Cannes Lions Responds to Award Manipulation With New Rules

Posted on July 10, 2025July 10, 2025 by Bajkowski + Partners

Anyone who’s ever entered creative work into an award show has at some point witnessed questionable submissions and practices.

The 2025 Cannes Lions awards were apparently no exception.

According to Adweek, “Cannes Lions is introducing new global integrity standards following a wave of scrutiny over manipulated case studies and unverifiable claims that cast a shadow over the 2025 festival.”

With the prevalence of AI usage, some agencies have submitted and even aired client-approved work containing AI-manipulated images.

There are also ongoing discussions about the accuracy of reported case study results.

Case study details are usually subject to client confidentiality agreements, competitive secrecy, and review by clients and its legal teams. However, this process does not always occur.

The new 2026 Cannes Lions rules are built around 5 pillars that include veracity of claims, consequences for misrepresentation, and publishing of an annual integrity audit report.

Additionally, Cannes Lions plans to publish an AI Integrity Handbook based on guidelines from the OECD and UNESCO.

Bajkowski + Partners WBE Certification Renewed for 2025

Posted on October 25, 2024October 25, 2024 by Bajkowski + Partners

Bajkowski + Partners LLC (B+P), a strategic marketing and agency resource management consultancy, is proud to announce its re-certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the New York Chapter of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

WBENC Certification is the gold standard for women-owned business certification in the United States.

Laura Bajkowski, principal and owner of B+P, finds that “WBE certification enhances our reputation among Fortune 500 clients that strive to provide smaller and independently owned consultancies with opportunities to work on key initiatives that have major impact on their business success.”

WBENC’s meticulous vetting process, which includes an in-depth review of a business structure, operations, policies and business plan, is designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by a woman or women.

By including women-owned businesses among their suppliers, corporations and government agencies demonstrate their commitment to fostering diversity and the continued development of their supplier diversity programs, which in turn empowers women as leaders and brings about a more diverse, balanced and sustainable economy.

WBENC Certification, combined with professional development and engagement in the WBENC network, provides unsurpassed opportunities year-round, both virtually and in-person, for women-owned businesses to grow and expand their business and innovation through events, programming and connections with major corporations and other WBEs

Please follow the links to learn more about Bajkowski + Partners services and clients, or to discuss a potential project.

About Bajkowski + Partners LLC:

Founded in 2007, Bajkowski + Partners is a New York limited liability company headquartered in New York City, with senior consultants across the U.S. and Canada, and partners in EMEA and APAC. B+P is a global consultancy with practices in Agency Search and Selection Management, Agency Performance and Relationship Management, Marketing Organization and Optimization, and Brand and Marcomm Management.

About WBENC:
Founded in 1997, WBENC is the nation’s leader in women’s business development and the leading third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women, with more than 18,000 certified Women’s Business Enterprises, 14 national Regional Partner Organizations, and more than 500 Corporate Members, most of which are Fortune 500. Thousands of corporations representing America’s most prestigious brands, as well as many states, cities, and other entities, look for and accept WBENC Certification. Through the Women Owned initiative, WBENC also is a leader in supporting consumer-oriented female entrepreneurs and those who do business with them by raising awareness for why, where and how to buy Women Owned. For more information, visit www.wbenc.org and www.buywomenowned.com.

Learning Care Group hires paid media agency Wpromote

Posted on April 24, 2024April 24, 2024 by Bajkowski + Partners

Learning Care Group, the second-largest childcare provider in North America, has named independent marketing agency Wpromote its US media agency of record, following a competitive RFP process. The partnership will span media strategy, paid social, paid search, programmatic, and SEO.

Wpromote will draw from its proven track record of accelerating growth at the local and national level for clients like Equinox and Jiffy Lube to elevate Learning Care Group’s omnichannel media strategy, building a full-funnel media plan across the brand’s more than 1,075 schools and 11 unique brands including Childtime and La Petite Academy. The approach will combine consumer trends, performance data, and first-party audience data to guide the full customer experience, from acquisition through retention, to reach national and hyper-local audiences.

Learning Care Group and Wpromote discovered mutual benefits as they pursued a technology-centric transformation together. The innovation that powers the brand’s education and communication efforts will fuel Wpromote’s brand strategy for the network of community-oriented schools. The agency’s proprietary marketing intelligence platform Polaris will power a diversified media strategy for Learning Care Group that builds stronger connections between families and educators.

“We were drawn to Wpromote’s experience, and more importantly, results, driving growth for multi-brand clients at both a national and hyper-local level,” noted Joanna Cline, CMO of Learning Care Group, “Community is the foundation of our network of schools and their team truly understands the importance of an integrated approach that invites families in at the very beginning of their childcare search and continues to nurture that relationship as their family grows with us.”

“Celebrating family and community is a major part of the Wpromote culture, so having Learning Care Group join our roster of clients was a perfect fit,” Wpromote’s CEO Michael Mothner explained. “In today’s landscape, transparency and authenticity are essential to growth and our team understands how those factors are even more vital when it comes to choosing child care.”

The win of the Learning Care Group AOR comes on the heels of a wave of growth for Wpromote, including the recent hire of seasoned sales executive David Gensler as SVP, head of sales, joining with over 25 years of revenue growth leadership, most recently at marketing enterprise software company Basis Technologies.

Consulting firm Bajkowski + Partners oversaw the agency review and search process.

Agency Searches in 2023, Incl Toyota, Astound, Phillips 66

Posted on February 29, 2024March 26, 2024 by Bajkowski + Partners

Bajkowski + Partners had a busy 2023 working with clients to find new agency partners.

Integrated agency searches we managed last year included Phillips 66 (integrated) which went to VML (tier 1) and Love Houston (tier 2).

Creative and digital agency search for Gulf States Toyota (Erich & Kallman) and creative search for Bosch Home Appliances (Vitro).

And paid performance media searches for Astound Broadband (Wpromote) and another client that will conclude in the next few weeks.

We wish everyone great success!