A new crew of internet advertising darlings is trying to park their yachts and lay down their beach blankets along the Cannes coast at this year’s advertising festival. Amazon, TikTok, and Roku are all trying to make their marks with their first official appearances at the yearly marketing confab in the South of France, which runs from June 20 to 24. Netflix and Apple are also sending people to the event, only with a less obvious footprint, according to people familiar with their plans.
There was a land rush from big tech companies in the months leading up to Cannes, and veterans of the festival—including Meta, Google, Pinterest and Spotify—secured their usual spots beachside, which are considered the top-tier of Cannes properties. Newcomer Amazon has a place at the Vieux Port de Cannes; the port also is where ad tech companies dock their yachts. At the east end of the festival, Roku will have a cabana near the Pointe Croisette. TikTok is in a cabana across from the Palais.
Tech has become a core part of the festival, and this year the topics up for discussion are broad. Meta continues its pivot to the metaverse, and Sheryl Sandberg, its longtime ad leader, is leaving. Google is rearranging how advertising technology works on Android phones and web browsers to adjust to new privacy norms. Amazon is plowing into the ad tech space and taking over streaming video with Twitch, Freevee and NFL games on Prime Video. Twitter, meanwhile, is full of intrigue with a possible takeover by Elon Musk, and Snap is developing its platform, while also competing with TikTok. Tech companies will all address subjects around diversity and inclusion in advertising, and within their creator economies. There are knotty topics such as measurement and data that need to be addressed, and there are concerns about the economy that could affect how marketers spend their money in the year ahead.
With all that in mind, here is how tech and advertising will make their mark at Cannes.
Amazon drops anchor
“Everyone is buzzing about Amazon’s port,” said Jamie Gutfreund, chief marketing officer at Whalar, the influencer marketing platform. “They make it sound like it’s got scale, and it’s got content.” From a branding perspective, Amazon will be a major draw, Gutfreund said.
Amazon also has a Twitch apartment space outside the port area.
Michael Kassan, CEO of MediaLink, the consulting firm that has a large portfolio of events at Cannes every year, said Amazon would drive the action toward its new center of gravity at the port. “All movement is toward that end of the Croisette,” Kassan said.
Netflix sets sales
Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos is attending the festival and speaking, the company confirmed. Netflix is one of the most buzzed-about companies heading into Cannes because it announced intentions to grow an ads business this year.
Cannes is a prime opportunity for Netflix to check out the ad tech vendors. Cannes also has been known to be a place where the industry looks for talent. “Netflix is talking to a lot of people everywhere to try to get sellers,” said one ad industry executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “If you’re a seller right now, and you have a book of business, you’re a hot commodity.”
Also read: How Netflix can build its ad business