Mega-yachts drop anchor in the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean as media, advertising and tech industry elites prepare to talk shop, negotiate deals and gossip over big quantities of rosé during the Cannes Lions Festival 2024.
The boozy week-long event known as the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity returns this week for its 71st year – and despite an uncertain economic landscape – it’s sure to be a busy time.
“We feel there is increased interest in this year’s festival as a whole,” said Christopher Vollmer, managing director of MediaLink and partner at UTA. “But I think there is a lot of uncertainty about the economy in certain sectors. Overall, the situation is relatively good in many sectors and questions arise about its sustainability.
Headlining speakers at the five-day festival, which begins Monday, include Mattel Chairman and CEO Ynon Kreiz, who will win the entertainment personality of the year award.
Havas creative director and former co-vice president Jacques Séguéla – a French advertising legend – at 90, will receive a lifetime achievement award.
Other lively speakers include Deepak Chopra, Queen Latifah and Jay Shetty.
But most of the action will take place outside the Palais, the festival’s main hub, and spill over onto La Croissette, the main seaside thoroughfare, where businesses will hold discussions on the hottest topics that plague marketers.
Medialink’s Vollmer — whose media and advertising consultancy hosts a series of panels on creativity, business and culture, and co-hosts one of the buzziest exclusive parties at the famous Hôtel du Cap-Eden- Roc — cited a fragmented landscape. .
With budgets tightening across the tech, media and advertising industries, not to mention geopolitical concerns and presidential elections looming in the fall, Vollmer said brands are evaluating how they can get the most bang for their buck. .
“Brands continue to strive to find ways to connect and engage with consumers,” he said, explaining that CMOs are increasingly being asked to do more with less, by partly because of a “lower growth” economic environment.
“It’s increasingly difficult to stand out, so it’s more important than ever to grow, leverage and speak directly to your community while listening carefully,” echoed Josh Rosenberg, CEO of the company of creative communications Day One Agency.
Both men highlighted artificial intelligence and how the use of technology is evolving and being integrated into the workflow compared to last year, where much of the discussion around AI took a tone more fearful about how it might replace jobs.
“Over the past year, it has become clearer where AI will be able to help the industry become more efficient while contributing to inspiration,” Rosenberg said, noting that the technology is limited.
“It also made us realize that while AI can offer support, it cannot determine tastes. Even in the age of AI, we continue to invest in creativity, because we believe that creativity and connection with the consumer will always trump any machine,” he added.
Another topic that concerns marketers is how to reach younger generations.
With the fate of TikTok hanging in the balance — after President Biden signed a bill in April requiring the platform’s parent company, Byte Dance, to sell TikTok in six months or ban it in the United States — brands and creatives are wondering how this could impact their reach. with Millennials, Gen Z and Generation Alpha consumers.
TikTok has waged a legal war against the law, driven by widespread concerns among U.S. lawmakers that China could access or monitor Americans’ data with the app.
But TikTok is also an important source of revenue for more than 7 million businesses, not to mention the platform’s 170 million U.S. users, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said recently.
Rosenberg said he is “watching the news closely,” adding, “It’s an important channel for our clients and for us as an agency.” What I do know is that we will always go where the consumer goes. If there is no TikTok, we will look closely at where the consumers are. Our philosophy has always been to work with our clients to develop brand strategies and campaigns where their consumers live.
Aside from TikTok – which will once again take over the courtyard of the Carlton Hotel where it will host panels on how to maximize content on the platform – athletes will be largely in the spotlight.
Sports stars will take center stage at events hosted by Axios, Medialink and Stagwell, discussing a variety of topics from the creator economy and technology to the rise of women’s sports and mental health.
Stagwell is back this year with its popular sports beach, which includes a basketball court, bleachers, sandpit and climbing wall. It will feature the largest sports lineup in Cannes, hosting more than 30 athletes, including Travis and Jason Kelce, Carmelo Anthony, Megan Rapinoe and Blake Griffin.
According to Beth Sidhu, Stagwell’s head of brand and communications, the concept came from the COVID era, when people were unable to attend live events like sporting matches. After the pandemic, consumers returned to concerts and sporting events in force. Stagwell’s team noticed that while there was high demand for the sport, there wasn’t much athlete representation at Cannes Lions.
“There are a lot of public passion points and sports is absolutely a passion point for a lot of people,” Sidhu said.
The executive added that it’s not just fans and advertisers who want to get in on the sports craze, but also the athletes themselves, many of whom have become serious content creators and mini media moguls .
The problem athletes and marketers face is connecting in a meaningful way, as well as having conversations about how they can work together, she said.
“We are passionate about putting world-class athletes with world-class marketers,” she told us.
More broadly, the top brass at Cannes Lions have also noticed the increased interest in creators.
For the first time, the event will host the Cannes Lions Creators Festival from June 18-20, where creators can mingle and share ideas with marketers and creatives.
“Creators are followed on social networks. They intersect with sports and music and are among the first to take advantage of new technologies like AI,” said Medialink’s Vollmer. “There will be more and more as video production continues to democratize the landscape.”