WPP has given up its prized beach at the Cannes Lions, the core of its festival presence. Last year it won Holding Company of the Year, which doubtless led to party time at the beach although, with things back at London HQ rapidly heading south, this wasn’t necessarily a good look.
No word yet on whether new CEO Cindy Rose’s economy drive will result in fewer or even no awards entries. when Publicis canned these pre-lockdown to spend the money on Marcel it was reported as saving €50m. A worrying prospect for new Cannes owner Informa.
Taking over the Miramar Beach location is independent agency PMG, which plans an AI-focused space to position itself as a tech leader rather than a conventional agency. PMG founder George Popstefanov says: “Since day one, I’ve forbidden people to use the word ‘agency’ internally. I’ve always thought of us as a technology company that just happens to do marketing.”
Cannes is rapidly turning into a version of CES by the sea, dominated by tech companies who already bag most of the yacht places. The last fun one was arguably 2016 with the highlight Johnny Hornby and client News International’s yacht party featuring Take That and Fatboy Slim. The fact that Brexit was announced the next morning took the shine off it for some.
