Cannes Lions 2016 │ VR killed the radio star?

and marketers from around the world who had travelled to the French Riviera have now gone back to their daily grind – and rosé-free diet.Thinking about all the things we saw or heard at keynotes, forums, award ceremonies or informal talks, two worlds seem to collide on the Croisette in Cannes: the nitty-gritty on the one hand, the glitzy on the other hand. A couple of key themes grabbed our attention this year:

Influencers: people to people marketing

We have made our audiences tune out. A study from Meaningful Brands revealed that a staggering 74% of people would not care if brands disappeared. Worse, this trend is on the rise year on year, mirroring the rise of ad blocking technologies that are spreading globally. In this rather gloomy context, marketers tend to turn to earned media and in that space, influencers are seen as pots of gold.

Characterised by their authenticity, passion for a given topic, and the high level of trust they get from their followers, partnering with them promises to pay off. This proved to be true for Unilever, who recently used Kendall Jenner in their Magnum campaign and this collaboration resulted in a 3.2% lift in sales.

Also, influencers live and breathe social media and can therefore provide brands with original perspectives when it comes to newer platforms such as Snapchat, Vine or Periscope. I had the opportunity to chat with one of those influencers who shared a fascinating insight; her key KPI when it comes to Snapchat is not her number of friends but her number of screenshots. Whilst many users may view screenshot notifications irritating (as they go against the essence of Snapchat), her perspective was different. She said, “when people go through the hassle of capturing my pictures and filing them on their phone, it is the ultimate form of flattery to me. It shows they truly care about my content”. As a brand, do you track your Snapchat screenshot notifications?

On the flip side, we sometimes see cringeworthy stories in the press of influencers accidentally copy-pasting instructions received from the brand they are partnering with, directly in their tweets or Instagram posts. This highlights the importance of carefully selecting and partnering with influencers that would be a good fit for your brand and that truly care for it. A natural evolution of this trend should ultimately lead to genuine co-creation between brands and influencers. We should see more brands going down that line between now and the next Festival.

The Pursuit of Purpose

Actor Will Smith said it very well: “the only statement worth having is improving lives”. Purpose is not a new theme (see the work that WFA has been doing around it through Project Reconnect here). However, it has really gained momentum over the last two years, as many delegates commented. At this year’s edition, a fair share of the Grand Prix Winners presented work with purpose at its heart. Here are three examples. Unilever Hindustan’s light-hearted ‘6 Pack Band’ promoted equal rights for transgenders and received a Glass Lion (i.e. that celebrates culture-shifting creativity). More poignant, Pearson’s ‘Project Literacy’ was launched to move the needle in the fight against illiteracy worldwide and received the Health and Wellness Grand Prix. Striking more of an emotional chord, Philips’ 'Breathless Choir' helped people with severe breathing problems gain back their voice, and their confidence – winning the supreme title in the Pharma category.

For those still wondering whether purpose ultimately leads to actual category sales, Unilever’s CMO Keith Weed shared some encouraging news. An internal, global research study showed that 54% of consumers would be more likely to buy a product if it were more socially and environmentally sustainable. What’s more, the sustainable living brands in Unilever’s portfolio enjoyed an accelerated growth (growing faster in 2015 against 2014) and accounted for nearly half of the company’s topline growth. Consequently, Unilever’s top five brands are currently sustainable living brands.

Despite the obvious benefits offered by this approach, an opinion that I heard at several occasions was the risk to create purpose fatigue. Will the pledge taken by the ‘Big Six’ to support UN’s Sustainable Development Goals contribute to that?

Virtual Reality actually



Virtual reality (VR) was omnipresent at the Festival through keynotes, off-stage demos and the Awards ceremony. For example, New York Time’s The Displaced campaign won the Grand Prix in the Entertainment category – and many hearts – with its VR experience that puts users in the shoes of refugee children forced to flee their countries.

Wired’s Kevin Kelly predicted, “we are moving from an Internet of things to an Internet of experiences”. Indeed, progressing in a VR environment is a discovery experience where the user feels, rather than sees. Through its immersive nature, it has the potential of transforming and amplifying the power of storytelling. Another benefit – and novelty – is that it enables its creators to anticipate and manage ‘rebellion’; so if the user decides to get away from the main story line, there is still a way of creating delight/surprise in integrating attractive content or creative elements that will continue to grab the attention.

Beyond VR, other new advanced technologies were discussed during the festival: wearables (see Project Jacquard that took home the Product Design Grand Prix) and Artificial Intelligence (see Alphago’s campaign, winner of the Innovation Grand Prix). Two very new territories that many brands will no doubt start tapping into in the next couple of years.

Innovative by design

Most big organisations today are trying to keep up with the pace of change driven by technology, new consumer habits and disruptive businesses. Agencies and clients alike are in the lookout for new ways to organise to be innovative by design. Structuring yourself internally is a first step as shared by Pepsico’s CMO Simon Lowden and Hakuhodo’s Worldwide CCO, Masaru Kitakaze. They both highlighted the importance of prototyping, in other words, the right to test and fail. “But if you fail, fail fast and learn. To create a culture of innovation, think about progress rather than perfection", said Lowden.

As seen on the main stage as well as at numerous WFA forums, the CMO has a crucial role to play in driving marketing transformation in the organisation and designing new ways of working with its agencies and partners in more innovative and effective ways (see our blog post on our latest CMOFORUM in Singapore here and on briefing here).

Going into untapped territories can be scary but groundbreaking projects don’t happen by chance. REI’s #OptOutside campaign that took home nine Lions reflects that bravery does pay off.

To close this post, I will quote Astronaut Mae Jemison who said “The future never just happened; it was created so we all have a role to play in it”. If this is true for interstellar travel, surely this can also apply to our ever-changing marketing industry.

Any leads WFA’s work on integrated marketing communications. You can reach her at a.ung@wfanet.org