We headed to the French Riviera last month to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity — considered the largest creative gathering in the world for those working in the advertising and marketing industry.

We attended tons of sessions, experienced countless brand activations, and did some serious mileage on our sneakers.

What was everyone buzzing about? Of course, Generative AI and trying to predict the future. 

What topic was surprisingly missing inside the fest? Experiential marketing and how it’s disrupting traditional advertising channels, right now.

In a brand-laden playground focused on celebrating creativity in the advertising and marketing space, Cannes Lions seemed to have forgotten one big thing: brand experiences are the best kinds of ads. 

Not a single session, fireside chat, or even panel discussion hosted by Cannes Lions was dedicated to talking about experiential marketing as a vital component of today’s landscape. Aside from the Brand Experience & Activation award category, experiential marketing was fringe content, at best. 

And we should ask ourselves why. Because outside the Palais, on the beach, that’s exactly what each brand was attempting to do: create an activation worth experiencing to bring their brand stories to life in an interactive and memorable way.

Some highlights:

• Meta’s stunning curved wave-like LED entrance enticed you onto its beach, where you could immerse yourself in a reel creation experience with KidSuper. 
• Microsoft’s vivid walk-through art gallery of creators who used generative AI to create mesmerizing sea creatures.
• Amazon Port’s master classes in creative thinking — featuring a powerhouse of sessions and content, and a Twitch activation that enabled you to self-discover how Twitch connects brands, communities, and fandom in new ways.
• Pinterest’s Manifestival which took trending ideas on Pinterest and turned them into playful activations — everything from trending micro tattoos, piercings, hair styles and tooth gems, all the way to personalized arts and crafts projects to personalize your own swag. 
• The Weather Company’s interactive vignettes featuring stories of culturally-defining moments in history and how a shift in weather could have completely changed the direction of those events.
• Stagwell’s Sport Beach featuring different sports each day along with pro-athletes in an arena-like setting on the beach.
• Reddit’s Reddit Drop every day at 1pm, where redditors’ favorite products were handed out daily as answers to trending recommendations.
• Mastercard Villa’s super luxe, highly-curated experience featuring intimate conversations as small presentations, sound bath meditations, and massages in a beautiful villa overlooking the French Riviera.
• TikTok Garden’s lush creator space, with activations highlighting how easy it is to harness the power of TikTok and rosé garden parties every afternoon with influencers.
• Spotify Beach, hosting must-see podcast creators by day and epic headline concerts by night.

THE HYPE IS REAL.

Today, we see the rise of experiential marketing all around us. Post-pandemic especially, it’s never been more important to slice through the noise of traditional advertising channels and captivate and connect with consumers on a new level. 

People want to experience something profound. And there are mind-boggling stats that support this. Wunderman Thompson conducted a recent study where 77% of people say they just want to feel something, to feel alive post-pandemic; 83% of people are saying they are seeking out experiences that bring them joy and happiness; and 68% of people say they prefer to spend time in places that spark their imagination. This isn't hype. This is a human yearning that is real and cannot be ignored. And TV, print, and radio are being supplemented or outright replaced by pop-ups, interactive installations, brand partnerships, and event marketing. 

So, Cannes Lions, next year — let’s not just build activations on the beach, let’s dig in and talk about how experiential marketing continues to redefine and expand how we experience brands. Because it’s changing everything.