A Cannes Newbie's Tell-All

Well the joke was on me because it really was life changing if not one of the single most amazing experiences of my lifeamp160 Having the opportunity to meet people from all over the world Saudi Arabia Australia Lebanon India Mexico Ireland amp8230 I could go on forever and engage in meaningful dialogue concerning both the industry and the world as a whole expanded my perspective and my understanding of my place in the worldamp160 While many of us come from different places and with that comes varying opinions and beliefs it became clear very quickly that we are all bonded by our desire to have some sort of meaningful impact on both our local and global environmentsamp160 It also became very clear that everyone loves rosamp233Pictured above at the Google Beach Pride Party from leftamp160 Rebecca CohenCollins ofamp160Outfront Media Alex Elton of News UK Michael Clays of TalkSport Ariel Kepka of MECamp160and Ananya Biswas of VesajThere were many themes that were prevalent throughout the panels last weekamp160 For our group assignments we were asked to summarize what we believe the key themes are in today39s media worldOur group summarized them inamp160seven words authentic integrated focused personalized fluid creativeamp160and curiousamp160 The word that most stuck out to me was authenticamp160 Authenticity was an idea that was pervasive throughout many of the panels that I heard throughout the weekamp160 Ben Jones Creative Director of Google39s Unskippable Labs mentioned that audiences are becoming quotchoosierquot about which ads they engage with and in order for a brand to be quotchosenquot it has becomeamp160incredibly important for it to come from a place of truthamp160 So much of consumer engagement is tied to some sort of emotional connection but in order for that connection to be effective the brand must create a compelling ad that demonstrates an authentic qualityDuring the panel with Shaquille O39Neil and Conan O39Brian moderated by the evercharming Chris Cuomo Shaq was asked whether or not he would represent a brand like Spam despite his hatred for the productamp160 He stated that he wouldn39t because in order to effectively market a product he needs to actually like itamp160 This need for authenticity is tied to all aspects of consumer engagement even when it comes to crisis managementamp160 A good example of this is the KFC quotFCKquot campaignamp160 It would seem preposterous that a chicken restaurant would run out of chicken and it is easily understandable why the public would be both angry and dumbfounded by this erroramp160 But by engaging in a campaign that both admits the error while also making fun of the situation KFC was able to completely change consumer sentimentamp160 Honesty and authenticity in creative storytelling is integral to creating a meaningful relationship between brand and consumerSo what did I learn about OOHamp160 Nick Brien CEO of Dentsu Aegis stated that OOH is the only quotmajestic mediaquot and that it is the best way to build a brandamp160 Have you ever heard a better description than quotmajesticquot for our mediaamp160 Trust me I actually got chillsamp160amp160Brian Weiser an analyst for Pivotal Research stated that OOH will continue to grow stronger in the coming years while other traditional media will falteramp160 One major takeaway though is that it is incredibly important that we all continue to become more comfortable with using technology no matter our roleOne of my favorite quotes from the week was quotIt used to be that in advertising it was key to be a master of media with an appreciation for technologyamp160 In today39s world it is key to be a master of technology with an appreciation for mediaquotamp160 But that being said technology cannot replace the human touchamp160 We as people and representativesamp160of Outfront are the key to creating a meaningful campaign for and relationship with our customersamp160 In a world where the media landscape is changing at such a rapid pace it is important that we remember that we are the leader in effective brand development and make sure to treat our media as a tool to establishing that authentic relationship between consumer and brandPictured aboveamp160amp160Graduates of the 2018 Young Media Academy at the Cannes Lions SchoolClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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A Cannes Newbie's Tell-All

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Rebecca Cohen-Collins

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A Cannes Newbie's Tell-All

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