Next week, the brightest minds in the industry will congregate in the picturesque South of France for the Academy Awards of media: The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. I’m a Cannes first-timer, so needless to say, I’m giddy to discover which groundbreaking campaigns earn top recognition as well as hear speakers cover topics on mixed reality, messaging, voice activation, and machine learning. As a member of our Life+ North America team, Mindshare’s specialty innovation and emerging technology division, it’s especially exciting to see many of our core themes, like artificial intelligence, prioritized throughout the Festival. People and machines have natural synergies, so I look forward to learning how Cannes’ panelists either reinforce or challenge this relationship when building digital products to enhance the human experience.
Healthcare is an excellent example of an industry that machine learning is revolutionizing. A traditionally ‘unsexy’ field, healthcare companies are now utilizing artificial intelligence to build more customized, automated, and convenient experiences for patients and doctors. Cannes sessions like Health Wars, The Last Doctor and the Rise of AI will explore how healthcare systems are incorporating this futuristic cognitive technology to improve on the care they provide.
From a media agency perspective, the constant growth of websites and platforms presents a substantial challenge when trying to verify that our clients’ ads are being seen by the right people, at the right time. Therefore, a method to easily compile relevant data and untangle online consumer journeys is vital to informing our decisions. Enter artificial intelligence. AI works in conjunction with human creativity to enhance existing processes, making real-time changes to branded messaging and experiences based on the information it’s constantly ingesting. Tech giants like Tencent, the mastermind behind China’s WeChat, will make an appearance at Cannes to discuss how they’re capitalizing on the benefits of machine learning to provide relevant, optimal experiences for their millions of consumers. Other sessions such as Digital Voices, Human Conversations, featuring global Twitter exec Bruce Dalsley, will delve into how social media, chatbots, and voice technology are enabling new ways for brands to engage with their consumers. C’est cool!
While the interaction between people and machines will undoubtedly capture most of my attention at Cannes, I also can’t wait to hear from females leaders on gender equality as women are an undeniable force in the tech industry. Mainly, I’m honored to be chosen among other inspiring Mindshare Young Lions from across the globe to attend Cannes and bring back knowledge of new technologies, frameworks, and resources to improve our client deliverables. I plan on fully immersing myself in the rich culture of Cannes, drinking arguably too much rosé, and geeking out over tech products and innovators (especially glass-ceiling-shattering women!). See you all in France!
Read it also on mindshareworld.com.
