Outfront brings its XLabs to Cannes for the first time, hoping to draw a broader ad base

Cannes Lions used to be the place to see and be seen for creative excellence. But for the last 15 years or so, media companies and platforms have steadily muscled their way onto the beaches along the Croisette and the stages of the Palais des Festivals.

Among the many out of home companies that have trotted out their wares in Cannes is Outfront, currently headed by Cannes veteran Nick Brien, who’s interim CEO but has been on the board of Outfront for a decade. For the first time, Outfront is bringing along its XLabs — the cutting edge unit of Outfront that’s created all manner of new, mostly transit-related digital OOH executions being used by the likes of Aruba Tourism and Visit Fort Lauderdale (it’s popular with destination advertisers) and HBO Max.

Interestingly, XLabs is incorporating gamification elements into its offerings, such as quizzes for transit passengers, using touch screens and QR codes, explained Chad Shackelford, vp and head of digital creative at Outfront, who’s also a Cannes first-timer. An early test of the quiz technology ran around Halloween asked a variety of questions around New York-area supernatural trivia like the Jersey Devil.

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