Bob Hoffman: Dying at Cannes

Bob Hoffman is the author of four Amazon #1 selling books about advertising. He is also one of the most sought-after international speakers on advertising and marketing. One of his books, “BadMen: How Advertising Went From A Minor Annoyance To A Major Menace” was selected “Best of Marketing 2017” and has been nominated for “Marketing Book of the Year.” He is creator of the popular “The Ad Contrarian” blog, named one of the world’s most influential marketing and advertising blogs by Business Insider.

For the 100th consecutive year I did not go to Cannes. But the good thing is, I know exactly what happened and saved myself thousands of dollars. As a free service to you other losers who didn’t attend, here’s what you missed

– A very casually dressed ceo from a very big holding company said that the consumer is changing and we have to change to keep up with the changing consumer. He said we have to evolve or die.

– A very rich and famous creative person gave a very stirring speech about how creativity is the heart and soul of our industry and we have to get back to celebrating creativity. Agencies that don’t prioritize creativity won’t be around long.

– Another famous creative person with very expensive eye-wear said we need to be brave. Those that aren’t brave won’t last.

– A very earnest female executive gave a talk about how we have to value all people regardless of sex, sexual orientation, race, religion, absence of religion, age, ability, body type or gluten sensitivity. Marketers that don’t value diversity will soon be dead.

– A very European planner gave a talk about how we have to stop thinking short-term and realize that brands are built by long-term strategy. Those who focus on the short-term will disappear in the long-term. (Then she hurried out to see how many tweets her talk got.)

– A panel discussion was held to discuss the future of marketing. It was agreed that more personalization was necessary to make marketing more relevant to consumers. Brands that don’t have better insights into individual consumer behavior don’t have long to live. Continue reading on Bob Hoffman’s blog The Ad Contrarian…