The importance of collaborating for the future has permeated the Festival, which successfully brought elements of the innovation ecosystem together in Cannes for the first time. A diverse group of brands, start-ups, VCs, coders, scientists and storytellers were drawn to Lions Innovation to learn from each other, connect and, it emerges, do business.

Festival Director, Rob Dembitz, said that several of the start-ups who had taken part in the accelerating initiatives at Lions Innovation had been drawn into closed conversations with global brands over the last two days that would be continued outside of the Festival.

"The branded communications equation has been completely transformed by the addition of start-ups, and we've showcased how creatively-rewarding such 3-way partnerships can be through Lions Innovation. But the Festival has also created a fertile ground for forging these new relationships. It's been exactly the kind of environment from which the next big thing will emerge."

From 226 entries this year, 8 Innovation Lions were awarded, including the Grand Prix to What3Words, London for "3 Words to Address the World", which replaces traditional addresses with a unique three-word combination based on geographical co-ordinates for each 3m x 3m square of the planet. The system has particular applications in the developing world and was cited by Jury President, Nick Law, Global Chief Creative Officer, R/GA as an example of systematic, Silicon Valley thinking - relevant, he said, because, "As a jury, we were very concerned about problems to be solved."

View Grand Prix winner, '3 Words to Address the World' by What3 Words, London, embedded below...

Innovation Lions Winners

Click here to view the full shortlist for this category.