Thousands of brands and agency people are headed to the South of France next week for the biggest industry event of the year: the Cannes Lions.
Expect to see thought provoking content on brands in culture, the attention economy, AI in action and retail media networks, as well as conversations around fandoms, creators and women in sports.
The official Cannes Lions – which has drawn the creative community to town for more than 70 years – will feature notable speakers on the mainstage including: Oprah Winfrey (Tuesday at 10am) and Marcel Marcondes, Global CMO of ABInBev (Monday at 10am). The company was named Creative Marketer of the Year. Eddy Cue, SVP of Services and Health at Apple was named Entertainment Person of the Year and will join legendary Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer in conversation at the Palais (Monday afternoon). Marketers should also make a point to see all of the great work in the basement of the Palais, the inspiration behind the festival of creativity.
We will be reporting on the awards, so check back regularly to see the winners!
Pinterest Beach is returning with its Manifestival, bringing to life its IRL brand platform through various experiential activations from hair dye and tattoo stations to bracelet making tables and a cafe with delectable treats.
Spotify is bringing fandom to life and celebrating its 20-year anniversary in its beach space showcasing everything on the playlist from music to podcasts and audiobooks. The beach will host several panels on brand loyalty, culture and fandoms with speakers ranging from the CMO of Gap Fabiola Torres to On Purpose host Jay Shetty (who just sold his podcast to Spotify/Netflix for $100 million) and a site down with songwriter Anderson .Paak. As usual, the beach will bring the concerts with performances from artists including: Mike D of Beastie Boys, Central Cee, and RAYE (Tuesday night) and Lykke Li, Mumford & Sons (with a special guest), and a DJ set by John Summit (Wednesday night).
Amazon will be stationed at the Port again with a French village-themed activation this year. The site will include interactive physical experiences of Prime Video, Twitch, Wondery, Amazon Live, AWS, Fire TV, Alexa+, Prime Sports and IMDb. The company is also hosting content on their stages including sessions with WNBA star Candace Parker and basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal. The British indie band the xx will perform at the Amazon beach on Tuesday night.
The WSJ House will return with leaders from across the industry including: execs from Lenovo, JP Morgan Chase and Twitch, as well as Gwyneth Paltrow, Founder and CEO, goop (Wednesday morning). Yahoo will host several concerts including Tiesto (Wednesday night), World Cup screenings and an Explorers Club Meetup. Inkwell will host the Cannes Can: Diversity Collective. Stagwell will be back with Sport Beach.
Propeller has a comprehensive list of all of the parties!
Brand Innovators will be present throughout the week with numerous stages and events. Our beach stage will feature leaders from Eli Lily, Mastercard, the NFL, Bose, Mattel, Marriott, PepsiCo, Mercedes-Benz, Universal Entertainment, Liquid Death, P&G, Unilever and many many more. Be sure to check out Tuesday afternoon’s Culture Shifters program at the beach featuring Dr. Marcus Collins, comedian JB Smoove and NBA legend Chris Paul among many leading CMOs. Also check out Mastercard’s curated program at the beach on Wednesday afternoon, which will explore the growing world of commerce media deep and brand building in a signal-driven world.
We will also be hosting CMOs at the exclusive LVMH Villa at invite-only forums throughout the week, as well as at the Women’s Reset on Tuesday morning. The breakfast will include conversations with: Patricia Corsi, Chief Growth Officer, Kimberly-Clark, Renata Ferraiolo, Chief Executive Officer, SC Johnson Lifestyle Brands, Shannon Lee, Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Lee Enterprises and Brieane Olson, Chief Executive Officer, PacSun. Our Tuesday night beach party (invitation only) will feature a live performance from Wyclef Jean.
As usual, we will have content and a hospitality station at the Cafe Armani, a great place to take a break from the heat and network with your industry peers over coffee and salads and catch some great content. Brand marketers, drop by and say hello. See you on the Croisette!
