Digiday covers the latest from marketing and media at the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. More from the series →
In a clear indication of how overboard people go at Cannes, there were, at last count, nine Snapchat geofilters in the vicinity of the Croisette. There’s a geofilter with this year’s festival tagline, “Thank You Creativity,” a couple different ones with the Cannes Lions logo, one that has used the logo to create a psychedelic, arrow-filled filter, and a few that just say Cannes, France.
Snapchat branded airport security baskets pic.twitter.com/HStRjpvJek
— Mike Shields (@digitalshields) June 19, 2016
The platform has taken out ad space at Nice airport, along the Croisette, and has a giant billboard right above the Palais des Festivals. There’s also a Cannes Lions live story people can add too to include scenes from their very busy days — although it’s mostly scenes of magnum bottles of rosé.
Snapchat itself has no physical representation here, even though CEO Evan Spiegel spoke at last year’s Lions. Spiegel appeared on the main stage talking about advertising and how it fit with his company along with Cosmo’s editor in chief, Joanna Coles. (He also charmed everyone with his trademark giggle on stage.)
The fact that Snapchat has the “live” element makes it perfect for Cannes, said Jean Lin, CEO at Isobar. “Snapchat works here because it’s giving you a tour of all that’s happening in a live way,” he said. “There’s so much going on that it helps to not miss out on anything.”
The platform declined to comment on the record about its involvement this year, but according to one observer, a couple of teens not attending the festival stopped by the Palais and tried to get in because they saw the Snapchat logo atop it.
More in Media
As ‘recessionposting’ enters overdrive, creators are taking steps to dodge potential blowback
Creators believe that anyone who posts about a recession in 2025 should be ready to handle potential backlash.
Digiday+ Research: Branded content rebounds as a top source of publisher revenue
Branded content is moving up the ranks among publishers’ revenue sources. This year, it’s their No. 2 revenue source, after publishers started putting a bigger focus on growing that part of their business in 2024.
How kid-rearing tips are helping Willa Bennett reignite legacy media brands
Willa Bennett is rewriting the rulebook of print and digital magazine brands as the editor in chief of Hearst’s Cosmopolitan and Seventeen.