CANNES – What3words, a London-based company that have mapped the entire globe with just three words, took home this year’s Innovation Lions Grand Prix at the inaugural Lions Innovation Festival.
While an address is something most of us take for granted, 4 billion people globally actually can’t define where they live – limiting opportunities for growth and can also undermine security.
What3words, led by Co-founder & CEO Chris Sheldrick, aims to solve the problem by digitally covering the world with a grid of 57 trillion 3mx3m squares, where each square has a 3-word address available in dozens of languages that can be communicated quickly, easily and with no ambiguity.
“It is hard to imagine how profoundly important it is,” said jury president Nick Law, Global CEO of R/GA Global and jury president, commented on the Grand Prix winner.
“Mapping the whole world algorithmically and putting an address anywhere and in every language – even in complex environments like the Favella in Rio. On top of it all, it uses smart phones. The idea is designed to create a new behavior,” he adds.
A total of 7 Innovation Lions were awarded, with R/GA New York and Saatchi & Saatchi and M&C Saatchi Sydney taking home two trophies each for the US and Australia, respectively.
The rest of the Innovation Lion winners are Baidu’s “Smart Chopsticks” from China, Grey Singapore’s “Life Saving Dot” and Maruri Grey from Ecuador for “Environmental Technology”
Law said that there was debate among the jury on the differences and merits of the narrative, agency thinking and the systematic, Silicon Valley-type of thinking on behalf of brand and the technology itself.
“Having both makes you sharper. Pair them as true partners and you get the best kind of work.
“In our jury we have people for the agency side, from the craft and experience design. Also people from the venture capitalist world and the brand world. We believe this is the best body of work that have ever seen,” he adds.
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