As ever, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity was a marathon of ideas and insights. Now into its 61st year, this action packed festival, set along the French Riviera, attracted over 12,000 people from 94 countries. There was no shortage of data or points-of-view. Liberty & Co. took a few steps back to distill for you what we found to be the key, and consistent, themes.

1. Think. Connect. Elevate. | shannon@libertyandco.ca | libertyandco.ca
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L&Co.
TRENDS
2014 TOP

2. As ever, the Cannes Lions International Festival of
Creativity was a marathon of ideas and insights. Now
into its 61st year, this action packed festival, set along
the French Riviera, attracted over 12,000 people from
94 countries. There was no shortage of data or
points-of-view. Liberty & Co. took a few steps back
to distill for you what we found to be the key, and
consistent, themes.
TRENDS
2014 TOP

3. ‘Datamagination’ should have won a Lion for the
best buzzword on the Croisette this year. As
the industry finds its feet in the shifting sands of
the creativity and data convergence, there was
much debate on the importance and application
of data.Ultimately, tech companies can’t ignore
the beauty of creativity.And so-called creative
agencies can’t ignore the measurement of data.
It’s a symbiotic relationship.
No surprise, really, that the swankiest events are
no longer hosted by the big creative agencies but,
rather, from the likes of Google, Twitter, and
Microsoft. These enormous digital and tech
platforms were clearly out to flaunt to the
creative community that they, too, can foster
compelling content and brand advertising.
Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer keynote address
demonstrated her love for art, including our
favorite Chihuly—and how this can relate to the
creation of powerful stories on Tumblr.
Meanwhile, Google’s ‘Creative Sandbox’ on the
beach, accelerated this year with lightning talks,
coding for juice, and a trial of Google Glass. (For
the record, DVF was our preferred choice.)
BBH’s iconic ad man, John Hegarty, and Droga5
creative visionary, Dave Droga, agreed in a press
conference that creativity must remain to be at
the heart of the business,even within this big data
debate. Advertising must still capture people’s
imagination. Hegarty strongly suggested that big
data itself isn’t the solution. Creativity must still
be implemented to turn the intelligence of
data into magic—for people are always most
interested in what technology can do for them.
There is little doubt that data alone does not
equal insight. Human perception must always
interpret data, and data will guide human
understanding. Data should be treated as a
partner of creativity, as it can help us understand,
but it can’t predict the future.
Datamagination
Building great brands is
a mix of magic and logic,
a blend of art and science.
KEITH WEED, Chief Marketing &
Communications Officer at Unilever
ONE

4. Purpose-driven, meaningful campaigns set the
stage this year at Cannes. Google’s new study
uncovered that consumer purchasing is all about
purpose:
Consumers are 1.5 more likely to choose brands
that engage them on their passions and interests
than items that simply urge them to buy the
advertised product. There is a new consumer
mindset with a perspective that has implications
for purchasing behaviour: they shop with the
same purpose with which they consume content.
What does this mean for brands? Success will
require creating content that is share-worthy.
And media plans will require being spot-on points
of influence. As well, brands that provide
consumers with ownership-like experiences for
their products will win at the point-of-purchase.
BBDO’s session ‘Nice is the New Black’,
extended the theme of creating purpose. David
Lubars, Chairman / Chief Creative Officer, spoke
of the importance in creating beautiful stories of
relevancy and purpose—especially in today’s
complex, and often cynical, world. Therefore,
creating purpose-driven content is more
important than ever before.
Brands that help people to feel
are the brands that win.
TARA WALPERT LEVY,
Director of Marketing, Google
TWO
Brands With Purpose
Will Win!

5. Nanotechnology. Biotechnology and extended
consciousness? PHD’s Mind Trip session coined
‘A Complete Reboot of the Way we See the
World’ was the most talked-about, awe-inspiring
session from techno-philosopher, Jason Silva.
Jason’s evangelistic style and captivating theories
revealed how human attention spans are a scarce
resource to compete for. Understanding that,
the world needs more ‘shots of awe’ to reboot,
refresh and reset our imaginations.
The audience was presented films on the
evolution of technology and biology — seeing it
not as a linear process, but at a rapid, exponential
rate that will amplify the effects on human
intelligence.With this intelligence — not singular,
but global human intelligence — he believes that
this is the time where we genuinely have the
power to change the world. And that everyone
has the opportunity to do so.
Applying the magic of wonder ultimately opens
the door to more creative thinking.This is what
allows us to transcend what we ‘know’ without
sinking under the weight of evaluation. In our
most creative moments, it is wonder that saves
us from overthinking and keeps us creatively
inspired.
Ben Silberman, CEO Pinterest, views stimulating
creativity by putting the magical experience of
discovery online. People are the ‘other’ that put
the magic into digital ‘a-ha’ moments.
Silberman described Pinterest as a visual
search-engine to allow exploration of a database
of images and ideas for inspiration — or to find
other people with similar tastes as yours. He
referred to the millions of Pinterest users as
“curators”, depicting his company as more
interested in art and beauty than as a company
of pure tech. His fastest-growing, image-based,
social-network site is a platform routed in
technology but, according to Silberman, it’s really
about visual splendor and creativity.
It’s time for a reboot of
how we see the world.
JASON SILVA, Futurist
THREE
MagicThe
Behind Discovery

6. Wendy Clark, SVP Integrated Marketing at
Coca-Cola, was her sparkling and strategic self,
focusing on the importance of real-time
marketing. “The rush to real-time content
generation isn’t a rush to just more content: It
has to be more good content,” she said.
Via Skype, Clarke brought the entire audience for
her Cannes session to Coke's Consumer
Interaction Center in Rio. Clarke insisted brands
could not afford to ignore the conversation:
"Silence is not an option. In a socially networked
world you are not safe being silent.Your truths
will be filled in for you.You must engage in the
conversation around your brand and your
company."
The need for agility and flexibility was another
core theme. And that speed must trump
perfection. However, Clarke said this was not a
call for more content: “The world doesn’t need
more content, the world needs more good
content.We’ve got to put out work that matters
into this real-time conversation."
In short, the guiding values for Coca-Cola in
real-time marketing are:
Speed trumps perfection.
WENDY CLARK, Coca-Cola
Marketing Chief
Silence is not an option – if you don’t
speak someone will for you.
Speed trumps perfection.
Develop new models of working and new
ways of making.
Do work that matters.The world doesn't
need more content, the world needs
more good content.
Learn more, guess less. Measurement is
real-time so we know in real-time when
we haven't succeeded.
Be more open, more transparent, more
real, allow more humanity.
Think like a global newsroom.
FOUR
Real-Time
Marketing

7. People understand most profoundly through
story. Over thousands of years, this has not
changed.What has, are the tools we employ to
tell our stories. Storytelling was a prominent
theme at the festival. Many high-profile speakers
made storytelling their topic — from celebrities
like Kayne West, Bono, and Spike Jonze to brand
storytellers like BBH’s Sir John Hegarty,
SapientNitro’s Gaston Legorburu, and Twitter’s
Joel Lunefeld.
Twitter’s session on storytelling focused on the
beauty of the live nature of its platform to create,
share and experience stories. With the
increasingly real-time nature of creativity, it is
essential for brands to listen to and learn from
consumers. Joel Lunefeld suggested,“We’re set up
like classical orchestras but we should be like jazz
players and riff off each other to improve ideas.”
During Twitter’s live session, President of the Art
Director’s Club, Ignacio Oreamuno, illustrated
the power and importance of social listening.
He referenced a thought-provoking campaign
for charity: Water is Life. The video features
Haitian children and adults reading “the everyday
gripes and minor irritations first-world citizens
post on Twitter with the popular hashtag
#FirstWorldProblems”.
Not only do we need good stories, we need new
and interesting ways to tell them. A Grand Prix
awarded content-driven campaign ‘Cultivate a
Better World’ from Chipotle tells a compelling
story of the brand’s journey to create a
sustainable future. The brand takes on big food
issues in order to highlight its own sustainability
sourced brand ethos.The campaign launched on
YouTube, as well as an interactive game and
mobile coupon to drive consumers to Chipotle
restaurants. It was the storytelling that made
this campaign stand out. Through the art of
gamification, the content was entertaining,
memorable and share-worthy.
FIVE
Storytelling
The intersection between linear
storytelling and social
engagement is the next big thing.
JEFFREY KATZENBERG,
CEO DreamWorks Animation

8. We believe that every company, every brand and
every executive has a story to tell. And really,
what’s a compelling story without the right
audience to share it with? Liberty & Co. is a
strategic communications consultancy dedicated
to elevating your profile, both corporate and
professional. By crafting impactful stories to
amplify your brand in media, online, and into
conversations, we’re out to win the hearts and
minds of all your reputation stakeholders — your
employees, clients, and the business community.
Nimble and connected, at Liberty & Co. we make
things happen. By leveraging our global expertise
and fingertip-access to the most talented
resources in media, design, and technology,
we ensure your story reaches the right audience.
President of Liberty & Co.
Communications
Shannon Lewis