Dispatch from Cannes Lions
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DISPATCH FROM CANNES LIONS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF CREATIVITY 2016 Table of For creative and business leaders, and everyone in between, Cannes Lions is a glimpse into the rapidly 5 FOREWARD FROM THE FOUNDER Contents approaching future of the media ecosystem. For those of you who couldn’t attend, MediaLink, in partnership with Zeitguide, has distilled a digest 6 INTRO highlighting insights beyond what appeared in your Twitter feed. AUTHENTICITY RULES ALL To follow, the essential ideas from the 2016 Cannes 8 Lions Festival of Creativity, worthy of the attention of yourself and your colleagues. 10 DARE TO BE DIFFERENT 12 HOLY SHIT. IT STILL REALLY EXISTS. 14 REMASSIFYING MASSES 16 ART-TECH IS THE NEW ADTECH 18 TOY OR TOOL? 20 AC: ARTIFICIAL “CREATIVITY” 22 THE BREXIT BUZZKILL 24 CREATIVITY & THE BOTTOM LINE 27 IN CLOSING 5 FOREWARD FROM THE FOUNDER Cannes Lions has long represented both the “meeting of the minds” of the industry’s A-team, as well as the confluence of people, ideas, functions and disciplines critical to the success of our work. But to me, most clear this year was that communication and collaboration are critical to a fruitful future, both for our industry and our world. Today, it is apparent that we are all at a pivotal tipping point in recognizing this fact. The Circuit, powered by ZEITGUIDE, will distill this notion and and other key themes discussed along the Croisette during Cannes Lions. With that, we bring you The Circuit. I hope you enjoy, and in the spirit of openness, share the information, stories and tools found within with your colleagues and friends. All good, Michael E. Kassan Chairman & CEO, MediaLink The Circuit: 6 Dispatch from Cannes 7 INTRO The advertising business has arrived at an inflection Creativity, long the antidote to stagnation, is now what point. will propel us through disruption. Blurred lines between content and advertising, ad block- It isn’t simply about a beautiful print ad or emotional com- ing, and the ANA report are just some of the challenges mercial any more. It’s about crafting new solutions for the confronting the industry this year. And as it tilts further whole industry, about pioneering content for new devices toward digital each day, Facebook and Google are still and platforms and directly to the right consumer. capturing 64% of the $59.6 billion of annual digital ad revenue. This second edition of MediaLink’s The Circuit, powered by ZEITGUIDE, distills several key themes from across Much has changed since the industry celebrated in 1954, the festival, the zeitgeist of the industry, if you will. With when the first Lion trophy went to Chlorodont toothpaste this digest, complete with suggestions on concepts to for its three-minute cinema spot. Today the Cannes Lions take back to your colleagues and associates, we hope to ecosystem has spread its reach — even this year to inspire you to keep the Cannes conversations going. include a new entertainment stage. Enjoy. And as we always say at ZEITGUIDE… “First it was the creatives, then media execs, then digital advertisers, then the clients, then tech companies,” said Keep Learning, MediaLink Chairman and CEO Michael E. Kassan, who partnered with us to tell the Cannes Lions 2016 story. Brad Grossman “Now entertainment is completing the loop.” Founder/CEO, ZEITGUIDE The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity was a perfect event to connect that circuit, to explore the con- vergence of content, technology, and branding. “Cannes presents a chance to explore where our industry needs to be headed. We bring all these creative forces together, spot the issues, ignite discussions, and bring clarity to them — and then we can start to solve them together.” One thing was clear after a week at Cannes Lions: any lasting solutions depend on returning to the premise that the festival started with 62 years ago: Creativity. The Circuit: 8 Dispatch from Cannes the brand message — as opposed to message that served the brand product.” As examples, she point- AUTHENTICITY ed to two award-winning RULES ALL campaigns. First, Airbnb’s collaboration with the Art Institute of Chicago, in which they took a famous painting Vincent Van Gogh did of his bedroom in Arles tion of what that emotional today’s consumers, “They — and re-created it down connection means to can smell a rat.” to the brushstroke to offer the consumer.” Likewise, as a nightly rental on Airb- Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Much of the authenticity conversation was also nb. Another example: REI’s Wintour sees authenticity Gayle Troberman #OptOutside campaign, a closely tied to humanity, about delivery — that is, push to spend Black Friday citing as an example the not beating people over outdoors — where their “Authenticity” went from “raw, unfiltered, and very the head with a message. consumers truly want to THE TAKEBACK buzzword to point of de- human” comedy of Amy Consumers are savvy. Sub- be — not at the mall. REI bate at Cannes Lions this Schumer, whom she put on tlety is key. As Mike McA- shut down all its stores on Authentic Advertising? the Cyber Lion short-list- year. What exactly does it the cover of her July issue. voy, CEO of satiric news that day. Perhaps an oxymoron. ed Ritz Cracker Cutter, we mean — especially in the site The Onion, explained iHeartRadio CMO Gayle in a Univision panel at But fewer and fewer express our usefulness context of advertising? We “When you can take an ac- Troberman, suggested MediaLink headquarters, “If things can be marketed by being useful, our par- caught a lot of definitions tion and show people rath- radio is the “most authentic you try to shove a message with nothing but flash ty-worthiness by bringing flying around, each offering er than just telling them, content,” which has helped down someone’s throat, and sizzle today. Shop- something to the party. a unique insight. it can be really powerful,” its growth. “It’s live, it’s they won’t read it, they pers are far too educated said Ben Steele, REI’s chief “Authentic Advertising” is Marc Mathieu, CMO of messy, it’s real, it’s human,” won’t share, and you won’t and have access to too creative officer. And it’s the creating content that has Samsung, found authentici- she said. achieve your results.” many choices to be told real, authentic deal. a utility for the consumer. ty in truth. “Marketing used what to buy. And that means brands to be creating a myth and Ryan Seacrest noted what But perhaps CMO Dee What the whole conver- have to work harder to telling it. Now it is about can easily come across Salomon of MediaLink con- sation about authenticity program themselves into finding a truth and sharing as inauthentic — namely, nected the conversation celebrity-brand relation- to one big picture insight. “ suggests is that, stage- consumers’ lives. it. In product truth, in brand ships. He said it’s hard to Marketing is at its most It’s live, by-stage, the gap is truth, in corporate truth.” But when it works, there’s pitch things on the radio if authentic, she said, when closing between product it’s messy, it’s real, nothing like it. As Kevin For Linda Yaccarino, chair- he doesn’t have a con- it’s not a sales pitch at all, and message. Those it’s human. Plank, CEO of Under Ar- man of advertising sales nection to the product. It but a product or experi- things are becoming one mour said, “For anything and client partnerships at has to be natural, he said. ence with the brand: “Much ” of the same. Whether it’s great, authenticity rules NBCUniversal, authenticity Or as MediaLink COO of the so-called advertising building a better banking app or something fun like all.” grows out of emotion and Wenda Harris Millard said at the festival was actual- Gayle Troberman “the knowledge and activa- in another session about ly a product that served CMO, iHeartRadio Van Gogh’s Bedroom, Airbnb & The Art Institute of Chicago The Circuit: 10 Dispatch from Cannes recounted his company’s something hugely first daring advertisement successful.” Anna Wintour in ESPN magazine. It fea- tured a strange but alluring What’s the next big, bold DARE TO BE image of a muscular man play? One word, says B. sporting a Darth Vader– Bonin Bough, chief media DIFFERENT like helmet. It brought in and e-commerce officer $800,000 in sales within of Mondelez International. three weeks, when the Messaging. company earned only “No one is talking about $1.3 million the entire year messaging in Cannes,” he before. explained to us. “But I can You might strike out guarantee you that it’s go- now and again, Airbnb ing to explode.” His book, co-founder Brian Chesky which he bravely placed noted, but you should still at all corners of Cannes, swing for the fences. is about “what creativity THE TAKEBACK The executives, entrepre- and analysis that show the is going to look like when neurs, and celebrities pop- impact of daring creative “You’re going to need to brands can send a text ulating the Palais this year work. take some big leaps, and direct to consumer.” Think like an entrepreneur all seemed to be singing oftentimes it’s not going to with a mindset that is as disruptive as the start-up Who knows if Bough’s got from the same songbook: Examples cited by celebri- work,” Chesky said. “But it that wants to put you out of business. That is the it right? But as we learned Be brave, be bold, take ties and entrepreneurs also doesn’t matter how many only way to stand out today.