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Cannes Lions 2024 daily recap: The power of podcasts

Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2024, France

France – Despite the overcast weather and strong winds forcing the branded stalls along Plage de la Croisette to temporarily pause operations, the third day of Cannes Lions still delivered a host of engaging talks.

One of the key panel discussions this morning was held at A’maison, the portside location of the tech behemoth Amazon. Latasha Gillespie, the brand’s head of global diversity, equity and inclusion, moderated a fireside chat about Amazon’s role in fostering community within fandom across its businesses. Jen Sargent, CEO of Wondery, Amazon’s podcasting powerhouse, stated: ‘Podcasting is the start of fandom, and when fans lean in, they’re so engaged with the stories and hosts.’ She urged brands to take note of the growing medium. A’maison also featured pods where audiences could engage with its other brands, including Twitch, AWS, Prime and more.

Around noon, the Palais Lumière theatre was bursting at the seams as everyone raced to grab a seat for one of the week’s biggest highlights: a candid conversation with controversial businessman Elon Musk. The Financial Times suggested that the South African entrepreneur flew to Cannes to win back advertisers who have left X (formally Twitter) since he took over in 2022.

During the session hosted by Mark Read, CEO of WPP, Musk discussed the potential of his innovative ventures: Starlink, Neuralink, Optimus, OpenAI, and his acquisition of Twitter. When asked about his view on AI, he said: ‘AI will radically change our world in the next five years. Only those businesses that work with AI will see success in the future.’

For more insights on AI, head to our artificial intelligence topic.

Strategic opportunity

As artificial intelligence becomes a mainstay, adapt your business by upskilling employees and naturally embedding AI into processes to avoid sudden disruption in the future

Gurls Talk’s new look celebrates 10 years of empowering young women

Gurls Talk brand identity by Mestiza Estudio, France

France – Community-led organisation Gurls Talk has enlisted Mestiza Estudio to help create a visual refresh. Founded by model, actor and activist Adwoa Aboah in 2015, Gurls Talk has been providing resources and a safe space supporting mental health and wellbeing of young gxrls and wxmen.

The rebranding was a collaborative effort, with the aim to reflect Gurls Talk’s milestones over the past decade while positioning it for future growth. It reinforces core values of the organisation spanning hope, fearlessness, honesty and trustworthiness. A bespoke wordmark created by calligrapher Vivien Hoffmann brings a nostalgic, personal touch reminiscent of adolescent journals. ‘We wanted the brand to feel like an older sister – relatable, fun and non-judgemental. The design reflects a safe space where the community can be open and honest, supported by a spirit of kindness and togetherness,’ says Monica Urquijo Zobel, founder and creative director of Mestiza Estudio.

The brand update undertaken by Gurls Talk exemplifies how design can be more than a visual update, playing a role in driving social change – something we explored in Graphic Activism.

Strategic opportunity

Gurls Talk’s branding is a prime example of design put at the service of strengthening emotional connections with a target audience. Businesses can use such design approaches to create impactful and relatable brand identities

The Future Laboratory at Drapers Future of Fashion 2024

The Future of Fashion event, Drapers, UK

UK – The four Is of EQ-Commerce – Intuitive, Intimate, Intuitive, Individualised – were explored at the Drapers Future of Fashion conference in London on 19 June 2024 as The Future Laboratory’s director of foresight, Fiona Harkin, presented our retail macrotrend as part of a discussion that explored how the fashion industry can think about The Store of the Future.

The customer services of tomorrow were a key discussion point, with Harkin advising the audience that brands should be harnessing technology to better drive value and their service propositions in more experiential, emotional and bespoke ways, leading to personalisation strategies in both online and physical retail environments.

These are manifest in two ways: across Concierge Live and Virtual Flagships trends.

‘While the possibility of live-stream commerce has yet to be realised in Western markets, some retailers are finding success in service-orientated live streams,’ explained Harkin, who cited plug-and-play social commerce solution LiSA, which works with fashion retailers like Marks & Spencer for live shopping solutions that sit on their own websites.

‘Moving beyond the metaverse, retailers are launching virtual flagship stores that allow for a feedback loop between their bricks-and-mortar locations and e-commerce,’ noted Harkin. Lacoste’s virtual store in the brand’s Web3 community is a good example of how retailers could connect the data flows created by virtual experiences with their physical stores to create a seamless, personalised shopping journey that begins virtually and ends in-store.

The EQ-Commerce macrotrend report is already available to all LS:N Global members.

Stat: Spending by European streamers to exceed that of traditional broadcasters

AI imagery by The Future Laboratory, UK

Europe – Spending by subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platforms in Europe’s major tv markets is projected to reach £8.4bn ($10.7bn, €10bn) by the end of 2024, surpassing the investment by the region’s public and commercial broadcasters, according to an Ampere Analysis forecast.

Public and commercial broadcasters in Europe have been facing stiff competition from well-funded streaming services, leading to tightened content budgets and declining viewer engagement. There has been a 16% drop in viewer engagement for commercial broadcasters across Europe’s top five markets since 2016, contributing to a nearly £786m ($1bn, €930m) decrease in the linear tv advertising market over the past decade.

But with global streamers like Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros Discovery slowing their spending growth to maintain profitability, there is an opportunity for national broadcasters to stand out by ramping up their content investments and enhancing their streaming platforms. ‘Prioritising long-term investment in both content and streaming capabilities is crucial for commercial broadcasters to maintain prominence in Europe’s cut-throat tv market,’ said Neil Anderson, senior analyst at Ampere Analysis.

For more insights on what’s next for streaming, head to our Pop Culture & Media sector page.

Strategic opportunity

Form strategic alliances with national broadcasters to co-produce high-quality local content. This can leverage local insights and audience preferences to create content that resonates more deeply with viewers