MediaLink

MediaLink is proud to have partnered with The Hershey Company in their US media agency review. We’re delighted to have worked with the team at Hershey to enable the search for a best-in-class partner that supports their vision to be the leading snacking powerhouse. We wish Hershey and Publicis all the best in this exciting partnership. Read more about Hershey’s review in Ad Age via Erika Wheless here: https://lnkd.in/dnrNRb4a #agencyreview #MediaLinked

In our annual Cannes Lions 2024 Trends & Takeaways, we bring you the insights from the conversations that emerged on stage and in boardrooms, offering our perspective on what marketers can bring back to their desks in the coming months. If you missed our Daily Double content sessions, you can also catch-up through video on demand.    “Cannes is a melting-pot of creativity and innovation – whether it’s a moment at MediaLink Beach, a casual gathering at the Carlton Terrace, or an immersive experience along the Croissette, these could shape the most exhilarating and enlightening moments of your week.” - MediaLink’s Michael Burke.    Get the full report here: https://lnkd.in/e7bUqnky   #Creativity #Marketing #AI #CannesLions2024 #MediaLinked

The Kansas City Chiefs have transcended from a local team to a global brand at a time when sports has become the beachfront real estate in media and marketing. Today, YouGov ranks the Chiefs as the NFL’s number one team in terms of fandom. At our MediaLink Beach panel “Building Ambitious Brands,” moderated by Christopher Vollmer at Cannes Lions, Chiefs’ Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Lara Krug discussed the strategies used to grow the team’s brand, from leveraging on-field successes in its storytelling to engaging with fans in international markets. "We had a big challenge in that we had a legacy brand that was not resonating as well locally. And so our brief was, how do we do creative work that actually moves the business?” Krug said. Creating relatable content that resonates globally, and with agility, is key. Chiefs safety Justin Reid added that athletes are also working to expand their personal brands through global engagement, which in turn stimulates the team’s brand growth. “What has been so fun about where culture and sports have been progressing is that athletes are able to tell their brand story, or their team's brand stories, in places and ways that they haven't before,” added Mona Munayyer Gonzalez, Chief Growth Office of Pereira O'Dell. "From the ring ceremony to the red carpet to the draft walk to the locker room — these moments are being covered like the Met Gala. And from the perspective of fans, they're suddenly getting so much more content and access.” 📸 James North #kansascitychiefs #ambitiousbrands #brandbuilding

Jessica Alba’s new film “Trigger Warning,” out now on Netflix, is the first she’s executive produced through her new production company, her latest entrepreneurial endeavor. At Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Alba stopped by MediaLink Beach to discuss how founding her own purpose-driven company in 2012 — and becoming the youngest Latina to take a company public — shapes her vision as a producer committed to disrupting the status quo. It requires balancing values with investors’ metrics of success, she said, and knowing how to “move and flow” with the industry versus “trying to push a boulder uphill.” “With ‘Trigger Warning,’ I wanted to disrupt the action genre that’s dominated by men. The director, cinematographer and co-writer are all women,” Alba said. “It’s a raw and gritty action movie.”

#CannesLions2024 was an amazingly impactful week for MediaLink, United Talent Agency, our clients, and our teams. #MediaLinkBeach was buzzing every day with senior media and marketing leaders as well as elite creators building connections, sharing insights, and forging commercial deals to propel their businesses forward. A few key observations from the week: 🎯 major media companies are all touting full funnel capabilities to gain share of ad spend: 1). scaled, strategic audiences that command attention, 2). tech/processes that make video easy to buy for clients large and small, and 3). attribution data that shows outcomes. ⚽ 🏈sports leagues, teams and athletes are increasing in value as their strategic importance to live events, streaming, social, & commerce only grows 🎥 big marketers and media companies are leaning in more than ever with creators as they seek to attract younger audiences, find innovative ways to tell their stories, and refresh their own brands 💲private equity investors are eagerly exploring new deal opportunities and are poised to play an even bigger role in reshaping media, advertising, and marketing services #MediaLinked

That's a wrap on another epic MediaLink Beach at #CannesLions! Thank you to everyone who made this year a success — from our Daily Double speakers and clients, who infused our space with innovative ideas and creativity, to our event partners and colleagues, who produced a week of unforgettable experiences and programming. Be sure to follow our page as we share more highlights and distillations, plus our annual trends and takeaways report.

Global marketing leaders in Cannes were treated to an exclusive lunch co-hosted by Bloomberg Media, Medialink, and WFA. After an opening address from MediaLink’s VP of Marketing & Communications, Claire Charruau, Emily Chang moderated a conversation with Bloomberg Media’s Global Chief Revenue Officer Christine C. Cook and WFA CEO Stephan Loerke. In this session, they shared their perspectives on the multiple facets of #GoodBusiness. Guests also had the opportunity to share their unique perspectives on the pros and cons of AI and positive examples of purpose and profit aligning. Chang questioned the pair on the changing nature of the CMO role, AI, and the future impact of Cannes. Cook discussed the fact that CMOs are now having to be “a lot more reactive”, in order to respond to the challenges that have been faced over the last five years. Loerke supported this point, stating that no other role has had as large a “seismic transformation” as CMOs. They are truly “in the hot seat."

On day three at MediaLink Beach, our Daily Double programming probed just about every nexus at which marketing, media and technology intersect. From building an ambitious brand — and then telling its story powerfully — to industry adoption of the latest GenAI tools to the cultural importance of community-building (whether that's for specific audiences, like pet lovers, or via media, such as podcasting), the day's speakers didn't hold back on everything it takes to be both relevant and disruptive as a marketer. To close out Wednesday, Delta Air Lines' Alicia Tillman hosted our "Cocktails & Conversations" happy hour with United Talent Agency's Julian Jacobs and Ziad Ahmed to share her perspectives on what it takes to connect with next gen consumers in the ever-expanding media landscape. A big thank you to our day three speakers: Google's Abigail Posner, BBDO Worldwide's Andrew Robertson, Mars' Ikdeep Singh, Fuse Media's John Baez, Diageo's Stephanie Jacoby, Salesforce's Scott Larson, Reddit, Inc.'s Roxy Young, IAB's Sheryl Goldstein, iHeartMedia's Radhi Devlukia, Wilmer Valderrama, iHeartMedia's Conal Byrne, Joe Kessler, Pereira O'Dell's Mona Munayyer Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs' Lara Krug and Justin Reid, Christopher Vollmer, OAAA's Anna Bager, GEICO's Michelle Moscone (she/her), JPMorganChase's Kristin Faucher, and Devrie DeMarco.

This week, we hosted Black Executive CMO Alliance (BECA) at MediaLink Beach for a special session featuring four of its Future Leaders from the Class of 2025 — Warren Cochrane, Nadja Briscoe, Jonelle Brown and Alyson Harvey — and BECA CEO Jerri DeVard. Billed as BECA's Inclusive Intelligence team, they used our Daily Double forum to introduce a nascent technology they're developing called blindspot that uses AI to advance diversity, equity and inclusion through marketing. The tool is designed to generate a success probability score for campaigns intended to reach underrepresented groups. The goal is for DEI-minded advertising to become more effective, accurate, inclusive — and less risky overall. "Traditional marketing approaches leave out communities that feel ill-represented or otherwise ignored. More connected messaging in these campaigns can allow companies to take better risks," Nike's Cochran said. Added Johnson & Johnson's Nadja Brisco, "There are several moments along the creative path where marketers can leverage blindspot, from pre-brief to post-brief, to improve campaign success and make it more inclusive."

Scenes from inside MediaLink and iHeartMedia's annual #CannesLions party at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France Lenny Kravitz performed for hundreds of attendees, including CEOs, CMOs and executives of the world’s biggest companies, industry thought leaders and talent like Paris Hilton, Anthony Anderson, Wilmer Valderrama, Sophia Bush and Jessica Alba. 📸 James North for MediaLink; Adam Berry/Getty Images for iHeartMedia