INTRODUCTION
INSIDE Read on for the full report or click on the links below to go directly to a topic.
Each year, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity gathers influential minds to celebrate the most imaginative, effective, and transFORM(ative) marketing moments from around the world. Brand marketers that truly influence are those not afraid to be bold, take risks and drive future innovations. Throughout the week, Publicis Media challenged the industry to transFORM, curating conversations that explored moments of influence, that will continue to drive business models and societal norms in the coming years. In total, Publicis Media brands received 184 nominations as well as 3 Grand Prix, 19 Golds, 28 Silvers, 12 Bronzes, and 122 shortlists as either the primary or a contributing agency. Read on for highlights and takeaways from the week.
Talent Hunt: New Age Crisis or Age Old Problem? transFORM Takeaways The Rise of the Robots The Future of Storytelling with Maurice Lévy and Harvey Weinstein Inside the Media Jury TransFORMative Conversations – Video
Talent Hunt: New Age Crisis or Age Old Problem? Kathy Ring CEO, Starcom USA
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Talent today is curious and desires to learn more.
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Finding and retaining top talent continues to be a challenge for companies. Gone are the days when a person would spend their entire career with one company. Employees today are looking for rich experiences that go beyond tenure, title and compensation alone. The millennial workforce is looking to curate career-gaining rich, diverse experiences across multiple companies and sometimes even multiple industries. So what can companies do to meet the evolving expectations of this changing workforce? Is this simply a new age talent crisis or an age old problem? In a discussion hosted by Publicis Media and LinkedIn at Cannes, industry leaders examined the talent transformation that is taking place, and how to create a culture that stands apart in business—all with the goal of keeping top talent engaged, inspired and productive. Here are key ways to attract and keep the best talent in the business. Opportunity for growth: The newest generation of employees are motivated by opportunities to sharpen their skills and grow both professionally and personally. Talent today is curious and desires to learn
more—they want to understand the “why” when it comes to their contribution to a larger plan or project for the company. Professional development opportunities can no longer be considered a “perk” but rather, a requirement when it comes to engaging talent. Meaningful work: Millennials go into a job with a purpose—both their own and the company’s. Companies that have a clear mission are infinitely more desirable to top talent today. Employees want to know there is a larger purpose to what they’re doing and how they are spending their time. It is also important to them to not only contribute, but to be recognized for their contributions. Diversity: Increasingly, the millennial workforce is looking to be part of a company that offers diversity across the board—diversity of people, experiences, projects and approaches. Top talent today understands that approaching things in one singular way is no way to make progress. Today’s workforce is more concerned with results—what they can accomplish—and they know it takes all types of bold ideas to achieve that.
transFORM Takeaways Michael Kahn CEO, Performics Worldwide, Performance Global Practice Lead, Publicis Media
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Brands can dance in a hurricane as long as [they] stand in the eye.
At this year’s transFORM summit in Cannes, Publicis Media celebrated the leaders and companies embracing transformation, whether it be personal, cultural, industry or business. Hosted by Publicis Media CEO Steve King, the summit’s eclectic group of speakers included Vanessa Bayer, Aidy Bryant and Cecily Strong (Saturday Night Live); Ryan Seacrest; Bob Pittman (iHeartMedia); Margaret Gould Stewart (Facebook); Martin Ford (author and software entrepreneur); Thomas Friedman (Pulitzer Prize-winning author) and Mark Thompson (The New York Times Company). All speakers echoed a main theme: accelerated transformation has been institutionalized; people and brands that are best equipped to adapt—in terms of talent, technology, operations and delivery—will survive and thrive. Constant Connections: Connectivity has changed consumer and brand engagement. As consumers are connecting with the world in ways we never could imagine, many brands are playing catch-up, striving to move fast enough to keep pace with their customers.
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Thomas Friedman summed up these exceptional times by offering a thesis: brands can “dance in a hurricane as long as [they] stand in the eye.” Automation, AI and More: Going forward, automation and robotics will change the workplace. It won’t be easy or linear, but automation will be applied everywhere and anywhere imaginable. Artificial intelligence will also transform marketing. Neural nets (in search and personal assistants) are getting better at understanding queries and voice commands. They will be able to deliver relevant answers/results better aligned to consumer intent. To succeed in this new world, brands must possess content that aligns with that intent. The Power of Audio: Because of its distinct role in driving a sense of community and connectivity, radio provides a powerful connection medium. Digital delivery has empowered its continued relevancy and ubiquity. Marketers should not discount radio as digital and mobile transformation has propelled its 10% growth.
The Rise of the Robots Stefan Bardega Chief Digital Officer, Zenith
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With the rise of intelligent machines, automation is set to overhaul our economy and change the career landscape for many. This is the reality that awaits us as portrayed by Martin Ford in his best-selling book, The Rise of The Robots. Â At the moment, we are undoubtedly seeing the benefits of automation in our industry. Programmatic is delivering both efficiencies and effectiveness for marketers, which is only set to increase. We must also consider the potential implications of automation on industry, and our workforce. Â Martin Ford was asked to do just that during the Zenith mainstage presentation at Cannes, The Rise of the Robots. Ford warned that the replacement of process-driven jobs by algorithms and intelligent
machines is set to affect those joining our industry and shared that this could create a talent shortage in the future. While he believes that creatives and strategists are not about to be replaced by machines any time soon, Ford emphasized that understanding and working with data will be a part of our daily lives. People who can understand, digest and disseminate data and technology will be in a strong position in the future. Ultimately, Ford believes we can enjoy the benefits of automation but, as an industry and a society, we must act now and realize the potential consequences of uncontrolled automation.
The Future of Storytelling with Maurice Lévy and Harvey Weinstein Brian Terkelsen Global Brand President, Mediavest|Spark
Storytelling has always been central to human existence. Anyone and everyone craves a good story and no one does it better than Hollywood. Today, there are more platforms for stories than ever before, and the most popular fit in your hand. So when Publicis Groupe CEO Maurice Lévy sat down with film producer Harvey Weinstein on the mainstage in Cannes, both had one thing on their mind—the ways Hollywood and Madison Avenue are managing the seismic shift affecting the storytelling landscape, and how to work together to engage the modern consumer. Three themes emerged: The “knockout effect”-- finding that perfect balance: Advertisers understand the importance of making meaningful connections but don’t always get it right when it comes to the connection between content and audience. To arrive at the golden equation, Courtesy of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
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brands need to find the right balance between what’s compelling and what’s realistic. Believe in the power to “endear:” Not all stories are inherently emotional, but engaging human emotions is critical. When brands surround stories with emotional relevance, they endear themselves to consumers. This also vastly improves engagement by encouraging people to share these stories with others. Embrace tomorrow now: Tap the opportunity to innovate within existing platforms. Leveraging the power of virtual reality, Snapchat, Periscope and others within more traditional channels will create new avenues for brands to engage audiences and share messages with consumers directly.
Inside the Media Jury Jodie Stranger President, Global Network Clients
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Time and again, agility and speed throughout enabled seamless storytelling and delivered results.
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As a judge at this year’s festival, over the course of six days myself and my fellow judges reviewed nearly 3,000 entries, debated what brilliance looks like today, and witnessed the following themes emerge:
did see technology successfully used to disrupt and engage consumers. Brands took greater control over a consumer’s digital experience, creating unique, personalized experiences.
• Consumer involvement is key. Brands that personalized their story, created conversation, and amplified a message to be heard in the cluttered social landscape rose to the top. Heineken’s Dilemma work for their UEFA sponsorship was a great example of this, along with Airbnb’s “Van Gogh” work for the Art Institute of Chicago.
• Intuitively tap platform design. There were great examples of brands harnessing digital platforms’ core design and function. For example, the use of Snapchat’s three second vanish to transmit messages to a gay audience in a country where homosexuality is illegal, or linking the Instagram heart to direct donations. This opportunistic work creates maximum relevance with how consumers already intuitively engage with these platforms.
• Social experiences connect. We have made a significant leap to ensure storytelling lives in multiple dimensions, allowing consumers to contribute, react, respond, and create. P&G’s “#DADDO” campaign was a great example. • Technology as the disruptor. While there was less experimentation with technology this year with heavier a reliance on programs that were tried and tested, we
• Simplicity wins. Ultimately we awarded medals, and the Grand Prix, to work which was simple, purposeful and where media was central in driving campaign success. Time and again, agility and speed throughout enabled seamless storytelling and delivered results.
Cannes Conversations
Future-Focused Tech Gets Real
Best Work
Transformation
Brand Storytelling
Talent Hunt
Creativity
Speed of Data & Tech
transFORMative Conversations RETURN TO CONTENTS
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