Job Description
This position is based out of our London Victoria office.
The LIONS brand is probably most synonymous with Cannes Lions, The International Festival of Creativity, the definitive meeting place for the global creative communications and advertising community. It’s five days of inspiration, aspiration, unlimited magic and potential. The Festival has been championing creative excellence since 1954 with the goal of providing a global destination and the definitive benchmark for creativity that drives progress.
LIONS is going through an exciting time as it’s recently repositioned as The Home of Creativity, supporting those in the business of creativity at every step of their journeys with an extended portfolio of new advisory, learning and intelligence services. Our purpose is to drive progress through creativity for an incredibly diverse and talented global creative community.
You will join a team of change makers. The team’s purpose is to champion change to create the most powerful global creative community and drive growth for the brand.
Cannes Lions has unparalleled global brand recognition in the market and works directly with prospects year-round on bringing their ideas to life at the festival.
With phenomenal growth expected over the coming years, the LIONS Commercial Partnerships team is seeking a Sales Development Representative to join our team. This role will report directly into the Global Head of New Business in one of the highest revenue, and work with prospecting and qualifying new business opportunities for global advertising and creativity clients.
Our award-winning team works with world-class clients such as LinkedIn, Amazon, Microsoft, Spotify, Adobe, TikTok, Pinterest, Netflix, Google and more on creative partnership solutions.
Our team is responsible for driving new business revenue consistently against our events product portfolio and this person will be tasked with identifying and qualifying new business opportunities to build the sales pipeline in partnership with the new business team.
You’ll be providing a full-service sales approach, working from initial prospect identification through qualification, discovery calls, and handoff to closers. We are looking for an ambitious business developer with an eye for creativity and new ideas who wants to work with the world’s most impressive potential clients to uncover opportunities and generate qualified meetings in an organised and high-quality manner.
Successful candidates will have a year or more experience in either a sales development, outbound prospecting, or relevant industry environment and are motivated by a fast-paced and autonomous role, but we're open to all applicants with a passion for Creativity. Our excellent team will arm you with the training & support you need to be successful in pipeline generation.
Key attributes for success in this position include top-tier prospecting and lead qualification skills, excellent written and verbal communication, curiosity to learn about the creative & marketing industry, and the ability to consistently meet or exceed outreach and meeting targets.
Key accountabilities
1. Use the world-class Cannes Lions brand to drive new business development by conducting outbound calls, sending emails, qualifying leads, taking discovery notes, drafting proposals, creating sales presentations, and developing targeted prospecting campaigns
2. Coordinate prospecting & researching activities to support new client acquisition
3. Liaising with internal LIONS teams, including retention, marketing, content, operations, awards & finance to develop holistic pitches
4. Preparing compelling sales decks and other sales assets for use across the New Business team
5. Maintain accurate lead, prospect, pipeline, and activity information in Salesforce and assist the team with reporting & tracking
6. On-site operational support during the Cannes Lions Festival period, including direct liaison with prospects and potential clients, onsite meetings and networking
7. Willing and able to travel for necessary networking events, industry conferences, and team offsites
8. Responsible for achieving the designated performance targets including qualified meetings set, pipeline generation, and new business KPIs
This list is not exhaustive and there may be other activities you are required to deliver.
Qualifications
9. Interest and/or experience in the advertising, tech and creative industries
10. Excellent literacy and numeric skills required
11. Confident verbal communications skills
12. Computer literate, use of Microsoft Suite and internal CRM will be required
13. 1+ years’ experience in sponsorship or digital media sales
14. Evidence of demonstrable success and growth
Second language skills are not required, although French and/or Spanish would be of significant added value.
Additional Information
We work hard to make sure Life at Informa is rewarding, supportive and enjoyable for everyone. Here’s some of what you can expect when you join us. But don’t just take our word for it – see what our colleagues have to say at
Our benefits include:
15. Freedom & flexibility: colleagues rate us highly for the flexibility and trust they receive and most of us balance time in the office with time working remotely
16. Great community: a welcoming culture with in-person and online social events, our fantastic Walk the World charity day and active diversity and inclusion networks
17. Broader impact: take up to four days per year to volunteer, with charity match funding available too
18. Career opportunity: the opportunity to develop your career with bespoke training and learning, mentoring platforms and on-demand access to thousands of courses on LinkedIn Learning. When it’s time for the next step, we encourage and support internal job moves
19. Time out: 25 days annual leave, rising to 27 days after two years, plus a birthday leave day and the chance to work from (almost!) anywhere for up to four weeks a year
20. A flexible range of personal benefits to choose from, plus company funded private medical cover
21. A ShareMatch scheme that allows you to become an Informa shareholder with free matching shares
22. Strong wellbeing support through EAP assistance, mental health first aiders, a healthy living subsidy, access to health apps and more
23. Recognition for great work, with global awards and kudos programmes
24. As an international company, the chance to collaborate with teams around the world
We’re not solely focused on a checklist of skills. We champion energy and ambition and look for colleagues who will roll their sleeves up, join in and help make things happen. If it sounds like a match and you have most – although not all – of the skills and experience listed, we welcome your application.
At Informa, you'll find inclusive experiences and environments where all perspectives and backgrounds are welcomed. As part of this approach and our diversity and inclusion commitments, we are also formally an Equal Opportunities Employer. This means we base decisions on relevant qualifications and merit and do not discriminate on the basis of key characteristics and statuses, including all of those protected by law. Ask us or see our website for full information. See how Informa handles your personal data when you apply for a job here.