Article

Rod Banner
Rod Banner 19 June 2017

Why I won’t be at Cannes Lions this year.

Last year, we rented a 100' motor yacht called the Accama. (see above). It came stocked with unlimited Champagne and Rosé. We shared it with the most interesting and influential people we could think of and soon realised that most of them could have just as easily been found in Soho House. We all had a marvellous time but, in spite of the hedonism, we came away feeling that the Ad industry had lost its mojo.

Last year, we rented a 100' motor yacht called the Accama. (see above). It came stocked with unlimited Champagne and Rosé. We shared it with the most interesting and influential people we could think of and soon realised that most of them could have just as easily been found in Soho House. We all had a marvellous time but, in spite of the hedonism, we came away feeling that the Ad industry had lost its mojo.

Before selling it to WPP, I used to own an Ad agency. It was a wonderful business. We worked for technology companies and, in our small way, helped to give birth to the internet. Back then, our knowledge of communications and our skills architecting brands was deemed highly valuable. Particularly by the entrepreneurial engineers who ran most of the tech firms. 

The price of magic has been devalued. 

Since the birth of Social Media, the whole world has learned something about mass marketing. Communication skills lessons come free with a Facebook profile. The general public have fervent opinions about all sorts of campaigns. Just think Mr Trump, Mrs May, Brexit and Kendall Jenner's Pepsi ad. Many of the skills that our agency used to sell - things that seemed slightly magical at the time - have been democratised.

Advertising isn’t founded on honesty.

Today’s successful marketing campaigns are increasingly based on what a brand is actually doing rather than what they may be saying. Social continues to demand more authenticity and more transparency. Consumers want to have conversations with brands, in realtime. Agencies typically make the ordinary more attractive. Their work is clever, witty and polished. And slow. Less often is it raw, candid or live.

Knowledge is the future.

With the rise of digital marketing came the industry’s slide toward science. If you can measure the efficacy of marketing activity then, clearly, you should. If you can use programmatic platforms to target an individual's behaviour in a particular location, why wouldn’t you. But who owns the data? The media platforms (Google, Facebook etc.) are not creators but they know more about who's reading, clicking, searching or liking any content than agencies do. Brands know more about their customers than agencies do. Agencies are being sidelined.

What is required next?

Every business is now expected to forge a daily dialogue with its stakeholders. The demand for relevant, realtime brand conversations will only increase. This year, every marketer’s must-have is a bot. Bots will get smarter. Automated content creation and distribution will get slicker. All these developments will require faster content production cycles and a much deeper understanding of customers and the sector. The time when a freshly appointed agency Creative Director was able to wave a wand of wonder and change the fortunes of a brand feels over to me. 

The story lives on.

Creativity in marketing will continue but, in my humble opinion, it’s moving upstream and downstream. The upstream model is about proposition design. If marketing is all about telling the story of the business, you need to create a great story. Many companies have shitty stories or a story rooted in a social deficit. We warm to the likes of AirBnB and SpaceX. Yet we are increasingly wary of the sustainability issues and slavery index of organisations like Uniqlo and Primark who make their products so incredibly cheaply.

The downstream model is rooted in the industry's insatiable appetite for branded engagement. Startups hire 22 year olds with a grasp of the Urban Dictionary to craft hip banter that makes them feel appealing. But the 'community manager' role becomes more challenging in a regulated financial service where everything needs approval or where the conversation requires deep understanding of the business and its multi-facetted markets. There is a demand to create a constant flow of smart, intelligent conversations. I reckon a new service - woven together from a powerhouse of great creative minds and the world's best AI - is simply gagging to be born.

I won't be at Cannes Lions this year because I'll be at CogX in London instead. CogX is an event stuffed with the world's leading minds in Artificial Intelligence. 

See you there (or in Soho House sometime).

Rod Banner is Agent of Change at 3LA.com

Please login or register to add a comment.

Contribute Now!

Loving our articles? Do you have an insightful post that you want to shout about? Well, you've come to the right place! We are always looking for fresh Doughnuts to be a part of our community.

Popular Articles

See all
How to Collaborate With UGC Creators?

How to Collaborate With UGC Creators?

Learn how to boost your brand through UGC creator collaborations: define goals, identify and engage with creators, offer incentives, and measure success for long-term partnerships.

Shivam Rawat
Shivam Rawat 28 February 2024
Read more
Adapting B2B Digital Marketing for the Modern Buyer Journey

Adapting B2B Digital Marketing for the Modern Buyer Journey

Digital marketing also allows for precise tracking and measurement of marketing efforts, enabling data-driven decision-making and optimization. In an increasingly competitive B2B landscape, a well-executed digital...

Ghia Marnewick
Ghia Marnewick 21 February 2024
Read more
How To Be the Best Marketer in 2024: Traits According to Your Star Sign

How To Be the Best Marketer in 2024: Traits According to Your Star Sign

Have you ever wondered how your astrological sign might influence your marketing approach?

Jen Macdonald
Jen Macdonald 16 February 2024
Read more
7 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Important For Your Business

7 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Important For Your Business

In the past two decades social media has become a crucial tool for marketers, enabling businesses to connect with potential customers. If your business has yet to embrace social media and you want to know why it is...

Sharron Nelson
Sharron Nelson 29 February 2024
Read more
How to Review a Website — A Guide for Beginners

How to Review a Website — A Guide for Beginners

Whether you're a startup or an established business, the company website is an essential element of your digital marketing strategy. The most effective sites are continually nurtured and developed in line with...

Digital Doughnut Contributor
Digital Doughnut Contributor 7 January 2020
Read more