Every year the global advertising industry descends on the French Riviera. Thousands of marketers, creatives, agency leaders, media mavens, tech titans, and platform executives make their way to the South of France for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
In its 70th year Cannes Lions is bigger than ever and has, in many ways, become way more than just being a celebration of creativity.
Today, it’s not only a place to celebrate work, but also to conduct business meetings, pitch clients, scope out new business, poach talent, network, launch the latest tools and initiatives, and corner personal branding opportunities.
The emergence of Artificial Intelligence and generative AI tools like ChatGPT are the hottest topics in Cannes this year, with sessions and closed-door meetings dedicated to understanding its impact on creativity, business and people.
MARCEL RETURNS TO CANNES NOW THAT IT’S ‘OK TO TALK ABOUT AI’ https://t.co/rAGysVSWiK pic.twitter.com/u7EHUARXT4
— Publicis Groupe (@PublicisGroupe) June 19, 2023
We’re likely to see more AI used in advertising going forward and the question on everyone’s mind is what will that look like!
“You’re going to be super-charged. The creative process will be supercharged” – @nvidia Founder and CEO Jensen Huang talks with @WPP CEO @readmark onstage at @Cannes_Lions about the transformative opportunities of AI for marketing and our industry #WPPCannes #CannesLions2023 pic.twitter.com/5GXn424nEb
— WPP (@WPP) June 20, 2023
Brand and business purpose which has never been more important are top on the agenda, particularly at a time of uncertainty as global economic headwinds lead to everything from layoffs to closures. So how do you stay focussed on the new bottom-line People, Planet, Profits?
In the past, the festival has also had its fair share of scandals from scam work to climate change activists and guerrilla protests. There’s never a dull moment at Cannes Lions.
Catch Storyboard18’s special coverage of the Lions for conversations with top marketers and highlights from the festival.