July, 2026.- Serviceplan Group won eight Lions at Cannes 2026, including one Gold, with first-ever wins for Serviceplan Spain and St. Elmo’s. Alexander Schill, Global Chief Creative Officer, sees these “firsts” as a strong signal that creativity at Serviceplan is not concentrated in one market, one discipline, or one type of agency. When they create the right conditions in terms of culture, ambition, and exchange between markets, talent can emerge everywhere.
In this interview, Schill discusses why Serviceplan initiated the first-ever European CMO of the Year Award, presented during Cannes. Building best brands does not come from agencies alone. The strongest work happens when there is a brave, visionary client on the other side of the table. Someone who understands that marketing is not a support function but one of the most important drivers of growth, culture, and business success.
Emilio Valverde, Executive Creative Director of Serviceplan Spain, reflects on the agency’s first Cannes Lion for “MOVING LANDSCAPES” for BMW. Winning their first Lion did not happen because they approached the work differently. It happened because they have been consistently trying to build ideas that are simple, distinctive, and relevant for their clients. What the Lion gives them is not a different ambition, but more confidence.
Matthias Harbeck, Chief Creative Officer of St. Elmo’s, discusses the agency’s first two Lions for “Sheep Happens” for PENNY—a campaign about sheep wandering into a supermarket. In an age of AI, a bleak geopolitical climate, and increasingly predictable rational messages, sheep suddenly descending on a supermarket was a welcome story only real life could write.
Alexander Schill – Global Chief Creative Officer, Serviceplan Group:
1. A Year of Firsts: Serviceplan Group won eight Lions including one Gold, with first-ever wins for Serviceplan Spain and St. Elmo’s. What does this “year of firsts” say about the Group’s strategy for nurturing creative talent across markets?
For me, these firsts are a very strong signal that creativity at Serviceplan is not concentrated in one market, one discipline, or one type of agency. It shows that when we create the right conditions in terms of culture, ambition and exchange between markets to let talent emerge everywhere.
Serviceplan Spain’s first Lion, Saint Elmo’s first two Lions, and the success of ideas such as The Period Uniform all speak to the same point: our model is built to connect very different capabilities and cultures, while still giving local teams the freedom to develop ideas that are deeply relevant in their own context.
Cannes 2026 is, to me, far more than an awards success. It was a proof point for our strategy. We invest in talent, we open up international exchange, and we create spaces where people can learn from one another – from the SPARK Academy to the Serviceplan Backyard to our experts contributing to
the wider industry conversation. The goal is never just to win Lions but to build a creative culture in which the next breakthrough idea can come from anywhere in the Group.
2. The European CMO of the Year Award: You initiated the first-ever European CMO of the Year Award, presented during Cannes. Why was it important to create an award that recognizes CMOs rather than agencies, and what message does it send to the industry?
Building best brands does not come from agencies alone. The strongest work happens when there is a brave, visionary client on the other side of the table. Someone who understands that marketing is not a support function, but one of the most important drivers of growth, culture, and business success. That is why we wanted to create an award that puts CMOs at the centre. They are the people who make bold brand decisions possible, often under enormous pressure and in increasingly complex environments.
The first European CMO of the Year Award also sends a broader message: Europe has outstanding marketing leadership, and it deserves a platform of its own. An award by CMOs for CMOs creates a space for exchange across markets and celebrates the strategic role marketing now plays across the entire customer journey. Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer der LEGO Group, is a perfect first winner because she shows what modern marketing leadership can look like: strategic, creative, culturally relevant, and deeply connected to business growth.
3. Creativity at a Time of Constrained Budgets: You noted Cannes is happening at a time of “constrained budgets, rapid technological change and wider societal shifts.” How does creativity thrive in that environment, and what’s your advice to agencies feeling the pressure?
I actually believe creativity becomes more important in exactly this kind of environment. When budgets are constrained and every decision is scrutinized, the temptation is to become smaller, safer, and more rational. But that is precisely when great creative thinking can create disproportionate impact.
Creativity is one of the few multipliers still fully within our control. It can make a budget work harder, make a brand more memorable, and turn a business challenge into something people genuinely care about.
My advice to agencies would be: do not use pressure as an excuse to become less brave. Be sharper in strategy, more disciplined in craft, and more demanding of the idea.
AI can help us work faster, broaden our view, and improve execution, but it does not replace judgement, taste, or insight. Simply using AI is no longer interesting. What matters is whether the work solves the real problem, moves people, and ultimately moves the market.
4. SPARK Academy’s Presence: Serviceplan’s SPARK Academy brought emerging young talents from around the globe to Cannes.
What’s the ROI of investing in next-generation talent at a time when every budget line is being scrutinized?
The ROI is the future of the industry. If we only optimize for the next quarter, we risk weakening the very capabilities that make agencies valuable in the first place: curiosity, craft, strategic thinking, and creative courage. Investing in young talent is not a nice-to-have. It is how we make sure that our industry remains relevant in a world shaped by AI, new technologies, and changing expectations from clients and society.
That is also why initiatives such as SPARK Academy and SPARKS University, which was just founded, matter so much. They combine inspiration with real practice and give emerging talent access to the kind of industry context that cannot be learned from theory alone. At Serviceplan, we believe the next generation needs both: academic depth and hands-on craft. The best communication of tomorrow will come from people who understand technology, culture, business, and creativity and who know how to bring all of that together.
5. The Serviceplan Backyard: You’ve created a central meeting point during the festival. What does the Backyard represent about Serviceplan’s culture, and why is informal gathering as important as formal awards?
The Backyard represents something very important about our culture: we believe in exchange, openness, and the power of bringing people together beyond formal structures. Cannes is full of stages, speeches, and award
shows and those moments matter. But often the most valuable conversations happen in a more informal setting, when people have time to think, challenge each other, and connect without rushing from one appointment to the next.
For us, the Backyard is a physical expression of the House of Communication idea. It brings different people, disciplines, partners, and perspectives into one shared space. Especially in a year when the industry is talking so much about AI, production, and the future of creativity, we wanted to create a setting where the conversation could remain very human. Because AI is not a shortcut. It is a new kind of craft – and craft always starts with people, ideas, and the quality of the exchange between them.
6. AI and Industry Dialogue: More than 20 experts from the Group shared perspectives on topics ranging from creativity and AI. What is Serviceplan’s position on AI and creativity that sets it apart from the broader industry conversation?
Our position is very clear: this is not a battle between AI and creativity. It is about how we use every available tool to arrive at the strongest possible idea, insight, and execution. AI will become a baseline capability in our industry, but it will not automatically create outstanding work. If the thinking is weak, AI will only make weak work faster. The differentiator will remain human judgement: the ability to see what matters, to make brave decisions, and to create something that people remember.
What also sets us apart is that we look at AI through the lens of culture, not just technology. The way a company works with AI is deeply influenced by its human culture: whether it is collaborative or siloed, brave or defensive, focused or overloaded. For us, the ambition is to own the intelligence space in a way that is human first and data fast. That means using AI to sharpen decisions, deepen insights, and improve craft – without losing emotional intelligence, creative courage, or the power of differentiation.
7. Creativity as a Social Force: Cannes 2026 highlighted the festival’s role in bringing the industry together at a time of wider societal shifts. How do you see creativity’s role in addressing those shifts beyond just advertising?
Creativity has always been bigger than advertising. At its best, it helps people understand change, feel something collectively, and imagine alternatives to the status quo. In times of uncertainty, that role becomes even more important. Communication can do more than sell products; it can create orientation, build cultural relevance, and give brands a role in conversations that matter to society.
But for that to happen, creativity cannot stay inside isolated disciplines or old agency models. Brands increasingly need connected thinking: strategy, design, media, data, technology, and craft working together around one strong idea. That is where creativity becomes a social and economic force. It moves people, culture, and markets. It creates what I would call share of soul — and, when it is done well, that also translates into share of market.
Emilio Valverde – Executive Creative Director, Serviceplan Spain:
8. Serviceplan Spain’s First Cannes Lion: “MOVING LANDSCAPES” for BMW won your agency’s first-ever Cannes Lion. What did it take to break through for the first time, and what does this win mean for the agency’s ambition going forward?
Winning our first Lion is a very special milestone, but I don’t think it happened because we approached the work differently. It happened because we’ve been consistently trying to build ideas that are simple, distinctive and relevant for our clients.
What this Lion gives us isn’t a different ambition, but more confidence. It proves that if we stay focused on making meaningful work for our clients, recognition will come, sooner or later, and hopefully this won’t be our last Lion.
9. Turning Static to Dynamic: The campaign turned static outdoor placements into dynamic visual narratives by integrating motion. How did you convince the client that what you were proposing was worth the risk when everyone else in the category was playing it safe?
We never asked the client to approve a big risky campaign from the beginning. The original brief was to create a brand piece for Matador, a cultural magazine. Once we saw the strength of the idea, we proposed
something very simple: instead of letting it live in one place, why not let it become a broader brand campaign?
It wasn’t about convincing BMW to take a big risk. It was about showing that the idea earned the right to grow. Looking at the organic response the campaign had across completely different markets and languages, I think that instinct proved to be right.
10. Emotional Storytelling in a Rational Category: BMW’s category is increasingly shaped by rational messaging. How did you balance the need for emotional storytelling with the functional requirements of an automotive brand?
The automotive category is full of rational messages, but brands aren’t built on rationality alone. We felt this briefing was the opportunity not to explain what BMW does better, but to remind people why driving a BMW feels different.
BMW already has credibility on the functional side. Our contribution was to bring back the emotional side of the brand, because that’s ultimately what people remember.
11. Spain’s Creative Momentum: Serviceplan Spain has now won its first Lion. What does Spain need to do to keep this momentum going and move from “first win” to “consistent winner”?
The challenge now is not to win a second Lion. It’s to keep building a culture where great ideas can happen consistently. As a relatively young office, that’s what excites us the most. This award gives us confidence, but our ambition is still the same: to do work that solves real problems, moves people emotionally, and makes our clients successful. If we keep doing that, I think the recognition will come naturally.
Matthias Harbeck – Chief Creative Officer, St. Elmo’s:
12. St. Elmo’s First Two Lions: “Sheep Happens” for PENNY won Bronze in Social & Creator and Brand Experience & Activation. What made a campaign about sheep wandering into a supermarket so effective, and why did it resonate with Cannes juries?
I believe that, especially in an age of AI, a bleak geopolitical climate, and increasingly predictable rational messages delivered at the “right” touchpoints, our sheep suddenly descending on a supermarket out of nowhere was a very welcome story. One only real life could write: unexpected, full of chance, fun, humor, and a healthy dose of delightful absurdity.
The more challenging the times we live in, the more people appreciate moments of surprise and joyful madness. It’s hard to imagine that the Cannes juries remained untouched by that as well.
What’s more, within just 48 hours PENNY and our team designed the campaign as a fully integrated real-time ecosystem rather than a single on off activation: from changing PENNY’s social media profile picture and inspiring influencers to create true-crime-style videos, to sponsoring winter feed for the sheep and letting the community rename the store; from rapidly adapting sales communications across TV and at the point of sale to producing a dedicated music video.
The results were extraordinary: €30 million in earned media value, a 13% increase in sales at the PENNY store in Burgsinn – renamed into “Schafsinn” (“Sheepsense”) – a 6% sales uplift across Germany, and a 69% increase in brand favorability.
13. Creator-Led Storytelling: The campaign was amplified through creator-led storytelling and humour. How did you ensure the creator content felt authentic rather than like a marketing stunt?
Our creators were deliberately not cast as attention-seeking personalities. Instead, they served as authentic amplifiers of the story, strategically guided by a simple principle: address the questions that everyone who witnessed the sheep invasion genuinely wanted answered!
Why did the sheep run into the store? What were they doing in there? How did the PENNY employees manage to get them back out again? And what did the shepherd have to say about the whole situation?
The sheep always were and stayed the real stars – no one else. And that was a principle we consistently brought to life across every touchpoint.
And, of course, we all know that cute and fluffy animals like our sheep are hard to resist – especially when they behave utterly unexpectedly. Even the most charismatic creator can struggle to compete with that.
14. From Real Moment to Cultural Behavior: You reframed everyday food decisions as “shared cultural behavior.” What’s the creative process for turning a real-life moment into a cultural platform rather than just a one-off activation?
And when it comes to scaling the Work: “Sheep Happens” was built with Serviceplan Make, Serviceplan Innovation, and Charles & Charlotte. How do you maintain a cohesive creative vision when multiple agencies from the Group are involved in bringing a campaign to life?
You gotta be fast! And: Team, Team, Team – no room for ego!
Just two hours after the incident, we had already set up a fast-moving, highly responsive task force bringing together our client, all key decision-makers, and our agency teams. Within hours, we developed the campaign concept, and approval times often took no longer than 60 seconds. Had we followed the usual decision-making processes, the momentum would have been long gone by the time our campaign assets were ready.
Successful real-time marketing is, above all, about speed – maximum speed in everything you do.
Another crucial lesson: Listen to the community. What are people actually talking about? What questions do they have? What makes them laugh? What does the majority think?
For example: Personally, I would have preferred to rename the PENNY store in Burgsinn “50 Sheep.” To me, that felt like the most iconic and enduring option. But the community overwhelmingly favored “Schafsinn” (“Sheepsense”) as a playful evolution of “Burgsinn.” So that’s the direction we followed.
In fact, the entire campaign was built in dialogue with the community. Every asset, every activation emerged from that ongoing exchange. And that’s precisely why the campaign kept growing. The community sparked an idea, which we picked up and amplified. Our response generated new reactions, which inspired the next idea, and so on and so on. It became a continuous feedback loop that fueled the campaign’s momentum.
And, of course, the media played a decisive role in taking the story to the next level. By the time Stephen Colbert featured the sheep on his show, we knew we had reached a whole new dimension.
Boom. It doesn’t get much bigger than that
