Agency Wagers on a Non-Feline 'Lion' to Display Influencer Techniques at Cannes Event
Bringing the Roar of the Wild to the Cannes Festival Stage
Got a hankerin' to bring home a lion from Cannes, just like some creatives? Well, Publicis Groupe has other ideas. Instead of a trophy lion, they're aiming to bring attention to a different kind of lion: George, an actual, awe-inspiring beast, (strutting his stuff on wildlife expert Shandor Larenty's social media feeds).
At Cannes, Publicis wants to make George the king of viral content. The campaign is all about demonstrating how their influencer tools can provide a broader reach than the 127 million viewers brands might grab with a $8 million Super Bowl ad.
Enter Carla Serrano, Publicis Groupe's CSO. She told ADWEEK that the headline-grabbing campaign was brewed up against the backdrop of clients scaling back their Cannes presence, seeing it as a luxury in the current financial climate.
Publicis has gone on an influencer marketing shopping spree over the past year, snatching up U.S.-based agency Influential for a cool $500 million, Brazil-born BR, and martech platform Captiv8.
To make their stand clear, Publicis will blast visitors to Nice and Cannes Croisette with digital OOH ads. These ads compare the cost of a Super Bowl influencer buy to a company's tab for Cannes week: a stack of business-class tickets, or just a slice of the beach party budget.
The heart of their push is Influential, powered by Captiv8: an AI-powered tool boasting access to 19 million creators and data from Epsilon. Publicis claims this tech gives brands access to 90% of influencers with over a million followers and 95% with over 5,000.
The stage is set for phase two on June 16 with a post from Larenty to a combined following of 49.3 million. The plan is to spread George videos far and wide. A real-time 'Lion Tracker' will monitor George's growing audience at Influential Beach and showcase the number of views he garners. QR codes on the OOH ads will lead to an interactive reach calculator.
Influential CEO Ryan Detert explained that the campaign is designed to show how influencers can amplify high-profile moments like Super Bowl ads, and not replace them.
"Influencer marketing is here, it's powerful, and it's set to surge into an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars based on the current trajectory," Detert said.
This creator economy is expected to grow from about $250 billion in 2025 to around $480 billion by 2027, per Goldman Sachs.
Publicis has a history of tongue-in-cheek campaigns at Cannes Lions. Last year, they joked about those who dismissed their bet on AI tool Marcel in 2017.
"We've always been bold and pointed in our Cannes campaigns, poking fun at the industry," said Serrano.
Like last year, they're focusing on private sessions with CMOs at the festival, where they'll share information about their AI tools this time. The strategy paid off with some big wins last year, Serrano added.
Publicis is setting foot on the French Riviera with the Mars $1.7 billion media account in its paws, claiming it from WPP, just recently.
A Classic Case of Bigger, Better, Roarer The Publicis Groupe's "One-Two Punch" campaign at Cannes Lions Festival serves to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of influencer marketing compared to traditional high-cost advertising. The campaign encompasses two phases:
- Digital Out-of-Home Ads: Showcasing impactful digital billboards at Nice Airport and along Croisette in Cannes, these ads magnify the cost-effectiveness of running robust influencer campaigns in comparison to the sizeable expenses involved for brands during festival week (business class flights, luxury beach parties).
- Influencer Engagement: Utilizing a captivating real lion named George, popular on wildlife expert Shandor Larenty's social media channels, this phase is aimed at showcasing the viral potential of influencer collaborations. The aim is to emphasize the power and reach of Publicis' influencer marketing solutions.
In the context of Publicis Groupe's campaign at the Cannes Lions Festival, the focus shifts from traditional high-cost advertising to the efficiency of influencer marketing, as demonstrated by their use of AI-powered tools and a real lion named George to create viral content. Furthermore, this technological approach to business and finance is expected to contribute significantly to the growth of the creator economy, which is projected to reach $480 billion by 2027, as predicted by Goldman Sachs.
