Cannes Panel & Cocktail Reception

Where Did the Money Go? AI, Transparency, and Advertising’s Reckoning

Digital advertising is facing a moment of truth.

For years, fraud took the blame for wasted spend. But as billions move through opaque systems, a bigger question is emerging: how much is being lost to the system itself?

Recent tensions between holding companies and DSPs have exposed deeper cracks, from hidden fees to unclear economics and misaligned incentives.

Join us during Cannes Lions on Tuesday, June 23 at 3pm as Matt Wasserlauf, CEO of Blockboard, Caroline Proto, senior director, global media, EssilorLuxottica, Jeff Giacchetti, media director, Alchemee and Kathy Dixon, president and CEO of CTV Media discuss how AI is forcing a reset. As automation becomes the operating model, visibility increases and inefficiencies surface.

Platforms like Blockboard are helping drive this shift by eliminating invalid traffic before bidding, reducing intermediaries, and bringing transparency to performance and cost.

Because once you can see everything, you cannot ignore anything.

A cocktail reception will follow. Attendance is limited to approved executives.