Monday morning, back to the Marina for a run and some stretch and I was ready to go. Decided to spend the day again in Seminars, but today I picked the ones that mattered to me. I was beginning to get the hang of how to get the best from the festival – spread yourself across a range of activities.

Day II highlight sessions for me were the PWC media and entertainment outlook till 2013 (www.pwc.com/outlook). The personality of the day was Biz Stone (the co-founder of twitter)who did a live tweet-up with the audience.
Biz Stone - Twitter Co-founder
Title: Biz Stone, The Co-founder of Twitter

PWC conducts a global media and entertainment outlook survey and they shared their findings for the five year outlook till 2013 at the festival. Their research showed that the total global advertising spends in 2013 will be 13.3% lower than 08 whilst the digital would increase from 21% to 31%! Traditional advertising expenditure will continue to go southwards. All roads seem to lead in one direction: digital. As Marcel Fenez, PwC, said “there is no place to hide from the digital transformation.” According to their research, there are three trends driving this transformation, mentioned briefly below:
1. Digital Migration: more connected consumers than ever before and rising. Internet has already overtaken TV viewers!

2. Digital Acceleration: consumers quest for value more than ever before. Times are hard and using internet is simply cheaper than consuming traditional media!

3. Digital Transformation: new business models will emerge that will outrun the traditional business model, e.g. their research showed that consumers are happy to watch commercials for free content as long as they are targeted to them and valuable to them.

Lesson: mass media aimed at broad segments will eventually be out. Micro-targeting will be the new currency! If you just look at the T-shirt of the future being displayed at the festival, you will know what I mean. The PM of Japan, premiered this interactive T-shirt at the WEF, Davos!
The T-shirt of the Future
Title: T-shirt of the Future at the Cannes Advertising Festival

Carol Cone talked about why doing good is becoming an obligation for brands . Using powerful case studies she showed how brands that support ‘causes’ and are seen as ‘responsible’ win not only the hearts and minds of consumers but also their wallets. Want some insights of her work? Press the link http://www.coneinc.com/research/. Carol was one of the jury members for the PR Lions and it was a real pleasure to get to meet with her and have the opportunity to get some insights. She writes a regular blog. You can follow her (http://www.coneinc.com/whatdoyoustandfor). Enjoy. One of the campaigns she showed is a PR Lion winner!

The last item of the day was the tweet up with Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter. He was in conversation with the CMO of Hill and Knowlton who has sponsored the session. It was great to hear how Twitter was born and how it has impacted not only business but politics and society. When asked “what is Twitter?” He said, “A communication network that allows to communicate and share real time.” What struck me was his simplicity and humility and the easy going manner! You can follow him on www.twitter.com/biz.

Of course the PR Lions were handed out in real style, almost like the Oscars but without the entertainment. I am sure by now the lists are already out. If you have not yet seen them go to www.canneslions.com. Hopefully we will see a much stronger presence and performance from India in time to come. We saw a lot of campaigns win that tug at your heart, make a real difference to society at large and drive social change, where PR plays the most effective role. Is there a lesson to be learned by us?

Tomorrow I intend to spend time going through the entries that were shortlisted and seeing the films. That should expand my horizons.

Thanks for reading and join the debate.

Think it over.

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