If We Cannes Do It, You Cannes Do It
On the flight back from my fifth Cannes Lions last week, I found myself reflecting on the key takeaways from this year’s brand activations - both from what I saw first hand and what I’ve learned along the way.
1. Anyone Cannes Be A Creative
Anyone can be 'a creative', can’t they? Obviously take this with a pinch of salt, but one of the biggest themes I noticed at Cannes Lions this year was a further democratisation of creativity through tech.
At Canva’s first-ever activation in Cannes, the brand highlighted their offering - making marketing and design tools accessible to anyone, encouraging everyday marketeers to create on their own assets.
Similarly, LinkedIn spotlighted its push into video content with the “LinkedIn Studio” activation, created in partnership with Adobe. Guests moved through three interactive stages, creating content at each step, and then used Adobe’s editing tools to transform rough, note-form blurbs into a polished, digestible reel, highlighting how easily marketers can now create content for themselves.
On to creativity through AI.
Google’s activation spaces were centred on pushing Gemini, and I must admit, I was sold. From YouTube shorts, with wishy-washy AI filters, to the more advanced AI Creative Sandbox, nearly all their activities explored how AI can help users create fun, new ideas.
However, as I left Cannes, I couldn’t help but wonder how this all works towards 'levelling out' creativity in everyone’s eyes. Once anyone is able to 'create an image for themselves,' doesn’t that make it all seem too easy? Maybe not just yet, but it’s worth noting that it probably will. If small media companies can create content themselves using AI - who needs a big ad agency?
Whether you’re a homegrown content creator or a start-up marketeer; many major tech companies made it really clear this year that AI is a tool to help boost your creative output, whether you’re creative or not. From creating images and campaigns from scratch, to turning images into videos and editing them.
Of course, at the moment this is all a little bit of fun, but it did leave me wondering where the future lies for the creative industry. For those who don’t adopt or integrate AI will fall short, because in my opinion there’s nothing we can do to stop it. The best approach is to integrate it smartly and not rely on it. Use AI for automation, or for part of the process, not for all of it. After all, most of what AI spits out is simple guess work, and it still takes taste to transform it into something cool.
Brands who did this well: Google, LinkedIn, Canva, Meta, Pinterest.
2. 'We’ve Got Something For Everyone' - Personality Recommendations
It was interesting to see how many brands this year focused on showcasing their ability to understand consumers based on the choices they make online, and tailored products to personal preferences.
Whether through advanced tech integration or simple tactile experiences, they offered personalised interactions and gave attendees something meaningful in return.
With Netflix, we created the 'Mood Studio’. Netflix’s unique mood-based recommendations help audiences find shows that match their feelings, capturing their full attention and “allowing brands to reach audiences with unparalleled precision”.
To highlight this feature, we created a walk-in digital experience, complete with adaptive motion graphics and sound design, to immerse guests into any given mood. We asked questions like “What’s tugging at your heartstrings?”, or “What’s sending chills down your spine?”, and through multiple choice answers, delivered a unique photo output, along with a recommended title to add to their watchlist.
Pinterest took a different approach, with ‘The Pinterest Patisserie’ which featured a bespoke, delicious sweet treat based on personality focused questions. A separate more in-depth digital experience offered a personalised style guide along with a keychain and NFC reader, allowing guests to tap and access it again anytime.
Amazon AWS also introduced the ‘Fragrance Lab’, where their AI assistant, Nova, generated a custom scent based on personality-driven questions.
Brands who did this well: Amazon Fire, Amazon AWS, Amazon Fire, IMdB, Google, Netflix, Pinterest.
3. Gimme Shelter, and Don’t Make Me Wait Too Long
This is a simple one for me, and focused way more on our clients, but it’s an obvious observation that often is overlooked.
The rules are simple: Shelter from the elements (sun and rain), and make the service excellent.
Most B2B clients are in Cannes to network, which means meetings galore. Aside from all else, service and environment are everything. Make great cool shaded networking spaces, and provide great service.
On the Netflix rooftop we pride ourselves on this. We literally build a city on the roof, constructing a new deck with shade structures at the front, with the best view in Cannes. And this year, we also built the coldest room in Cannes, for all those very, very meetings.
Brands who did this well: Google, Netflix, Amazon
Cannes is a difficult place to stand out. It's hot, busy and fast paced. Making it easy for those that attend has never been more relevant in brand experience. Make it easy to create; make complex business messaging simple and easy to understand; and create the right environment to help marketers make easy business decisions.
See you on the Croisette next year.
