CANNES \u2013 Shortened by one day this year, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity attracted fewer agency people. But there was a 30% increase in attendance by brand marketers and a 20% rise in the number of consulting firms, according to MediaLink Vice Chairman Wenda Harris Millard.<\/p>\n
So the Festival is still a \u201cvery important watering hole,\u201d says Millard. In this interview with Beet.TV, Millard says data, diversity and consultants encroaching on the agency space were three main topics of discussion.<\/p>\n
Millard is perhaps closer to the year-to-year center of gravity of Cannes<\/a> than most people because Ascential plc, which owns the Festival, acquired MediaLink<\/a> just over a year ago. MediaLink and its executives have long been fixtures at Cannes.<\/p>\n \u201cI think what is absolutely palpable is the number of agency execs who are not here this year,\u201d she says. \u201cThe conversations this year are more on the gravitas side. In years past, we focused on a lot of what isn\u2019t working at all. This year, I find the conversations about we can do for the industry, for society at large.\u201d<\/p>\n She feels that the Festival listened to the feedback it received from attendees leading up to last year\u2019s event and that its subsequent modifications have been positive.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels a little bit different and I do think that part of that is Cannes Lions\u2019 response to a number of different constituents who said, \u2018hey we\u2019re looking for a little bit different experience here at Cannes.\u2019 I think cutting it down by a day was a very, very smart, important response to it.\u201d<\/p>\n Contributing to the \u201cdifferent feel\u201d this year are \u201cperhaps a little less frivolity and subjects with a little bit more gravitas.\u201d<\/p>\n