The future of brands is REAL

KEITH WEED, Unilever's Chief Marketing and Communication Officer, introduces his "In" (I hoch n) Strategy. "I" stands for the key drivers Individuals, Influencersand Impact. "n" stands for the new technological possibilities to address, in principle, an endless number of individuals: "From mass marketing to mass customization. " And this means that the marketing job is also changing - from "chief macro officer" to "chief micro officer," so to speak. However, Keith Weed also emphasizes that both are needed: Basic campaigns that reach the masses worldwide (such as  the classic TV spot), but also national and local addressing of the target groups to transfer the basic spot into " REAL LIFE". Because marketing means "engaging individuals. And the best way to do that is to identify the power users of your product and find out what people are really concerned about: how they see themselves, what touches them, what they worry about, who their heroes are ... A strategy that often results from this is: "Challenge stereotypes.

As an example of success, Keith Weed brings up "Dove," which has broken with the media's image of women and shows women as they are: natural beauties. Overall, Keith Weed sees a strong need to create "brands with meaning." That's what people want. And from his Unilever experience, these types of brands and products sell better too! So it pays, even from an economic standpoint, to be concerned with the things that consumers are also concerned with: Environment, happy relationships, self-esteem, .... This echoes many other presenters here at Cannes who are putting out the slogan: "Dear marketers out there - you have an impact on the world. Make it something good!"      

Artificial intelligence - the second industrial revolution

KEVIN KELLY, co-founder of Wired Magazine and author of the book "Twelve technological trends that will shape our future" talks about the "fundamental forces that drive change in the world." Among them decentralization, tracking, sharing and flowing (transition from fixed entities to processes). But one of the most influential new technologies, in his opinion, is virtuality (virtual reality). "VR is the next big thing after iPhone". The next step here is to expand the optical illusions (seeing) to include the other senses (feeling, smelling...) and emotions. "Experiences are the new currencies". Kelly predicts that the biggest companies in the future will be VR companies. Avatars and "the Internet of experiences" will make virtual reality the most social of all social media.

But the big topic par excellence is AI ( Artificial Intelligence). Kelly speaks of the 2nd Industrial Revolution. "The First Industrial Revolution was about artificial power" - coal, steam, electricity to power machines to do jobs for which human muscle power is insufficient. The Second Industrial Revolution is now adding artificial intelligence to the machines. Kelly sees AI in the future as a service that will be available everywhere - like electricity. Probably in 10 years, Google will be selling AI and robots will have replaced many jobs. The perspective, for Kelly, is to embrace AI, integrate it into daily life - like the iPhone today - and combine the strengths of both human and artificial intelligence: "In the Future you'll be paid by how well you work with AI." And his advice for the next 10,000 startups: "Take your idea and add AI."

Iggy Pop - the inventor of the Stage Dive live in Cannes

Whimsical, amusing and a brand in itself: Iggy Pop, the Godfather of Punk, the Enfant Terrible of the rock scene and the inventor of the Stage Dive as a guest on the big talk stage of the Lumière Theater. Only a few of his age (69) can still dare to appear topless. On the subject of advertising, he has only one thing to say: "I skip it!". Nevertheless, he also admits: "In my work I have a God. And that's the public." If he had to apply that to the advertising industry, he would say that the god of companies is the customer. And between these two there's a voodoo priest - "the ad guy" - who has to manage to convince the customer that it's going to rain. He sees the Kim Kardashian phenomenon in a positive light, because she has at least helped to break down the clichéd beauty ideal. He, the "shocker," is critical about whether people can still be shocked with anything today: "At these days, people are not in a mood to be shocked. Fear is for people who feel secure (or for psychos)." Asked if he is afraid of getting older: "I'd rather party myself to death before I would have surgery." He continues, "The stages might get higher and higher while I get older and older - but I still dive them."