Making your entry count at Cannes as a small agency

There’s something strangely beautiful about being the underdog. No network muscle. No double digit monthly retainers. No room for waste. Just hungry minds, running on cold brew and the delusion that this idea could actually make it to Cannes.

That’s the sweet spot where most small, independent agencies operate. And honestly, it’s not a bad place to be.

I co-founded ^atom network in 2020 with no legacy, no suitcase of money, and certainly no playbook. Just the intent to do work that gives us goosebumps and ideally, a few judges too. A couple of years ago, we were lucky to have our idea shortlisted at Cannes for Netflix through a by the network agency. But we haven’t cracked the coveted Lion. Not yet. And that just makes us hungrier than ever.

This year, we’re putting our faith in Pink Star Rating, a bold initiative for Reliance General Insurance that turns fear into feedback, allowing women to rate travel safety of locations the way they rate hotels or cabs.

So, how do you really make a Cannes entry count when you’re not part of a global behemoth?

Cannes doesn’t care about your size but it cares about your soul

Let’s be real. Cannes doesn’t hand out participation trophies. If you’re a small agency, you don’t get the benefit of the doubt. You have to punch harder, think sharper, and execute leaner. But that’s your advantage too. You’re not trying to tick boxes or please twelve global leads. You’re trying to move culture.

With Pink Star Rating, we didn’t start by asking, “Will this win a Lion?” We asked: “Why don’t women rate travel safety like they rate restaurants?” That cultural tension gave us an idea bigger than the brand. One that gave birth to the world’s first safety rating platform for female travellers, powered by real stories and grassroots credibility.

And we’re not alone in this indie hustle. Take TGTHR, an indie shop that created The Loocator for Harpic, a campaign that used programmatic tech to help women find the nearest clean toilet in real time, solving a very real sanitation problem. Cannes loved it. Because it wasn’t just smart, it was sincere.

Or Small, the NYC-based shop behind Assume That I Can for CoorDown. The film looked like a high-drama Netflix trailer, but turned out to be a brilliant subversion of stereotypes against people with Down Syndrome. Elegant storytelling with a gut-punch of truth. No gimmicks, just clarity and craft.

Start early. Then start again.

Cannes entries are not made in March. They are sculpted, tested, broken, and rebuilt over months. We started documenting Pink Star Rating like a passion project, social proof, screenshots, quotes, prototype tests, influencer DMs, all of it went into our folder of madness.

By the time we crafted the case video, we weren’t building a Cannes entry, we were telling a story. A real one. And that’s what sticks.

Stretch every rupee. Every pixel.

Budgets in small agencies are like a magic trick. The idea has to look like a million bucks, even if the production was ₹20 lakh and three sleepless interns. The truth is, we’ve learned to build Trojan Horses out of cardboard and Cannes, ironically, rewards that kind of ingenuity.

When we did our influencer outreach for Pink Star Rating, we didn’t go the celebrity route. We built and sent Safety Boxes to top female vloggers, professionals, lawyers, pilots, founders, with a call to use the platform and amplify it. That organic traction became our PR. 

Stay scrappy, But don’t skip craft

Small doesn’t mean sloppy. If you want to play on a global stage, your sound design better slap, your edit better hit the vein, and your line better land like truth. At Cannes, everyone’s got a good idea. What wins is how well it’s told.

We spent an entire week on the last 20 seconds of our case video, just to get the voiceover cadence right. Because in those 20 seconds, you’re either winning a Lion or a LinkedIn like.

You’re not competing with the big Guys. You’re competing with their fatigue

Here’s the upside: many big agencies are tired. Tired of layered approvals, of safe bets, of “make it look like last year’s winner.” That’s your crack in the wall.

Small agencies are still run by people who give a damn. We still celebrate every shortlist like it’s a baby shower. That fire? It shows. And Cannes notices.

One entry, one shot, one voice

If you’re a small agency, you can’t afford to enter 19 ideas in 6 categories each. You get one shot. Make it count. Pour everything you’ve got into that one story. Make the world feel something.

Because that’s all Cannes ever rewards, ideas that make the world feel something.

To everyone running a three-floor agency with five brilliant misfits, I say this: You don’t need legacy. You need clarity, intensity, and madness. Start with the work. The Lions will follow.

See you on the Croisette.

This article is penned by Yash Kulshresth, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, ^atom network.

Disclaimer: The article features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the stance of the publication.

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