1000heads: Postcard from Cannes (Part 2)

Cannes Lions is well and truly over and, with the Young Lions celebrating their latest win (along with many, many others), it’s time to look back over some of the more leading and creative thoughts that fell out of such an important conference.

Back in part one I promised some thoughts on the Diageo session I attended as well as some overall thoughts and links post-event.

First, Andy Fennell, CMO, Diageo –

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Key points and quotes –

  • Andy talks about his ‘FACE’ values. They are; Flair, Agility, Consumer insight and Execution
  • When discussing new creative, ask ‘What is ‘the centre of gravity’ of an idea?’
  • “We need to change our ideas inherently to build participation from the start” – a thought 1000heads has advocated for years
  • “For rich content to arrive in Africa, phones need to get cheaper or Silicon Valley needs to work out where Africa is on a map.” – contentious!

Speaking of Africa, Andy gave an example of how Guinness arrived in the football-loving continent with their very own football-themed quiz show –

The whole idea, initiated by Guinness (one of Diageo’s sub-brands), started and ended with the drink in question and resulted in a significant jump in sales.

I personally hadn’t seen a brand invent its own TV show before, not least of all one that actually delivered on both an entertainment value (average episode views are upwards of 4m) as well as on a brand awareness and sales front too. Very impressive.

Overall, the Diageo session was interesting as it was a brand talking about their creative as opposed to an agency. Hearing the insights and ways of working behind such a huge, worldwide company inspired plenty of food for thought and served as a reminder at just how impactful television can be when harnessed correctly.

Thanks for reading.

 

Additional links of interest:

My unofficial Cannes recap – via The Brand Builder
Nokia @ Cannes – via Nseries

1000heads: Postcard from Cannes (Part 1)

Hello from sunny Cannes!

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[yes, I know you all hate me and that the weather in London is terrible BUT!] I come bearing gifts of news, insights, words and pictures!

1000heads are over supporting Nokia as part of their lead sponsorship of the Young Lions Competition* kicking off later today. However, before that all gets under way, I want to explore and share some of the findings from some of yesterday’s talks.

Consider the following notes as a monumental brain dump to be consumed, digested and used as talking points for further conversation –

PHD: Beyond the Horizon

PHD, a global media agency, came under fire earlier this year for their ‘We Are The Future‘ video and I was intrigued to see what kinds of thoughts and theories they wanted to put forward around future technologies.

  • ‘Connected TV’ to be a firm fixture (along with 3D) in the homes of the future
  • Facial recognition will tailor ads to the person watching TV (I’m not sure)
  • Facebook Connect already structures websites around your social graph (eg: Trip Advisor) expect more of this in the future – personalised experiences based upon what you (and your friends’) behaviour and habits

  • Wi-Fi areas, already prevalent globally, will be running with wireless power – ‘Wi-Po’ (or Qi) networks – which will provide wireless charging of compatible devices
  • ‘Natural UI’, already widely available via Xbox Kinect, will replaces the traditional remote controls for home devices
  • “Change will never be this slow again” – Mark Holden, PHD
  • “People that are good at social will be the tomorrow’s superstars in business” – MH, PHD (one might argue that this is not a trend for 2016, but rather a trend for 201o, ’11 and ’12)
  • “The race is on for brands to become content creators” – MH, PHD (again, not new but still – these races take time to properly get going)

Like I said; just a brain dump. But some starting points for sure. Tomorrow I’ll be back with notes from the Diageo session (who we’ve written about before) and what efforts they’ve been putting into extending their brands globally.

Any thoughts on the above? Dive into the comments below…

 

*Keep your eyes on the Nokia Nseries blog and Twitter feed for more details on this later today