Creative lions roar at Cannes
If anyone’s under the delusion that the age of advertising is dead, a trip to this fascinating Mediterranean city this week for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity should erase that silly idea.
Begun in 1954 as a cozy gettogether to promote advertising films, Cannes Lions in recent years has exploded into a weeklong extravaganza that draws 11,000 people — including some of the world’s brightest talents in tech, media, music and film.
Playing off the cutting-edge feel of the annual Consumer Electronics Show, some have taken to calling this high-wattage gathering to ponder the future of the $505 billion global media business “CES on The Med.”
Naturally, nearly every executive strolling along the Boulevard de la Croisette, the breezy seaside esplanade, will be thinking about how to better utilize their mobile advertising budgets. Gone are the days of just being on mobile — today the talk is how to avoid unsavory corners on YouTube or Facebook.
Also on the lips of attendees — in addition to the rivers of rosé wine, as plentiful as air kisses and paparazzi — will be talk of diversity. And speaking of which, the controversial “Fearless Girl” statue — placed beside the “Charging Bull” statue in Downtown Manhattan — from asset manager State Street Global Advisors and McCann, New York, is poised to pick up a Grand Prix at the awards ceremony. And speaking of wine, the Whispering Angel rosé label has negotiated its way into all the right cocktail soirees. Yes, even the free drinks on hand are working their marketing plan. Amid the bold-faced names — Sheryl Sandberg, Nick Jonas (left)and Jason Reitman among scores of others — mingling at the Cercle Bar in the Grand Hotel Cannes or ot her l uxe watering holes, Madison Avenue heavyweights will be chewing over the state of TV advertising.
It’s expected to decline by 1 percent globally in 2017 — the first drop since the recession-buffeted 2009, according to forecaster Magna. The missing cash, one can assume, has fled to mobile — a category that’s expected to crest the $100 billion mark this year. If it passes that plateau, it will mark the first time mobile ad spending hit nine figures.
The Vivendi spin
Vivendi, owner of Universal Music as well as Canal Plus, France’s pay-TV company, is a sponsor of the Cannes Lions Entertainment track. Universal Music Chief Executive
Lucian Grainge will be named Media Person of the Year.
Vivendi is in the midst of swallowing ad holding Havas, af ter agreeing to acquire a 60 percent stake in the company for $2. 5 billion.
The deal is a Bollorè family affair. Dad Vincent controls Vivendi as chairman while son Yannick is CEO of Havas.
The musical talent mingling, talking and, at time, entertaining, will be spread across every imaginable label. Those expected include Demi Lovato (right), Halsey, classical pianist Lang Lang, Russell Simmons, A$AP Rocky, Ellie Goulding, The Weeknd, Wyclef Jean, Ed Sheeran and Stevie Nicks.
Buzz of the beach
Remember when top-notch talent used to shun corporate affairs? Well, those days have gone the way of the public pay phones. These days A-listers are banging down the door to get onto the Cannes Lions list of invited guests. Over the weekend , whispers were exchanged that concert p ro moter Live Nation is expected to bring down a big, as yet, unnamed act. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, music streamer Spotify, down on t he Rivi e ra in force, announced in a blog post on Thursday that its ad revenue jumped 50 percent year-onyear in 2016. It counts 140 mill i on gl obal monthly active users. “Spotify’s streaming intelligence provides psychographic and behavioral audience insights which go beyond traditional demographics,” Brian Benedik, the company’s global head of sales, boasted.