Monday Talent Take on Cannes Lions 2023
By: Jamie McLaughlin
The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is one of the most anticipated events of the year for the marketing, creative, and entertainment industries. Once you’re there it’s like seeing a bunch of adults in a creative playground. The energy is high, there’s immersive activations, people are networking, ideas are coming to life and there’s a general excitement for the creative industry that you don’t see anywhere else.
The festival is a global celebration of creativity and innovation in the fields of advertising, marketing, and communication. Held annually in Cannes, France, this event brings together creative professionals, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs from around the world. From its inception in 1954, the festival has evolved into a vibrant platform that showcases groundbreaking ideas, recognizes outstanding creative work, and fosters industry-wide collaboration.
ConCreates founder Joe Nickson on a panel about Cultivating the Future of Blackness in Media
Each year there are common themes that industry experts speak about. Last year many panel conversations were centered around Web3, business transformation, and attracting and retaining talent since we were coming off of the great resignation which was a transformative period for recruiting within the industry. Last year’s focus on hiring and the great resignation was very valuable for Monday Talent as it’s our bread-and-butter topic of discussion. This year’s common topics of discussion were DEI, sustainability, AI, and the merging of sports and brands.
Below are our key takeaways from this year’s 70th edition of Cannes Lions.
Diversity and inclusion dominated the scene but not the discourse
Similarly to last year diversity, equity, and inclusion were a discussion within almost all panels. However, what stood out this year was the diverse representation amongst industry leaders, award winners, and general attendees thanks to the Blackout x Cannes Lions partnership. People can talk about the need for diversity in all facets of a business, but seeing diverse faces amongst industry leaders and a more multicultural presence among attendees at the festival was refreshing. Partnerships at Cannes like the Cannes Can: Diversity Collective founded by FleishmanHillard Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Adrianne Smith and Stop at Nothing open the door to underrepresented communities at Cannes and have a big impact on the conversations surrounding diversity and inclusion.
Panel on Breaking Generational Ceilings with Alison Moore, Adrienne C Smith, Phoebe Robinson and Aline Santos
Sustainability
Sustainability has always been a hot topic of conversation within the marketing and creative industries. This year the key messaging around how brands can propel consumers to live a sustainable lifestyle was interesting. A great key takeaway from Sir John Hegarty, Co-Founder, and Creative Director at The Garage Soho and The Business of Creativity was “I'm on a mission to get people to understand that creativity is the best way to save the planet. Constantly producing average is screwing the environment. We’ve got to sell creativity in another way. People need to look at creativity as a green phenomenon.”
Artificial intelligence
There wasn’t a keynote speaker who didn’t mention AI in some capacity. A buzzword for 2023 and the future of every industry, artificial intelligence, is an unknown beast that everyone is trying to navigate. It’s clear that every company is still trying to find the best way to integrate AI into their business but one thing that everyone was aligned on was that AI is a great tool but we still need the human touch to connect with consumers. All discussions surrounding AI were positive minus a few mentions of the concern about data privacy, usage rights, and intellectual property which all continue to be issues with AI that companies need to navigate.
Sports, brands, and entertainment
The SPORT BEACH activation by Stagewell was a top highlight for me this year. I will admit
this one I might be a little biased about because next to my family sports is my one true love. This activation did an incredible job of connecting athletes, brands, and culture together in an engaging way. Brands always want access to athletes and vice versa so this was an innovative way to continue the conversation about the future of the sports industry and how brands and athletes can work together to reach different consumers.
Sport Beach panel with Sue Bird, Colin Fleming and Michael Johnson
Overall, the 70th anniversary of Cannes Lions was very valuable and filled with amazing takeaways for the upcoming year. The festival continues to push the boundaries of imagination and celebrate the power of creativity. Through its immersive experiences, awards program, trend exploration, networking opportunities, and cultural impact, the festival continues to be a pivotal moment for the advertising and marketing industry.
