A day outside the Palais
WeAre8:
Today I am exploring the incredible content that flourishes all around the Palais from beach houses/clubs/villas to superyachts. I started the day with an inspiring session from WeAre8 on the PWC superyacht Tenacity. A brilliant conversation facilitated by Lizzie Young APAC CEO/Global Growth, PwC UK Director Adam Edelshain, Founder and Global CEO Sue Fennessy, and legendary former England and MU Captain Rio Ferdinand. The passion and commitment to transforming the value exchange and building brands for the future were so honest, compelling, and inspiring that all those clients/agency leaders attending just wanted to get involved and do better.
Dentsu Creative:
Next up was a special event for global marcomms/press reporters hosted by Dentsu Creative at their beach club, and another enlightening panel discussion with WeAre8 Founder Sue Fennessy and Rio Ferdinand. Rio continues to wear the merch and spread the word about the platform, and his commitment to his five children to do good and change the world for the better is incredible.
Yahoo Beach Club:
What a perfect place to chill by the beach and take in real inspirational content. The Empowering Brands to Succeed with LGBTQ Inclusion was an awesome fireside chat with the President & CEO of GLAAD and moderator Dee Poku CEO/Founder of The WIE Suite. Both are powerhouse individuals with heartfelt stories to make a difference around visibility in advertising and how we can all make a difference.
Omnicom Cove:
Another brilliant beachside location with the who’s who of global clients and agency leaders covering a wide selection of topics from DE&I, Brand Purpose into Action, to showcasing the work that’s making the business bigger, stronger, and broader.
Activation of the day
Journal House (The Wall Street Journal):
As a marketer, you could just live at Journal House and embrace all the issues that really matter. A stylish, upmarket brand experiential space that is all about important/vital content. The agenda is first class with future-focused content, including AI and big tech, AI in Marketing & Mad Men 2.0, The reinvention of entertainment and brand building, B2B marketing investment in a downturn, etc. I am still kicking myself as I missed Kevin Hart (comedian, producer & Chairman Hartbeat.)
Now that was cool:
Walking home along the Croisette after a brilliant LinkedIn welcome soiree at the very stylish Carlton rooftop, we had hundreds of drones light up the Cannes sky with a Kargo display and the obliquity QR code.
Mental Health help:
A thoughtful and timely message on the back of the Palais toilet cubicles. I believe this was a smart/effective and well-placed message. My cynical friends thought it was tokenistic but on this one, I think the acknowledgment and visibility is a positive step.
Sustainability is important:
Not only on stage but how the festival shows up with all the event merch and collateral, promo stuff, packing, waste management, etc … I think they are doing a good job and setting the standard for other major events to showcase best practices. I love the HOPE free water machines provided by Dentsu that showcase the number of plastic bottles saved during the festival. On one machine alone on the way to the outdoor terrace, it was 1,280, and that was only on day one.
The takeout of the day
Sometimes we get distracted by the economic headwinds, the looming threat of AI, and the overwhelming feeling that it is out of our control. After hearing from Lizzie Young, Sue Fennessy, and Rio Ferdinand of WeAre8 I know it sounds a bit corny but we all have the power to change the world … borrowing from the Nike catch cry, Just Do It!
See Also: Cannes Day 1 Recap: AB InBev, Louis Vuitton, Snapchat, Reddit, and Cheeto art
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Top Image: Mediaweek’s Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham at Journal House