With MIPIM only two months away, options for entertaining your clients and prospects while in Cannes are pressing. We’ve put together here a range of networking options from breakfasts to cocktail parties that might help.
Breakfast
Breakfast on the beach has become synonymous with Cannes – it’s a popular choice and has become a customary calendar event for MIPIM regulars. Kick-starting your day with an early morning coffee and croissant with your colleagues, clients and prospects is a good way to make the most of the hours in the day while combatting the (perhaps inevitable) hangover from the night before. It can either be a formal sit down breakfast or a short stand up affair where guests drop in, depending on the number of people you are inviting or what you want to achieve from hosting it.
If you don’t fancy hosting your own early morning gathering why not consider Wilmott Dixon’s popular breakfast event on Thursday morning or breakfast at Long Beach, hosted daily by Davis Weatherill, FIRA Landscape Architects, JDP, Conisbee and Simply Planning.
Coffee
Using a café as a meeting venue and grabbing a cup of coffee, is a quick and easy way to meet up with clients or prospects on the go while you get a much-needed caffeine boost. We’d advise that you try to arrange these meetings in advance to book people’s time, but schedule in small blocks of flexitime in your schedule for impromptu meetings too. You never know who you will bump into.
Lunch
Lunch can be just as rewarding with multiple venue options either on the beach or further in town. Hosting a small group of guests for an exclusive feel, inviting a carefully selected group that will benefit from each other’s company works well. Just don’t forget it can be busy and service may be slower than you might like, so keep your schedules in mind.
If you haven’t booked your restaurant yet, act quickly – they’re filling up fast. Popular beachfront venues include Plage Royale (our favourite), Long Beach, Le Goeland (closest to the Palais). Or further down the Croissette is Plage du Vegaluna, opposite the Carlton or L’Annexe and Plage du Festival. There’s also one of the many fish restaurants on Rue Felix Faure where you and your guests can sample the impressive fresh platters.
Dinner
Timed right, dinner can be a great end to the day – or start to the evening. 8pm is the ideal start time, dovetailing with the many cocktail parties to attend pre and post-dinner – most people like to drop in somewhere else before settling down for the evening.
Some of Holistic’s favourite restaurants for dinner are in the Old Town, along Rue Saint Antoine. Or if you’re struggling for ideas, the Michelin Guide has 121 to choose from.
Cocktail parties
Other ways to entertain include cocktail parties, which are great for informal networking, you can invite more people and they’re a softer way in for those looking for prospects. Look out for the UK Cocktail Party but there are plenty of private ones that are also worth attending, should you be invited.
A few other bits
Before you set a time and date for your event, it is worth checking the MIPIM Programme and the MIPIM Tough Guide to avoid potential clashes. You can also submit your party or event to be listed on the latter if you want to expand your guest list.
It is often a good idea to plan meetings or drinks around stand events in order to catch up with the right people – and if you are able to arrive early to key stand sessions, you may find a small but important networking window as others also wait for the event to start. Likewise, grabbing a drink after Manchester or London Stand sessions, for example, can also be a good way to talk to people who are operating in the same areas.
We hope this helps. And, once the logistics are all in place, bon appetit!
MAXIMISING MIPIM 