After a year of cuts in staff and fees as clients demand more for less, global agency networks sent fewer of their people for a shorter time.
The entertainment was low-key, the yachts less in evidence and the big beach parties largely missing. The significant drop in delegate numbers and entries due to budgetary restraints was a clear indication that the industry will have to weather another difficult year before any real recovery comes through.
The entertainment was low-key, the yachts less in evidence and the big beach parties largely missing. The significant drop in delegate numbers and entries due to budgetary restraints was a clear indication that the industry will have to weather another difficult year before any real recovery comes through.
But the gloom of the recession that lingered over the festival this year was not all negative. The quality of the festival had significantly improved, as agencies were forced to cut their budgets and be more selective about attendees.
Importantly, senior clients were still present. They may not have been there in large groups, but the likes of Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s were still there. And, it was arguably the festival’s best seminar line-up ever, from Kofi Annan, Bob Geldof and David Plouffe, Barack Obama’s campaign manager, to Microsoft’s chief executive, Steve Ballmer - although his views that the traditional advertising economy has been permanently ‘reset’ at a lower level were not necessarily the most reassuring for the industry.
So, what did I learn at Cannes? Some of the network heads suggested that things are not, perhaps, as bad as they might have been and that the worst may now be behind us. While confidence among clients has improved, it isn’t yet stretching to their advertising. Prices have been cut and there is greater caution over new ideas. Performance and efficiency is everything. The good news is that the advertising market should see some recovery and growth return in 2010, with China and India leading the way. The bad news, it won’t return to the highs of 2007. Clearly, nobody seems to expect fees to rise back to pre-recession levels soon.
On agencies, it was apparent that big and small shops play important roles to major marketers. But in the battle to emerge stronger than the other, the big boys are likely to win.
We are going to see not only more consolidation among groups, but also more consolidation from clients. The crisis will change the balance of power between ad agencies and their holding groups. Unsurprisingly, one of the most talked-about issues of the festival was digital strategy and integration. But, while traditional agencies wrestled with how best to tackle online and mobile advertising for product and agency structure, clients complained too much time was being spent discussing the channel - and not enough on the ideas that drive the business.
As for the work, in an age of consumer engagement and brand conversation, the campaign that encouraged the greatest level of participation stood to win big at Cannes. The most coveted prize of film Grand Prix went to an ad that wasn’t made for TV, while a PR campaign broke the record for winning the most Grand Prix in a single festival.
So the underlying message from this year’s Cannes? Be prepared; the industry is changing into something very different.
Got a view?
Email atifa.silk@media.asia
