AI talk returns to Cannes — but marketers want practicality over pontification

Yet again, generative AI is likely to be center stage at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity from June 16 to 20 – a development that may be expected for some agency execs and exhausting to others. 

“I wish there was a word counter that could somehow read the amount of times that AI gets mentioned at Cannes,” said Nick Miaritis, chief client officer at VaynerMedia, a creative and media agency. “I can’t even imagine that it lets any other word in.”

AI buzzwords and jargon, like digital twinning and anomaly detection, have saturated Cannes Lions and other industry conferences for the last two or three years. But agency execs say this year, they’re expecting more practicality and less hot air. Now, the focus is on how AI can improve marketing business ROI, whether that be creative automation, audience targeting or scale. Execs say they’re looking for data integrations to understand how AI can be paired with agency and brand client data, and efficiency outputs that’ll allow marketers to do more with less, from tech partners and AI platforms. 

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