#120: Cannes Lions Preview
Run down of where to connect in Cannes.
House Keeping: We rescheduled our Quo Vadis and Above Data pre-Cannes webinar with Justin Evans — Author of “The Little Book of Data” — for June 10, 10 AM ET. Join us for a fast-paced, story-filled guide to understanding how data solves real-world problems. It’s the “Freakonomics” of amazing data stories.
Monday, June 16
WHY MOST BRANDS MISS THE MARK – HOW TO CONNECT AUDIENCE RESEARCH, DATA, AND MEDIA FOR SMARTER CAMPAIGNS
Networking Breakfast hosted by Landmark and Bright Mountain Media
Monday, June 16 | 9:00 to 10:00 AM | Belle Plage Beach Club
Most ads miss the mark—81% of audiences say they're not seeing anything relevant. Too many brands still rely on guesswork.
Join us for a beachfront breakfast on Monday, June 16, where we’ll explore a better path. Bright Mountain CEO Matt Drinkwater, Aruba Tourism CMO Sanju Luidens, and Landmark’s Tom Triscari & John Kunschner will unpack how connected audience strategies and full-funnel execution helped Aruba move the needle.
Real talk, real results. Are you building better campaigns—or just buying impressions?
ADVERTISING ECONOMIC FORUM: CANNES LUNCH EDITION
Monday, June 16 | 1:00 to 2:30 PM | Belle Plage Beach Club
An interactive talk and Q&A with Chris George from Sovrn, Alex Stone from Horizon Media, Heather Carver from Freewheel, Tom Triscari, and Rob Beeler. Hosted by Sovrn and the Advertising Economic Forum (f/k/a “AdTech” Economic Forum).
This 3-course seated lunch will bring together a curated group of publishers, advertisers, DSPs, and agencies for a focused conversation on aligning publisher and advertiser incentives toward a healthier media dollar.
If this sounds like a conversation you'd like to join, please raise your hand to request an invite here. Preference will be given to attendees bringing direct perspective and strategic insight to the discussion.
PS — Did you notice that “AdTech” Economic Forum is rebranding as “Advertising Economic Forum?” We’ll tell you know about it in Cannes!
COMMERCE & THE SHIFTING ECONOMY
Monday, June 16 | 3:30 to 4:30 PM | Criteo HQ Yacht
Join AdTech veteran and board member Ana Milicevic as she interviews Brian Wieser from Madison & Wall and Tom Triscari from Quo Vadis, along with Brendan McCarthy, CMO at Criteo.
Marketers are rethinking budgets, reallocating resources, and reshaping strategies to stay effective and resilient in an unpredictable economy.
As economic conditions change, marketers are challenged to do more with less—balancing brand-building with performance and short-term agility with long-term vision.
Together with key industry voices and analysts, we’ll unpack the question on everyone’s mind: How can marketers evolve to stay connected with customers and consumers amid a shifting economy?
After the discussion, stay aboard for networking and refreshments as we keep the conversation going. Seats are limited — reserve yours today!
UNPLGD… AN ACOUSTIC BEACH SING-ALONG PARTY HOSTED BY OLYZON.TV AND ADVERTISING ECONOMIC FORUM
Monday, June 16 | 10:00 PM to… | Zamenhof Beach (Across from Martinez Hotel)
Hosted by Advertising Economic Forum & Olyzon, featuring the amazing Gavin Dunway leading the way on guitar and vocals.
If you attended AdTech Economic Forum at the New York Times Center on March 19, then you saw firsthand how Gavin Dunaway’s live stage band crushed it with “energizing rock performances between content sessions served as the perfect palate cleanser.” We’re bringing the same vibe to Cannes with an acoustic sing-along party. Tyler Pietz, another adtech and agency pro, will be joining in with his masterful guitar licks.
Legendary French singer Édith Piaf said it best:
“Singing is a way of escaping. It’s another world.”
That’s what Cannes Lions is about. After a day of back-to-back meetings, panels, and dinner, join us for something refreshingly real. Get your toes in the sand for an acoustic session beach sing-along with all the songs you already know under the Cannes moon. Led by adtech’s rock troubadour, Gavin Dunaway, this is your invitation to unplug and unwind with the joy of song and spontaneous harmonies.
Grab a tambourine and shake some maracas. Bring that song you secretly love belting out. No RSVP, just good ol’ fashioned beach get-together.
Have a favorite beach song? Let us know… Gavin can probably play it!
Cannes Tip: Olyzon built a smarter way to navigate Cannes. With hundreds of unofficial events, rooftops, panels, off-sites, secret dinners… it’s hard to keep track, easy to miss the best ones. So at Olyzon, we trained a custom GPT to fix that. It’s updated daily. Curated by humans. Powered by AI. Ask it anything:
“What’s happening Tuesday night?”
“Where can I take clients near the Croisette?”
“Best panels for brand leaders?”
It’s the same logic they apply to Connected TV: Cut through the noise. Use AI to surface what matters. Give humans back control. No spreadsheets. No Notion scrolls. Just answers — and direct RSVP links.
Tuesday, June 17
ABOVE DATA BREAKFAST: EMPOWERING DATA FOR EVERYONE WITH JUSTIN EVANS, AUTHOR OF “THE LITTLE BOOK OF DATA,” AND DOMENIC VENUTO FROM HORIZON
Join Above Data for an intimate, story-rich breakfast conversation on data, decisions, and the future of accessible analytics.
Tuesday, June 17 | 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM | Belle Plage Beach Club
Our featured guest is Justin Evans, author of the new book The Little Book of Data—a sharp, witty, and deeply practical guide to using data to solve real-world problems. Think Freakonomics meets a field manual for modern marketers.
But this session isn’t just about Justin… It’s about a bigger shift: Data Democratization—bridging the gap between data science and everyday decision-making.
In a world where AI is rewriting how we access and act on information, we’ll explore how modern tools—semantic AI among them—are making data more intuitive, more human, and more useful across entire organizations. From creatives to executives, we’ll dig into what it takes to move beyond dashboards and toward decisions that matter.
We’ll host an informal panel that includes voices from across marketing, tech, and analytics. Expect real stories, practical lessons, and the kind of serendipitous insights Cannes is known for delivering. Whether you're a marketer, founder, or investor, this is your chance to rethink your data strategy before the noise of the week begins.
IN-SCENE, IN-MARKET, IN-DEMAND – THE NEXT FRONTIER OF CTV FOR BRANDS IS SEAMLESS AI PRODUCT PLACEMENT
Join us for a private, invite-only lunch during Cannes Lions, focused on the rapid evolution of CTV and the new place to get branding done — AI in-scene virtual product placement.
Tuesday, June 17 | 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM | Chez Verve@Mady Cafe
Coordinated by Landmark and co-hosted by Ryff and Verve, this 35-person gathering offers a relaxed, off-the-croisette experience designed for agency leaders, brand marketers, adtech execs, corp dev teams, and strategic investors.
Panel Speakers:
Shirley Hughes, Head of Global Sales & Customer Experience, Ryff
Grant Gudgel, SVP Marketing, Verve
Linda Cronin, Chief Media Officer, Monks Agency
Moderated by yours truly, Tom Triscari, Landmark Ventures & Quo Vadis Newsletter
Why This Matters: Ryff is emerging as a category leader in AI-powered virtual product placement. As budgets shift from the open web, where quality is under pressure and banner impact is eroding, to the CTV promised land, the need for innovation is clear. Success in this next chapter depends on formats that go beyond standard pre-roll and overlays, unlocking premium inventory and deeper brand experiences. Ryff and Verve are deeply focused on this area and look forward to sharing their thoughts and engaging with industry leaders on this topic.
And don’t forget to check out Verve’s “Daily Recharge Happy Hour” from 5-7pm throughout the week at Chez Verve.
ADTECH ECONOMIC FORUM CANNES DINNER HOSTED BY GOOGLE
Invite-only dinner curated around the amazing speakers we have at the Advertising Economic Forum, along with various VIPs.
Tuesday, June 17 | 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM | La Bambola
Thanks to Google, three times makes a Cannes tradition with a memorable evening of conversation and connection hosted. This year promises to be no exception. DM me on LinkedIn if you’d like to attend this amazing dinner next year.
Wednesday, June 18
UNLOCKING THE NEXT FRONTIER IN PROGRAMMATIC CLOSED-LOOP SUPPLY-SIDE OPTIMISATION (CLSO)
Join industry leaders at Cannes Lions 2025 for a panel on the future of programmatic advertising. Discover how supply-side data, containerized algorithms, and closed-loop optimisation are reshaping targeting and measurement. RSVP now for insights, canapés & networking.
Wednesday, June 18 | 12:00 PM to 12:40 PM (Panel Discussion) |12:40 PM to 3:00 PM (Canapés & Networking) | 21 Rue du Commandant André
This incredibly important panel will discuss three trends that are unlocking the next frontier of programmatic advertising:
The use of high-quality supply-side data to drive outcomes for advertisers
The rapid expansion of containerised algorithms that enable third-party campaign optimisation directly on the supply side\
The onset of closed-loop supply-side optimisation (CLSO), leveraging on-device identity resolution, edge AI, and agentic AI to unlock targeting and measurement anytime, anywhere.
You’ll learn from four of the smartest people building the new era of adtech:
Nikola Cucolovski, Global SVP of Analytics & Product at Monks
Mike McNeeley, SVP, Product at Index Exchange
Mattia Fosci, Founder & CEO at Anonymised
Rui de Freitas, Founder & CEO, C Wire