Digitology: The Evolution of Marketing - Cannes Lions

Day 2:

Accenture (Workshop)

My day began with the workshop hosted by Mark Inskip of Accenture titled Creating the Ultimate Web Presence with Your Brand. The world of marketing is changing dynamically. The change is driven by the creation of emerging technologies. The Accenture workshop dealt with how the Web communications of many popular brands influence their Brand equities in the 21st Century. Major brands must be able to creativitely communicate with consumers to get their message across. Inskip went on to say, "Creativity is essential, but not at the expense of usefulness." In essence, the workshop stressed that companies must take into consideration the "total user experience" by not sacrificing a consumers need of information with just a visually appealing experience.

Profero (Seminar)

The second event I attended was a seminar hosted by speakers Daryl Arnold, Wayne Arnold and Lord David Puttnam of Profero. The seminar was titled Digitology: The Revelations. The presentation started off with several questions aimed toward the audience and their use of social media content. The questions ranged from "Do you use facebook?" to "How many of you have ever heard of Twitter?." The purpose of the questions was intended to create the understanding of how the Internet has gone "mainstream." Although the term "mainstream" has carried a negative association in the last decade, Puttnam disagrees with the negative association to the Internet. As advertisers in the digital era, both Wayne and Daryl Arnold stressed the importance of connecting and understanding the audience [consumers]. We must understand that "Digital is no longer a new media, it is mass media." Profero/Lord David Puttnam

IGA (Workshop)

The second workshop I attended today was hosted by speakers Ed Bartlett and Guiseppe Bellanca of IGA. IGA, or In-Game Advertising represents a much more digitally focused approach to advertising in the 21st Century for brands. With a projected forecast market value of $950 million in 2011, IGA is the hottest media opportunity for many popular brands. The purpose of IGA is quite simple as Bartlett states, "IGA enables advertisers to target millions of engaged customers across a wide range of platforms. In-Game Advertising understands the need to create an artificial real-world experience with gamers.  3rd Party Research has found that 70% of gamers find that real brands/products make video games more realistic. Furthermore, 57% of players feel In-Game Advertising is a more relevant approach to advertising than other types of advertising. IGA is allowing advertisers to target specific demographics directly. IGA represents a fresh, new and exciting solution for advertisers seeking diverse opportunities. IGA and Battlefield 2142

Until next time,

Cheers!

Irving Escobar