Atifa Silk, brand director of Campaign Asia-Pacific, interviews Duncan Painter, CEO of Top Right Group, at Cannes Lions 2015. Painter talks about how Cannes Lions owner Top Right Group works with the Cannes Lions management team to keep the festival’s momentum going, and directly addresses rumours of whether the festival is for sale.
Just as the beaches of Cannes vary depending on how far you venture from the Croisette, so too do the conversations. For the last few years one of the main topics of discussion is the ever greater presence of adtech companies at a creativity festival. As a technology gate-crasher myself, and armed with the industry-recognised white sunglasses and Panama, it was genuinely apparent that the line in the sand between all things tech and all things creative was slowly surrendering to the warm tides of Mediterranean.
Adtech companies were taking over everywhere outside the Palais. Whether it be the armada of boats at the old port, or giant ads on the front of the Carlton, nowhere it seems was safe…and it sounds like this trend is going to keep happening as I heard multiple folk promise that they’d have a boat next year; some even two boats so they can keep their valuable berth!
Cannes Lions is the honeypot of creativity in advertising. From virtual reality to smartwatches, advertisers aren’t afraid to push boundaries when looking for new ways to engage consumers and nowhere is this more apparent than at the annual event.
After slowly finding its feet following economic upheaval and digital migration, the UK industry is on track to reclaim its place at the center of the world's advertising stage
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