Cannes Lions 2023: Eight Creative Experiential Tactics We Loved
Top players from the marketing and advertising community cruised into the French Riviera in June for five days of industry collaboration and education at the 70th annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. And amid the formal sessions, awards programming and opulent yacht parties, sponsors stole a slice of the spotlight with enticing brand environments and experiences deployed all along the Croisette. Naturally, the stakes are particularly high when you’re building an activation for some of the world’s most talented creatives—and several brands delivered (while others may have gone a bit too far this year). So we cherry-picked some of the most intriguing experiential touchpoints and tactics from this year’s festival.
More Cannes Lions Strategies:
- Q&A: Meta’s Global Experiential Lead on the 2023 Cannes Lions Reels SuperStudio
- Live From Cannes Lions 2022: Inside Five Engagement-rich Brand Activations
A physical expression of Pinterest trends
Pinterest ditched the conventional Cannes panels, presentations and fireside chats at its footprint at Carlton Beach in favor of a colorful immersion into its social platform dubbed the Pinterest Manifestival. The concept was inspired by Gen Z’s perception of Pinterest as a “manifestation” app that helps them plan events and discover new lifestyle ideas. Leaning into that insight at Cannes, the brand implemented an off-beat activation strategy that showcased its new products and emerging Pinterest trends.
A highlight was the Future You Studio built for self-expression that included the return of Pinterest’s real-deal, pop-up tattoo parlor, as well as hair styling, piercings and tooth gems—all inspired by Gen Z’s behavior on Pinterest. Among other noteworthy Manifestival touchpoints: Artists that helped attendees create custom merch to bring home, tastings of trendy global fare (think: ice cream topped with mini croissants) and a chance to learn how Pinterest users are manifesting their next travel destination, along with a look at products designed to help brands get involved in that journey. Agency: Amplify.
Photo credit: Pinterest
TikTok’s merch play
Along with traditional panel sessions, creative workshops and an open space designed for mingling at the Carlton Hotel, TikTok took to the Croisette with street teams that distributed everything from bucket hats to water bottles to phone-powered fans to tote bags with pop culture messaging, like “In My Tote Era.” The items not only helped attendees beat the heat, but turned them into walking billboards as they donned the merchandise across the event.
A powerhouse brand collab
As far as brand partnerships go, Snapchat’s collaboration with Disney at this year’s festival was one for the books. Rather than create separate footprints at the event, the powerhouse brands created one larger-than-life exhibition at Malmaison. The collaborative experience served as an opportunity to highlight the companies’ new augmented reality partnership, which is designed to enhance storytelling and bring to life iconic Disney characters as part of the brand’s 100th anniversary celebration. The interactive, AR-powered experience invited attendees to digitally travel to the oceans in “Avatar: The Way of Water,” rocket into space with the “Guardians of the Galaxy” crew and find out how wishes are granted in Disney’s upcoming film “Wish,” among experiences.
@jakuniverse Super expérience ! #disney #disneysnapchatcannes #snapchat #immersion #cannes #marvel #avatar #gardiendelagalaxie #themandalorian #starwars ♬ Disney-style fanfare-style BGM – harryfaoki
Meta’s Message in a Bottle
(Photo: Sean Ebsworth Barnes)
Meta’s shoreside footprint featured the creator-themed Reels SuperStudio, curated by KidSuper Studios’ Colm Dillane, which guided attendees through the process of crafting their own reels. There were also mixed reality games to play, a coffee bar, presentations and a wearable tech demo. But a stand-out touchpoint was the brand’s “Message in a Bottle” experience, which entailed scanning a QR code and interacting with a chatbot, which then prompted “bubbles” to be released from the top of a gigantic green glass bottle installation—not your average Cannes Lions experience.
“The genesis of that was thinking about, how do we bring greater connection to the creative Cannes community?” says Damien Baines, global experiential lead at Meta. “It’s a prompt to ask a question or share a thought or idea. For a very long time, in humanity, traditionally you would throw a message in a bottle as a way of trying to connect and see who’s on the other side. That’s the creative play there.”
(For an in-depth conversation with Baines on the SuperStudio and Meta’s strategic marketing goals, click here.) Agency: Jack Morton Worldwide.
—Kaylee Hultgren
Bringing Cannes to the metaverse
PwC had a physical presence at Cannes Lions that encompassed a series of tech-forward sessions, but for those who couldn’t make it, the brand crafted an accessible virtual experience that served as a digital recreation of the Cannes landscape and the French Riviera. Virtual attendees were invited to hop aboard PwC’s digital yacht to watch daily event summary streams, “walk” the red carpet, connect with other industry professionals and even snap selfies on the “beach.” Agency: Virbela (metaverse environment).
Sprite’s real-time bottle messaging
Sprite at Cannes Lions? Oh, yes. The company arrived with a clever strategy that played into its “Heat Happens, Stay Cool” campaign. A #SendSprite platform developed for the event invited attendees to scan QR codes to log “heated moments”—industry- and Cannes-related gripes. The messages were then printed on Sprite cans in real time and delivered to the participant, or picked up inside the brand’s signature green-infused footprint, helping keep attendees cool in the summer heat. Among the printed grievances: “Had that idea in 2008,” “Called my CFO ‘Mom’” and “6 a.m. bed, 7 a.m. start.’” Agency: Ogilvy.
We’ve got the perfect antidote for #Cannesxiety. Check out how our Global CCO @otherliztaylor cools down during #CannesLions2023‘s most heated moments. Give this QR code a scan with your own heated Cannes story for a Sprite delivered straight to you. #SendSprite #OgilvyCannes pic.twitter.com/HHLW92bKet
— Ogilvy (@Ogilvy) June 22, 2023
Spotify’s artist partnerships
In addition to an expansive beach footprint, Spotify hosted an elegant opening night event at a private villa where VIPs could mingle, enjoy F&B and catch a headlining performance by H.E.R., who ended up inspiring the experience design. Indeed, the décor of the event was anchored by a mural crafted by London-based artist Lakwena Maciver, who used lyrics from H.E.R.’s “Damage” to create the artwork. “This lyric ‘giving me life’ from H.E.R. really captured for me this idea of a celebration of life,” Maciver says. Agency: The Park.
Photo credit: Spotify
Reddit’s ‘drops’
From “What perfume do you get the most compliments on?” to “Which alien movie should I watch,” Reddit is a hub for users to seek and find recommendations on any and every topic. So to bring that aspect of the platform to life during its return to Cannes, among an array of touchpoints, the social network activated daily “Reddit Drops.” Attendees inside its “Reddit Recommends” activation had a chance to score some of the most-talked-about brand products on the platform at that exact time. Ultimately, 50 people per day walked away with on-trend items like Apple AirPods and Chanel perfume. Ooh la la. Agency: Giant Spoon.
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