Special Edition: Innovations from Cannes Lions

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is where the magic happens, and this year was no exception. Fetch was on the ground, diving into the buzz, debates and breakthrough moments that will define the future of advertising and marketing. 

Now, we’re back stateside, brimming with inspiration to help more consumers Live Rewarded. In this special edition of our newsletter, we’re excited to bring you the freshest, most impactful insights – straight from the sun-soaked French Riviera. Buckle up for a journey through the hottest trends and game-changing ideas from Cannes Lions 2024.

1. AI and automation

For the second year in a row, AI stole the spotlight at Cannes Lions. Generative AI’s impact on advertising is undeniable, and tech titans like Google, Meta, Amazon and TikTok took the stage to demonstrate how AI can transform campaign creation and personalization.

Fetch, too, is a leader in the AI space – our patented BrandChoice Tech leverages machine learning to rapidly optimize for the best-performing offers in the app, achieving true personalization at scale. We were delighted to participate in these discussions, sharing how our tech ensures brands connect with consumers in new and meaningful ways. 

AI isn’t just the future. It’s revolutionizing how we deliver personalized experiences today – and changing the conversation around creativity. For the first time ever, Cannes Lions implemented a new policy around AI usage in ads for award submissions. We’ll be curious to see whether other competitions implement similar policies going forward.

2. Turning cultural moments into opportunities for consumer interaction

Stagwell’s Sport Beach was a central hub for discussions on the power of cultural moments in advertising, with a spotlight on the upcoming Paris Olympics and U.S. presidential election. These events are becoming increasingly vital to digital advertising as they bring together diverse, engaged audiences. 

Fetch is among the powerful platforms where brands can activate during key cultural moments, like the holidays, the Super Bowl, back-to-school season and more. By leveraging these high-engagement periods, brands can create meaningful interactions with consumers, ensuring their messages resonate when it matters most. 

3. Retail media networks reign supreme

With the slow phase-out of third-party cookies, retail media networks have become indispensable for gathering first-party consumer data. These networks offer powerful opportunities for targeted advertising and advanced analytics, effectively bridging the gap between commerce and advertising. 

Discussions at Cannes highlighted how these networks must move “beyond the honeymoon phase” and demonstrate real volume to secure consistent investment from advertisers. Fetch, a retail-agnostic media platform, can support such efforts by bolstering insights with a retail-agnostic picture of the consumer. This type of collaboration ensures that brands receive comprehensive, actionable insights, enabling them to make more informed decisions and create highly targeted, effective campaigns. 

Cannes Lions 2024 showcased the dynamic nature of our industry and underscored how the work we’re doing at Fetch is perfectly aligned with the future of personalized consumer engagement and advertising. As we continue to evolve, we’re excited to help brands connect with consumers in meaningful ways.

Curious for more insights from Cannes? Get a play-by-play recap of the action on the Fetch at Cannes live blog. 

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All the best,

Fetch for Business