In recent years, the very fabric of Cannes Lions has changed as digital has become more prevalent in the creative process.
Indeed, this year, the organisers of this prestigious event have responded to that change with the introduction of Lions Innovation.
This two-day festival within the festival will look specifically at how data, technology and creativity intersect, underlying the importance of ad tech in creativity.
Arguably, traditional media – print, TV, radio and, to some extent, desktop – are no longer the centre of consumers’ lives. The one piece of tech that sits unequivocally at the centre is mobile.
Mobile is the hotbed of innovation – in addressability, engagement, attribution and transparency. But even as data, technology and creativity collide, a new set of challenges are emerging.
Simply put, marketers don’t want to "learn a new language" to make mobile work – they want mobile to fit into how they already buy. And, at the same time, they want to take advantage of those areas where mobile is potentially superior.
We are committed to making mobile simple. We want our partners to trust that campaign results will be on a par with or better than other media, and we are confident that trust in mobile will move the ecosystem forward.
As such, we have identified five core areas where the ad tech market can be simplified.
Make data simple
As marketers aggregate more data from more sources, the mobile-centric data management platform will help to realise the full value of large volumes of data. It is only through DMPs that advertisers will be able to make sense of mobile data, ingesting billions of data points to build up a deeper, enriched picture of audiences that can be targeted simply and at scale.
Make buying simple
How the industry buys and sells media is changing, and change can be overwhelming. Mobile programmatic is helping brands reach highly targeted audiences and ramp up campaigns quickly, with access to billions of impressions per day in real time.
However, some brands still prefer traditional approaches to media buying. There are also many more that want the ability to combine full-service and programmatic in the same campaign. Our job is to provide this choice.
Make creative simple
New mobile creative ad formats, enabled through deep software development kit integrations, are emerging and being deployed more frequently, but how can brands best bring creative to life on the mobile screen with these formats?
The mobile medium presents unique opportunities for creative interaction, as the latest ad units engage a consumer’s sense of sight, hearing and touch.
Video, in particular, is proving to be especially key in compelling new mobile creative, with engagement on mobile almost three times higher than on desktop.
Make viewability simple
There is, quite simply, no point in making beautiful creative and compelling content if people cannot see it.
Thanks to recent technological leaps, it is now possible to measure whether an ad is viewable on mobile devices, and we are putting our stake in the ground by rolling out 100 per cent viewable guarantees for in-app mobile ads that remove the complexities for brands in ensuring ads are being seen.
Make measurement simple
Mobile campaigns are held to high measurement standards but, when done right, mobile can truly close the marketing loop – including the ability to put data in and get data back out.
Ad tech now needs to ensure that it takes mobile measurement beyond the click, by connecting the physical and digital worlds via metrics such as foot traffic to allow brands to measure the impact of their advertising like never before.
By Zac Pinkham, managing director EMEA Millennial Media