Lauren Chesley’s Post

✨ First Impressions at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity ✨ If this was your first or second time, please share your POV in the comments.⤵ Attending the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for the first time has been an incredible experience. This event, renowned as the largest annual advertising gathering, promised a wealth of insights and opportunities to network with the brightest minds in our industry. 🕶 However, amidst the excitement, I couldn't help but notice the overwhelming presence of celebrities. While it's exciting for some to see familiar faces, it often felt like the essence of the festival—creativity and industry insights—was overshadowed. The abundance of celebrity appearances seemed to shift the focus away from the core purpose: to learn, share, and grow as professionals in advertising. For many, that was why they were there, and to each their own. From this observation, and after reviewing the overwhelming amount of individual apps, programming emails, group chat recos, and LinkedIn posts I resolved to do the following: 1️⃣ Prioritize panel discussions and workshops: Featuring industry leaders and experts who are known for providing actionable insights and thought-provoking discussions vs. outside-of-the-industry theory. 2️⃣ Attend the more intimate networking events: Smaller, focused gatherings where I could connect more meaningfully without the distraction of celebrity fanfare. 3️⃣ Navigated to talks that highlighted emerging or disruptive Talent: I love to hear from up-and-coming creatives whose fresh and atypical perspectives can inspire and invigorate the industry. 🔆 Cannes Lions has the potential to be a beacon of creativity and innovation, a place where industry professionals can come together to celebrate and advance the art of advertising, but you have to decide that is what you will get from the experience -- if that is what you want. 📣 General industry PSA: Let’s bring back the essence of creativity over celebrity to marketing and advertising. #CannesLions #CannesxCulture #CreativityOverCelebrity #Advertising #Marketing #Networking #IndustryInsights #FirstTimer #AdIndustry

I'm sitting and watching the Met Gala live stream while working, here's what it taught me about B2B Tech PR..... . just kidding 🤓 I wouldn't do that to you! Part of the reason I moved from New Zealand to LA was my dream of walking the Met Gala stairs and I can happily say I'm now (geographically) closer to this achieving this!!! People find creative inspiration in many different formats. For me, a massive one is engaging in pop culture events like the Met Gala or GRAMMYs. Yes, I'm a pop culture nerd and get excited by celeb culture. But more importantly I find ways to flex my creativity around them. Creativity is like a muscle you have to flex and grow in order to continue improving and that's why I challenge myself to brainstorm ideas around these events... for fun! For example: The Mark Hotel is a hotspot for celebs to prepare for the big night. Could a brand collab with the hotel to design the entrance way mat stars walk out on? How do you go about finding creative inspiration? I'm always on the hunt to find new ways to flex the creative brain muscle 🤠 PS: i'm desperately awaiting Ariana Grande to step foot on this carpet and she better not let me down!!! #creative #creativity #MetGala #PR #publicrelations

I believe there is great value in embracing curiosity. When doing so, you turn your focus to someone other than yourself. Besides improved understanding and connection, curiosity can push us to learn new information and gather fresh experiences. This is the foundation of the creative mind. "Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people." - Leo Burnett, American advertising executive and founder of Leo Burnett Company #NexNex-TechCreative #outsourcedmarketing #marketingandadvertising #curiosity

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is quickly approaching and we’re excited to return! What do you think will be the top trend at this year’s festival? 🦁 Here’s what we’re watching: 🤖 GenAI Readiness 💰 The business value of personalization ✍ The rising influence of the creator economy 💪 The power of connected communities to drive change ⚙️ The CMO as the catalyst in a cross-functional landscape Discover how each trend is shaping marketing and beyond. 👇 https://deloi.tt/3RpMplY

A few weeks ago our founder Rafael Cubela shared some insights on how the waning publishing industry should lean more into in-person events. Well we have some proof in action— A recent ADWEEK article shares how Boardroom, the sports media publisher, is already on track for a profits-record-breaking year and how it "pins its profitability to a star-studded experiential strategy." The organization is leaning into its relationships to deliver transformative events for its small yet impactful audience. Its ability to bring celebrities, artists, and professional athletes into intimate settings is proving to be a lucrative ongoing business model. ✨ Lean into relationships to deliver a memorable and impactful experience. ✨ It sounds so simple, but it can be so hard to do. While we love a conference endlessly bustling with people and ideas, we also understand the influence and importance of more intimate productions. Think about it like this: The difference between seeing your favorite musical artist on an arena tour surrounded by the energy of the crowd versus seeing that same artist in a small venue where you may feel more connected to them as a person as well as the music. Both are important and profound experiences, both are needed. Publishers should reconsider brand budget and attendees in a more well-rounded strategy. The case has been made for customer loyalty and increased enthusiasm through a more robust events strategy. Head to the comments for a link to the full article. #eventsproduction #experientialevents #innovation

It's been a bright and busy start to the year for our team and I thought I'd share some of the highs, lows, and learnings. On January 8 we put on a press event to announce three new products and a strategic partnership at CES Las Vegas. 🎥 The press event went great, it was well attended and we had fantastic product feedback from the journalists there. We also decided to livestream the event via our Youtube channel and took on an external experienced AV company to make sure this went seamlessly... it didn't. 🙈 After all of the testing went well, shortly before the livestream kicked off, technical issues appeared that weren't fully fixable. The result: a livestream with poor audio throughout, not a good look for any company, especially an audio one. This is why most companies do pre-recorded livestreams, we thought we would make it special by making it truly live and putting in the prep, but we won't be doing that again any time soon. 😞 Following the event, CES media activities, and press release we won an astonishing (and counting) 28 'Best of CES' product awards (over 10 each for MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 and MOMENTUM Sport in case you're asking) from media outlets including Rolling Stone, USA Today, Popular Science, What Hi-Fi and many more reputable publications. 🥇 A really good foundation ahead of launch and a testament to the many innovations that we are introducing, not to mention the great work of our PR team to bring this to everyone's attention. However, due to the huge media coverage that we received, one of our products also became one of the targets of a negative article that was then syndicated to many more media outlets. We took the hit for the whole true wireless earbud category as the criticism applies to us and our competitors, but only mentions us by name. 🎧 One of the lessons learned here is that success puts you in the spotlight and firing line and you soon become the representative of your entire industry and take the hits that come with that. 🎯 It's a cliche, but every road comes with its highs and lows, obstacles and detours, we just have to stay focussed on staying the course and anticipating & dealing with all of the bumps on the road. Onwards and upwards! 💪 PS: There's nothing like clearing your head with a walk or run in nature. #success #failure #learning #feedback #sharingiscaring

Unlock the power of the experience economy: where events transcend moments to become transformative stages, igniting enduring connections between brands and their audiences. Dive into the art of creating unforgettable experiences that resonate long after the curtains close✨✅ #Balancedchemistry #experienceconomy #eventsmanagement #brandengagement #audienceconnection #immersivexperiences #experientialmarketing #eventplanning #customerexperience #memorablevents #eventprofs #eventmarketing #livevents #eventstrategy #eventplanner

After spending last week at The Social Hub's Better Society Academy for DE&I, I'm back at work and reading posts about the Cannes Advertising Festival. This got me thinking about DE&I in the advertising industry. Throughout much of my media career, I felt the need to hold back parts of my identity to 'fit in' with a 'red-blooded' boss, a homophobic client, or by once feigning resilience when called a 'f****t' across the office for taking a last-minute client meeting in a room I hadn't booked. It would be easy to point out the inherent inequities at Cannes, like the exorbitant cost of festival tickets or the price of a bottle of rosé at the Gutter Bar. However, there seems to be progress being made through initiatives from the organizers and festival participants. The Haymarket Campaign Podcast offers some insightful discussions on this topic, and it’s freely available if you have 30 minutes to spare. https://lnkd.in/et9cfRsh DE&I should be a superpower in the ad industry, fueling creativity through diverse experiences and perspectives. When diverse teams and workplaces are supported by psychological safety, creativity thrives. It’s important for Cannes to keep pushing for inclusion as the old guard and old norms and fade out. In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning more about how psychological safety can drive creativity, feel free to reach out to Collaborate & Eight or DM me. I’m always up for a conversation. #DEI #Inclusion #Diversity #Creativity #Innovation #Advertising #CannesLions #PsychologicalSafety #TheSocialHub #TheBetterSocietyAcademy

Spring has arrived, which means summer is just around the corner, and we are already working on some exciting festival activations. Just like that wrist-band festivalgoers keep on, as a reminder of the awesome time they experienced at the festival – the memories live on – the same should apply for your brand engagement, why stop at the event? There’s great opportunities for brands to heighten engagement at festivals, which brands shouldn’t be ignoring. Building a community is essential for brands, and the ultimate scenario that exudes ‘community’, is festivals. Bringing people together from all walks of life, with shared interests and passions – can you afford to miss out that? On an entire target audience that is actively seeking new positive experiences? Providing the perfect platform for creative expression, brands can showcase their most creative, immersive activations to captivate an audience that have shown up for just that. A festival is usually a celebration of arts, culture and creativity, give the people what they want. Pre & post engagement is just as important as the activation itself, the power of the follow-up is unmatched. Brands should build their content and communications around the event to capitalise on opportunity. Talk to us about how to create a culturally relevant activation, embedded within your wider marketing strategy, that extends the engagement beyond the event. 👋🏻 Get in touch at [email protected] #festivals #festivalactivation #brandexperience #experiencemakers #creativecontent #marketingstrategy

This all came about through one of our ex Global Academy students, so all credit to Ronnie Koldashi for persuading me to come along. This video is his work as well so you can tell what a star he is!