The inaugural PR jury members from this year's Cannes Lions Festival continue to fret over the minimal number of PR agency-originated campaigns that either made the short-list or won a PR Lion. It shouldn't really matter where a good idea comes from – whether from a PR agency, an ad agency or whatever discipline; but many of the judges didn't appreciate the encroachment on our "territory", and believe that we know and can demonstrate the true power of public relations better than any other type of agency discipline.

Truth is, PR agencies were under-represented after we were finally invited to Cannes some 55 years on. We can debate why it took so long to get there, but the point is that of the 431 entries across 48 countries, only 40 percent were from traditional PR firms.

I believe that there were three main barriers to entry. One assumes that because it was PR's first year, awareness was low – despite Cannes' profile within the overall marketing community and among our clients. Secondly, the requirements for entry are more challenging than our national and local awards programs. In order to be truly successful, a submission must include a video interpretation of the case being entered. That combined with the higher ticket entry price makes Cannes a more expensive proposition than other awards. Finally, some confusion still reigns – Cannes PR Lions celebrates creativity across all categories of our work, not just consumer marketing. There are opportunities to enter cases in corporate communications, public affairs, crisis and issues management, internal communications, and more, and across a plethora of business sectors.

So the challenge to encourage greater participation is tough, but the rewards are many. Global notoriety is at the top of the list. The Cannes Lions are the most revered global awards across the marketing communications profession. The judging alone is extremely rigorous, taking five full days at Cannes, as well as many hours in a pre-judging process before Cannes. Jury members meticulously review each entry, often more than once. And they labored over the short-listing and awarding, always with a critical eye to the key components of a best-in-class PR campaign or initiative.

But Cannes isn't just about a celebration of our work on a global stage. Increasingly our clients are interested in participating: learning from the work submitted, experiencing the workshops and seminars at the Festival, and celebrating their own campaigns. There even appears to be a kind of competitive spirit growing between organizations – especially big brands – on how many awards are won or make the shortlists.

When it comes to Cannes, I have two predictions:

1. While it may take a couple of years for the PR Lions to gain momentum and participation from PR firms, if we don't participate more fully, other disciplines will claim our territory on this global stage. We have everything to gain in terms of accolades from peers, clients and the marketing communications community at large, and everything to lose to competitors from other disciplines. Having witnessed the finale awards night announcing Titanium and Integrated Lions, I'm actually surprised that the PR Jury was not bombarded with a few more campaigns that seem to have originated in PR thinking but which were not from PR firms.
2. While our national and regional public relations awards programs will continue to acknowledge good work, these programs may become a "rehearsal" to the world stage of Cannes. And eventually, the really significant campaigns on which we all work will debut only at Cannes because that is where the true recognition will be bestowed.

I look forward to 2010 when hopefully the PR profession takes the Cannes Lions just as seriously as the 2009 PR Jury did. And if you're interested in hearing about what makes a winning entry, hold the date for a breakfast reception to be co-hosted by USA Today and the Council of Public Relations Firms on Wednesday, January 27, in New York, when Phil Thomas, CEO of the Cannes Lions Festival, will join the three US judges from 2009 to present some of the winners.