Talk of Cannes: Flood is coming?
Even as champagne and rosé flow abundantly, marketing and advertising executives alike are quietly acknowledging that a looming recession could make this the last year thousands of industry insiders flock to the French Riviera armed with corporate cards and inordinate budgets.
There is definitely an “après moi le déluge,” attitude some people have here — a reference to King Louis XV’s opulent lifestyle in the years before the French Revolution, one insider conceded.
“We haven’t had Cannes Lions in three years, and most of these events were planned before the stock market collapse,” said Bryan Goldberg (inset), founder and CEO of BDG. For some smaller media companies, middle managers who had been planning to go to Cannes for months were just informed they had to stay home.
“The optics were too bad as companies gear up for cost cutting,” a source with knowledge of the situation told The Post.
Still, other advertisers said some companies are pulling out all the stops — doubling down on sending as many people as possible — since they know this may be the last time people are able to attend Cannes.
“Don’t let the money go down the drain,” another Cannes attendee joked.
But Goldberg takes a more sanguine view of an economic downturn, insisting that the industry will stay as relevant as ever.
“Advertising is the world’s second oldest profession,” he said. “We aren’t going anywhere.”
Goldberg adds that hosting events can pay dividends, “you get so much social currency from throwing good events, the worst thing you could do is not have a presence.”
He’s also quick to note ad spending persisted in the years following the most recent financial crisis, in 2008.
And as the market gets tighter, he believes staying relevant is even more important. “Given how many products and brands there are competing for attention, you have to be competitive now in a way you never did before.”
And others note some companies always make money in a downturn.
“People always have to do business at the top levels. We shouldn’t be the ones making money,” another Cannes attendee added.
Regardless, for now people are embracing their time in the sun.
“Why burn it all down when you’re not getting money back anyway?” another attendee added.
“It’s a sunk cost, enjoy the hell out of it.”
— Lydia Moynihan
Women’s power lunch
Roughly 30 female journalists and marketing execs fit in a three-course seated power lunch at the beachside restaurant La Mandala on Tuesday between media and advertising panels and networking events.
The annual lunch, dubbed Women in Cannes, was cohosted by Snap board member and former Cosmopolitan editrix-turned-businesswoman Joanna Coles (pictured), Snap’s head of global brand strategy Betsy Lack, the company’s Chief Communications Officer Julie Henderson and Chief Business Officer Jeremi Gorman.
Guests included a smattering of execs from companies like Adidas and PWC, as well as journalist Kara Swisher, who recently left The New York Times for Vox Media, as well as New York Times opinion writer Roxane Gay.
“What I love about Cannes even after being on hiatus for three years is that everybody is walking around going, ‘I f--ing hate Cannes. What am I doing here? It’s full of bullsh-t,’ and everyone is still here,” Coles said to laughter.
The exec remarked that the event is really about “celebrating being a woman in the business . . . It is different being a woman in business. It’s definitely easier than it was but I bet there isn’t a single woman at this table who hasn’t come up against either macro- or microaggressions. This is a place where we only have microaggressions but that’s only about your fashion. That’s a joke.”
A few of the guests chimed in: “Is it?”
Between bites of quinoa and chicken, they did complain about the sweltering heat that has blanketed the region this week and how it has necessitated several daily showers and outfit changes.
— Alexandra Steigrad
OVERHEARD on Meta Beach . . .
Hasan Minhaj (of “Patriot Act” fame):
“Once the cloud bursts, we’re all going to be canceled . . . People are very different on WhatsApp than they are publicly.”
“Do you know how much I’ve plagiarized because of Wikipedia? But I won’t give them a dollar. And then I’m like, ‘Peacock, here is $14.99 a month. Think about how much value Wikipedia is giving you.”
on La Croisette . . .
“What are you hoping to get out of this Cannes?”
“Money.”