Empowering society through digital: a Cannes-do story

This time last year I wrote: “Beyond the glittering Lions and blinged out boats, we’re entering an era where sustainable business is the only opportunity around that will keep the mad men and women — and the client craft they sail in — afloat.” And looking ahead to what the Festival of Advertising in Cannes has in store for us this year — I feel the industry has taken this to heart with an enormous range of activities around advertising for good.

A digital economy that works for all

Starting close to home, Dentsu Aegis Network is spearheading a number of events with clients, partners and community stakeholders to explore how we can deliver “a digital economy that works for all”.

• On Monday, Nigel Morris hosts a panel in the Dentsu Aegis Network beach house with Google, the World Economic Forum and the Tory Burch Foundation to explore the potential of the future workforce. They will discuss the digital skills that young people need to empower their future careers.
• Also on Monday, Ruth Stubbs will join Nigel on the Inspiration Stage in a session on how the industry can come together around common goals such as diversity and female leadership through mentoring tomorrow’s leaders.
• Throughout the week, brands such as Carat, Vizeum and iProspect are hosting breakfasts, panels, lunches and drinks exploring how creativity drives social impact and what role society as a stakeholder plays in our work.

Common Ground: 1 year on

It’s been a year since the launch of the Common Ground initiative at Cannes. There will be a huge exhibition at the Palais showcasing the work each of the holding groups has done to tackle the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Even the most cynical will be impressed with the gusto and enthusiasm with which agencies have tackled issues around health, climate change, refugees, water, hunger and gender equality. Go check it out or join the Common Ground reception planned for Tuesday 20 June at the Cannes Beach to hear from the United Nations firsthand on the progress.

Common Future: ground-breaking collaboration

The Common Future Project is a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at driving widespread awareness and action among young people in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The project brought together multidisciplinary teams from across the world’s biggest advertising and marketing services groups and independent advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy with the dedicated resources from Google. This ground-breaking campaign will go live in September 2017 is a concrete example of where competitors have put their rivalry aside to deliver a common future.

We can feel tectonic plates shifting if we compare this year’s Cannes line-up to last year. The industry as a whole is embracing sustainability as an opportunity to build a different and better business model that delivers marketing as well as social and environmental outcomes. It shows what we can do with a Cannes-do attitude.