AB InBev is the first-ever, back-to-back Cannes Lions Creative Marketer of the Year

Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is the world’s largest gathering of the creative marketing community and the most respected benchmark for creative excellence. The week-long event honors extraordinary work in branded communications from over 90 countries, ranging from product and service development to creative strategy, execution and impact.

The annual Creative Marketer of the Year (CMOY) award is presented to the single marketer that has amassed a significant body of Lion-winning work over a sustained period of time. Recipients have produced brave creative and innovative material that generates real world impact and demonstrated that their outstanding creativity drives business performance. Past recipients include Microsoft, Apple, Unilever and Google.

“This is truly unprecedented to win such a prestigious award two years in a row. It is a testament to the creativity of our entire marketing organization and the relentless focus on connecting in meaningful ways with consumers,” said Michel Doukeris, Chief Executive Officer of AB InBev. “Investing in organic growth is our number one priority and this recognition of creativity further demonstrates our brand building excellence.”

“Considering AB InBev’s continued commitment to placing creativity at the center of its business, resulting in increased creative and financial performance, we have named ABI the Cannes Lions Creative Marketer of the Year in 2023,” said Simon Cook, CEO of Cannes Lions. “ABI is the first brand to be awarded for two consecutive years. This win bucks the trend and demonstrates an on-going commitment to creativity as a driver for growth.”

Five years ago, AB InBev set out to become the best company in the world at creative effectiveness, to bring us closer to consumers, and able to respond more quickly to their needs and trends. We scaled our marketing culture and capabilities, adopted new processes, recruited specialized talent and collaborated with strong creative partners to build a culture of creativity across the company. In 2022 we took home a record number of Cannes Lions and—in parallel—reported all-time high-full year volumes and double-digit revenue growth.

“Creativity becomes a competitive advantage when used to solve consumer and business problems,” said Marcel Marcondes, Chief Marketing Officer of AB InBev. “In 2022 we were named CMOY for the first time and finished the year with all time high volumes. It’s very exciting to start 2023 from the same place. We’ll continue to dream big together with our great partners.”

Last year AB InBev was awarded a record 50 Lions, spanning a dozen categories including digital, craft, entertainment for sport, creative effectiveness, innovation and sustainability. The 2022 awards celebrated 10 brands and 7 countries; 1 CMOY, 1 Grand Prix, 10 Gold, 22 Silver and 16 Bronze Lions in total. Our volume-leading global and local brands, such as Corona, Michelob ULTRA and Brahma, led in creative acclaim at the festival.

AB InBev will showcase its continued commitment to creativity at the Festival in Cannes this June with activations that include supporting emerging creative talent. 

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