted by Grey Dhaka, the only Bangladeshi agency to win at Cannes.

The project revolves around small scale farmers, who sometimes end up growing more than they need. The surplus is often wasted or sold to middlemen at low prices. Through AgroBanking, the produce is bought by Shwapno at fair prices and shipped to its various outlets nationwide, while the cash is directly deposited into the farmers’ UCB Ucash accounts respectively.

According to Per Pederson, Global Creative Chairman, Grey Group, AgroBanking stood out as a great and meaningful idea that would benefit millions living outside the formal world of financial inclusion. He states that Cannes is the highest standard of creativity in the world, and the fact that Grey Dhaka achieved international recognition for it, should be taken as inspiration for the entire creative industry in Bangladesh.

Nirvik Singh, Chairman and CEO of Grey Group’s Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region is very proud for Grey Dhaka. He cited that the project brings attention to a solution that is born in Bangladesh, but can be implemented across multiple agricultural economies.

Syed Gousul Alam Shaon, Managing Partner and Country Head of Grey Dhaka, said that modern advertising is about solving problems ranging from business and marketing to societal and behavioral. However, through a project like AgroBanking, a unique solution was devised where two completely different businesses were brought together to solve a societal problem of a people who can be potential customers for both UCB and Shwapno.

Mohammad Akrum Hossain, Senior Creative Director of Grey Dhaka, formulated the project while visiting his ancestral home in Mymensingh. He found out that villagers were intimidated by banks, but at the same time, usually ended up with more produce than they needed which they were often forced to either throw away or sell at low prices. With those facts in mind, he thought about two of the clients Grey Dhaka has -- UCB and Shwapno -- could be linked to the villagers. After several brainstorming sessions, AgroBanking began to take shape.