From start to finish, “experience” was the topic on everybody’s lips at this year’s festival. The meaning of Creativity has greatly expanded to include creating Experiences — meaning we need to understand people more in-depth; deeper in insight, behaviour and motivation which ties in closely to our proposition.
“Experiences allow people to access and communicate with business in completely new ways.”
Daniel Bonner, Global CCO, Wunderman
I took the time to look through this year’s winning work, and three key trends caught my eye.
Exclusive to Inclusive — transparency for all
If you’re building a brand with true purpose and it aligns with a consumer’s values, it builds brand loyalty — a fairly new equation when looking at how to create a meaningful relationship between consumers and brands. As we continue to move towards a more purpose-driven ecosystem, brands are making significant moves to have a positive impact on the world and attract new audiences through the values they place on community and the environment.
One significant development I noticed was that businesses are now creating projects that all their brands align under. Unilever has been doing this for years, but it is becoming increasingly common amongst other brands in different sectors. And these brands are being transparent about their progress on open-source platforms like websites, instead of it being hidden within their shareholder reports.
Purposeful Capitalism
Gen Z are especially likely to choose brands who have a mission that is meaningful to them. This behaviour forces brands to put their energy into a purpose-driven initiative. But Rome wasn’t built in a day; it requires a long-term view coupled with long-term commitments.
We also have to remember that if a brand decides to take a stand for something, it might be seen as controversial amongst specific audiences or markets. As Nike said in their award-winning advert Dream Crazy — “believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” It’s an extraordinary example, but deciding a cause to support is not something that should be rushed into blindly. Are you ready to take a stance?
Buddy Up with Technology
“New Monster, New Weapon.” As Fernando Machado, Global CMO, Burger King explained during his session, Technology is not your enemy but your friend. Indeed, many of the cases that won at this year’s Cannes Lions embedded Tech like real-time data response, geo-targeting and AR — Whopper Detour being the best example of how brands can activate Tech aligned to Creative to make their idea feasible and their business viable. Keep up with Technological development, and don’t be afraid of using it. Embracing technology is to create experience. Given Burger King’s Whopper Detour was the most awarded work of the week, I think it is good advice to follow.
