06.22.2018

The Vieux from Cannes

Peter Hubbell is back at Cannes after a 12 year hiatus. He’s posting his “on-site insights” real time on social media. This page is collecting his experiences in the Palais and on the Croisette that is affecting marketing in the age of aging.

Tuesday 9:25am UTC/GMT What’s that sound?

Hans Brouwer – founder of Massive Music – reminds us that we should think strategically about brand sound. Most brands have well-written brand equity statements, but many do not include a specific intent for sound. Apparently, we respond 17% faster to sound than to visuals, so in a day and age when our eyes are bombarded by screens and images, it’s wise to remember that you can’t close your ears. If you’re looking for an edge in today’s ultra-competitive market, you may just need a vision for sound.

Tuesday 11:47 UTC/GMT Handle with care

Kudos to P&G’s Gillette for its early Gold Lion in Health & Wellness. Gillette R&D has created a new razor from the vantage point of caregivers who help older men with a daily routine that they can no longer accomplish on their own. Innovation that simultaneously helps the under-appreciated men and women who administer care to the elderly, while also giving the elderly the dignity of a daily ritual done well. Another Gold Lion went to a project that is growing potatoes on Mars. Fascinating yes, but I would vote for innovation with feeling everytime.

Wednesday 12:34 UTC/GMT Pushing back on the “Purpose Backlash”

As the ad industry shifts its focus to doing great work for good, it’s also evoking Newton’ third law of motion. For every action that’s positive, there’s a critic with an equal and opposite reaction. To all those who think that purpose marketing has run its faddish course, I encourage you to get beyond the trappings of award contests that are hard wired to reward the next new thing. Purpose Marketing is marketing’s ultimate reason for being. Marketing is what we do, leveraging the soul of brands to promote good in the world is what we need to do, and do more of, not less.

Wednesday 2:17 UTC/GMT It’s time to be more creative about being creative

As part of The Economist’s breakfast program at Cannes Lions Beach, Antonio Lucio, the CMO of Hewlett Packard spoke of an innovative role in his marketing organization: The CAO, aka The Chief Alignment Officer. As the outside world we do business in gets more complex, we need to get simpler inside. We have to go beyond just creating great ideas; now we also need to be creative about how we organize to make great ideas happen.

Thursday 11:14 UTC/GMT The and’s are hard to get done

Great observation by Alison Lewis, CMO of J&J. In our commitment to focus and a yearning to make the best choice, we live in an “either or” world. Because the scale of business today is so vast and complex, the single best option is rarely enough. The and’s matter more than ever, but they’re hard to get done when they’re positioned as supplemental. Marketing to age tends to be seen as an incremental priority but for many brands, it’s fast becoming core.