Take a Sip of Rosé Every Time You Hear AI

Just kidding. Party smartly instead.

If there was a drinking game that would win them all, it would be the prompt to take a sip of rosé every time somebody said “AI” during this year’s Cannes Lions event. Just scan your favorite social feed and the verdict is in: AI was the event’s hottest topic.

Here at Smartly.io we are feverishly focused on AI, too, because we know that marketers need more intelligent tools to streamline and really maximize their ad dollars. AI will be marketers’ and creators' new co-pilot flying these great skies.

Instead of delivering a run-of-the-mill recap on the opportunity for brands, we’re rounding up some of our favorite content post-event, wrapped up in your inbox for easy scanning.

Social and Commerce: An advertiser’s ideal snacking combo

It’s like peanut butter and jelly: They just work together. For campaigns testing VSA vs. a conversion objective, marketers say a 20% average increase in ROAS. And roughly 90% of brands saw a performance lift. Video Shopping Ads (VSAs) are helping to deliver personalized recommendations to users based on their interactions.

The New View of UGC: 

There is a shift to UGC content and partnering with creators vs. traditional creative. TikTok is changing the social landscape in fundamental ways around short form video. This will change how we engage with sight, sound and motion. Marketers will now have to drive more effective performance marketing and effective advertising.

“Authenticity is at the core of everything,” noted Alvin Bowles, vice President Global Business Group, America's at Meta.” Once you've actually got someone's attention, what can you give them that is actually differentiated? I think the same thing is for advertisers as well. They’re always trying to catch the next thing, and everybody talks about the creator economy or the influencer economy, but the idea is to be able to make sure that you're putting elegantly placed advertising adjacent to content that actually resonates.”It's about making sure we're giving people the tools to tell them the stories that they want to be told.”

Diversity with a Capital “D”

Diversity is also driving smarter, more innovative creative methodologies. “We cannot underestimate the power of bringing different points of view to the table. A whole brain gets to better answers, effective answers. When you’re too comfortable, that's when you need to get people around the table who push you,” noted Smarty.io CEO Laura Desmond, during a conversation with DoubleVerify  the event. “That’s ‘diversity with a capital D’ for me.”

Check out some of our favorite post-event resources from these important industry outlets:

AdAge: AI AT CANNES—HOW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SHOWED UP ON THE CROISETTE 

Vox: The ad industry is going all-in on AI 

Variety: will.i.am Weighs in on the Future of A.I. in Creativity and Teases New Music at Cannes Lions

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Learn more about Smartly.io’s vision and focus for supporting the advancement of generative AI for creative advertising. 

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