The Cannes International Festival of Creativity is, as its newly changed name reflects, all about the creative side of advertising. When it comes to digital, however, the conversation is often dominated by the technology side that’s most aligned with targeting. There are times that focus on targeting, as important as it is, obscures that great advertising designed to move people and change perceptions is about creativity.
As part of Digiday’s coverage of Cannes, I sat down with Paul Alfieri, vp of marketing at Turn, the cloud marketing platform. The challenge for the industry, he believes, is moving tech discussions beyond the realm of targeting and direct-response advertising. “Technology evolves so quickly that we get caught up talking about pixel fires or whatever acronyms there are,” Alfieri says. “We forget that as good as the technology gets, the creative has to balance it out.”
That’s not to say the ad world shouldn’t embrace tech platforms. Alfieri believes that the creative side of the industry has to embrace targeting and data as ways to build upon the ideas that are the lifeblood of the industry. “The mass creative doesn’t work any more,” he says. “Our industry has to think of making great creative that leverages what all these targeting strategies are doing.”
View the full video below and check back to Digiday regularly for updates from Cannes.
More from Digiday
What TikTok’s e-commerce launch could mean for marketers and content creators
TikTok has officially launched its new e-commerce platform, TikTok Shop, earlier this month on August 1. Using the new e-commerce platform, brands and creators can sell products directly on the platform, potentially creating new revenue streams, and tap into the short-form video platform’s growing popularity.
‘The influencer industry can be really vile’: Confessions of an influencer marketer on the industry’s unfair hiring practices
While the influencer industry might sound exciting and like it’s full of opportunities, one marketer can vouch for the horrific scenarios that still take place behind the scenes.
Digiday+ Research: Marketers said revenue grew in the last year, with more growth expected ahead
After a tumultuous 12 months, marketers are getting a clear picture of how they really did during a time of true uncertainty. And, as it turns out, it wasn’t all that bad.
Ad position: web_bfu