Having spent more than 10 years reporting on what works in marketing communications, the key to the effectiveness of creativity is down to more fundamental matters, says Marketing Week Editor-in-Chief, Russell Parsons

Seven of WFA’s strategic partners reflect on what will define marketing for the year ahead

As the digital and the “real” world increasingly intermingle in people’s everyday lives, brands have a vast new canvas in which to engage with and influence consumers.

From creativity to platform regulation, ‘Metamania’ to the golden ‘square’ of marketing, the WFA team share their predictions for the marketing industry in 2022.

Video gaming has risen to become bigger than other forms of entertainment. Its growth has been further super-charged by COVID-19, during which many people turned to gaming while stuck at home.

The WFA’s CMO Forum boasts marketing leaders from diverse categories and geographies, yet their priorities are often strikingly consistent. One of the clearest threads remains the ever-present need for transformation, says Rob Dreblow, WFA Global Head of Marketing Services.

Cannes is the annual celebration of all that is good about marketing and advertising. This year’s awards were virtual but that didn’t mean there weren’t great insights or learnings to share.

Four Lions judges share their experience of what they learned in some of the newer categories that were celebrated this year. From Creative Strategy to Creative eCommerce and Creative Data to Creative Business Transformation, they celebrate where the bar for great work lies in 2021.

Key trends have come to the fore due to COVID. Ian Malcolm, President and CEO at Lumency, a brand side sponsorship, experiential and content marketing consultancy, explains why they matter.

We asked the WFA Global Marketer of the Year jury  what work had stood out for them this year.

In the absence of the annual industry meetup on the French Riviera, in June WFA asked seven industry experts: “If you were at Cannes Lions this year, what one big question would you put to the industry?” In this follow-up piece, Cannes Lions offers some answers based on the discussions at LIONS Live – their new media platform for people to experience creativity wherever they are.