Cannes Lions Festival - Day 1

Today was my first official day in Cannes! We had the "day off" because the festival doesn't officially start until Monday.

Since we had some free time today, a group of other ASU students and myself decided to take the ferry to the French Island of Île Ste-Marguerite. The ferry ride was only 15 minutes from Cannes. From the second I stepped onto the island, it felt like a dream. The view of Cannes was breathtaking, as well as the crystal blue ocean. We decided to take a swim, which was very refreshing since I am not used to the humidity. I had the most amazing time besides getting a sunburn! On the ferry ride back to Cannes, we sat next to two amazing women who happened to be Kroger's Media Services Director and Kroger's VP of Customer Foundations, Marketing, and E-Commerce. I was surprised to hear it was also their first time at the festival, and they were also nervous about meeting people. It made me put into perspective that no matter what title someone holds, we all go through similar internal anxieties and struggles when immersed in a new environment.

After we got back from the island, I had the privilege to attend a Soirée hosted by Adweek and Group Black. There was an amazing panel, which included the CEO of Dentsu Media, the CEO of Group Black, and the director of Audience Engagement at Adweek. Their panel was based on the topic of "Investing in Diversity."

A few quotes that stood out to me were:

1. "Attention is the understanding of advertising."

2. "Every day you have to take a step forward, even if it is small."

3. "More ad dollars means there is a greater need for content."

4. "How do we create content that we all want to consume?"

After the panel, I had the privilege to meet the CEO of Adweek, who was one of the kindest people and gave us the most valuable insights on how to network and be confident in yourself. A quote she said that stood out to me was, "asking questions is a strength, not a weakness!" I thought that was a powerful quote since we are meeting and talking to the top marketing and advertising leaders all week!