Six Things we Learned from Cannes 2017
As the dust settles on Cannes Lions 2017 for another year, what did we learn from this annual festival of panel debates, speeches and workshops?
Overall, the event was firmly rooted in the Fourth Industrial Revolution — the blurring of the physical, digital and biological worlds. For example, sessions about machine learning took place alongside presentations by neuroscientists on the impact of technology on the brain. Significant media coverage was devoted to how large technology companies and consultancies are now rubbing shoulders with traditional agencies. And as far as industry-specific issues were concerned, the challenges of adjusting to digital channels and formats (e.g. brand safety, viewability, measurement) were also widely discussed. Digital disruption was evident both in form and content.
While it’s challenging to boil down a packed week-long agenda into a short summary, below are some of the key themes and take-aways that are worth understanding.
1. Brands have a social responsibility, now more than ever
In conversation with civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson, Richard Edelman declared that in a world of uncertainty and limited trust in institutions, “brands are an island of stability”. Consumers are looking to brands to be more proactive in shaping positive societal outcomes — about two-thirds of consumers report buying a product for the first time because of an explicit position that the brand in question has taken on a social issue.
Part of the answer here lies in defining a brand’s purpose which, according to Syl Saller, CMO of Diageo, can not only help address societal issues but also realise core business growth. But the answer also lies in practical action to help society make a smooth transition to the digital economy. As Nigel Morris, CEO Americas Dentsu Aegis Network, pointed out, taking more responsibility to help society learn the skills of the future is essential to both the company’s ambition and to the health of the global economy.
2. Diversity remains a barrier
The industry as a whole remains behind the curve as far ensuring a diverse workforce is concerned. As we move to a digital economy, this trend risks being compounded as automation and the distribution of STEM skills favour men over women. Globally, according to World Economic Forum research, automation is predicted to impact roles traditionally held by women more than those held by men. And as far as STEM skills are concerned, women trail men both in terms of number of graduates as well as the number of STEM graduates who go on to pursue a career in a related field.
Ruth Stubbs, CEO of iProspect, called for urgent action to address the gender gap and to ensure that the digital economy is fair for all, recognising that a broader understanding of diversity is required if we are to have truly representative, innovative workforces.
3. Emerging technology is still emerging
Artificial intelligence, machine learning, voice activation, the internet of things — the whole panoply of emerging technology was on display and in discussion at Cannes. Many brands are finding innovative ways to utilise the new potential that they afford. For example, Google has developed an artificial intelligence application to help tackle toxicity and extreme content on the Internet. Baidu has produced AI-enabled glasses that allow sufferers of Alzheimer’s to remember people more easily.
However, there was also recognition that we are still at the “Atari stage”, in the words of Matt Gee, Head of Digital Transformation at Isobar. There is huge potential and early signs of impact across these technologies, but still some way to go before they become truly transformative. But, given the exponential rate of development, this milestone may not be far off.
4. Creativity and digital is not a zero sum game
Jean Lin, CEO of Isobar, led a session at the Palais talking about the impact of machine learning and artificial intelligence on creativity. There was a popular misconception, she said, that digital technology in some way sounded the death knell for the human skill of creativity. Quite the opposite appears to be the case, as automation of routine tasks (such as reviewing videos or articles) allows people more time to focus on higher-value adding tasks.
Furthermore, the quality of data and insight that we can now extract from AI and machine learning means that the creative process can be better informed as well as more effectively targeted at consumers. In this way, machines will multiply the human qualities of empathy and creativity, rather than replacing them.
5. Data will only get you so far
Data is the currency of business and brands are now able to access far richer types of contextual data than before. In conversation with Jerry Buhlmann, CEO Dentsu Aegis Network, Spotify Founder and CEO Daniel Ek shared how the music platform is able to understand the moods, attitudes and behaviours of its users in real-time and target with a high level of accuracy. This in turn enables Spotify to deliver better, more immersive consumer experiences. Similarly, at Dentsu Aegis Network, our acquisition of Merkle last year was a step-change in terms of our ability to use more sophisticated data that can deliver more targeted, people-based marketing solutions to our clients. Data by itself, however, can be of limited value — it requires human intuition, empathy and interpretation to turn it into actionable insight.
6. The consumer is dead — long live the consumer
As part of a panel hosted by The Economist, Burger King CMO Axel Schwan revealed that he had banned use of the word ‘consumer’, preferring instead to refer to ‘guests’. As we move to a more real-time, data-driven understanding of individuals, this anecdote captures the key idea that we can no longer look at people through the lens of consumption alone. As digital technology opens up a new spectrum of contextual data, brands will need to be prepared to adjust their strategies to real people, rather than outdated proxies or narrow models of behaviour.
Culture will be critical here as organisations are required to re-orient themselves quickly around the consumer. At a Carat session on leadership, David Bell of AOL underlined this point, saying that big companies can learn from start-ups in the way they focus on the needs of the end user and give employees the freedom to act with autonomy in response to those needs.
Beyond the content and ideas, the press headlines also turned to the business case for the Cannes Festival, following the decision by Publicis to withdraw from next year’s event. Dentsu Aegis Network’s view is that Cannes continues to provide a platform for creativity and is an important way of motivating, encouraging and inspiring young talent in our industry.
Just as the industry is changing, so the event should and inevitably will — but as long as the quality of discussion and client engagement continues to be high, it is an important forum for us and many others.
Here’s to Cannes 2018!
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Article written by Tim Cooper, Head of Strategic Communications Dentsu Aegis Network Global
