Tech titans

The tech giants over the last decade have become a prominent fixture in Cannes, with companies such as Snapchat, Google, Pinterest, Spotify, Facebook/Meta and more staking out key territory along the Croisette. Though earlier, it seemed brands and agencies overall were being more conservative about returning to France post-pandemic, new companies have joined this contingent, with Amazon, TikTok and Roku making their first “official” outings at the event.

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Amazon won’t be on the main drag; instead, it’s set up shop at the Vieux Port (or old port), where agencies and brands welcome festival-goers to their luxury yachts. Observers such as MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan suggest its presence will draw the festival’s center of gravity away from the Croisette and toward the marina.

Entertainment giants, namely, their streaming counterparts such as Disney+ and Peacock, are expected to have a sizable presence and “are going to be that much more important this year,” said Kassan. “You could argue they were there before, but they weren’t necessarily selling an AVOD (advertising-based video on demand) offering and now they are there to do business.”

“I think people are really interested to hear what Netflix has to say,” Kassan added. He will be on stage in a chat with the company’s Co-CEO and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos and New York Magazine Editor-at-Large/Pivot Co-Host Kara Swisher. 

While creativity is the heart of the festival, discussions will no doubt swirl around data and measurement, Kassan predicted. “I think the conversation in Cannes is still going to revolve around currency and whether Nielsen, with all the competitive pressure now from iSpot, VideoAmp,…