8 retail media insights from Cannes Lions that should’ve hit the headlines…

Regular readers of publications focussed on marketing, advertising and LinkedIn maybe tired of hearing about Cannes Lions marketing extravaganza and how much fun people had on the Croisette day and night. However, from a Retail Media perspective, there was a lot more going on than meets the eye, writes Colin Lewis. 

Here are eight retail media related nuggets that were not covered off in all the hype:

1. American accents were predominant: the event felt like every marketing professional from Cincinatti and Chicago – the epicentres of US retail media networks, agencies and brands – had moved en masse to the Cote d’Azur. If they did not have a stand, 
2. Retail Media was finally featured in the main agenda in the Palais du Festival – the main showground in the luxury seaside resort. Normally, the content in the Palais – where tickets are North of $3000 – is about the big TV and outdoor campaigns. This year, conference organisers, WARC, put on a special session about ‘Content, Commerce and Creativity’ that included Walmart Connect talking about one of their Retail Media campaigns, and yours truly showcasing a ‘best of’ from John Lewis, ASOS Media, Optimum Nutrition and fast-growing food brand, Juspy.
3. The prize for the biggest stand on the Croisette – as has been the case for the past three years – would have to go to Amazon Advertising… if such a prize existed. The stage, audio and lighting for each evening concerts was bigger than almost any venue outside of the O2 Arena in London or the Royal Albert Hall.
4. US Retail Media Networks Albertsons, Target Roundel, Kroger Precision Marketing, Instacart, Walmart Connect and Chase all had their own stands at the event, with the first three appearing for the very first time. The ironic part of this transplant from the Mid-West to the South of France is that many of the clients of Roundel, Kroger and Albertsons are also based in the Mid-West of the US
5. Retail Media vendors and agencies such as Criteo, The Trade Desk, Publicis, Epsilon, Scala and Flywheel all had extensive feet on the ground, as well as all day client events. 
6. Sainsbury’s Nectar 360 ran their own all day retail media summit, which included interviews with Retail Media networks from around the world such as Paul Brooks, GM of Coles 360 in Australia.
7. The proliferation of ad networks was a key topic – with more than 200 media networks now being counted across the globe. Cannes announcements that matter, meanwhile, are here.
8. Outside of retail media, there were only two other topics as big RMN at Cannes Lions: AI and the presence of Elon Musk…

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