
It’s been one week since the highly anticipated Cannes Lions 2023 – the event of the year for advertising and creativity. We’re thrilled to share our top four key takeaways from the event, showcasing what the industry will prioritize in the upcoming year.
Signal loss
At Cannes Lions 2023, experts underlined the detrimental effects of signal loss on advertising and emphasized the significance of having diverse channels. Discussions emphasized the importance of adapting paid media strategies to align with evolving consumer behaviors in order to remain relevant in the ever-changing landscape.
Urgency in planning and avoiding being caught without a solid strategy was a common theme throughout the event. Alternative identifiers, like first-party data, were highlighted, as they prioritize privacy-centric approaches. Contextual advertising emerged as a key part of the solution, providing relevant ads that fit seamlessly into the user’s experience.
Collaboration
Collaboration was a major theme at Cannes Lions 2023. Attendees explored topics such as maintaining privacy and identifying the right attributes for effective targeting. Clean rooms were discussed as a way to ensure privacy when sharing data, and highlighted partnerships as the key to unlocking interoperability within the advertising ecosystem. The discussions underscored the need for industry players to join forces and collaborate on solutions that benefit all stakeholders in the ecosystem.
“What makes Cannes unique is that you have a lot of decision makers in the room at the same time. This leads to more efficiency in terms of coming up with goals and objectives and really getting to the heart of the key aspects for us to build partnerships.”
alison omealia, vp, customer success, experian
Personalization
Personalization was a key topic of discussion at Cannes Lions 2023, with its growing significance in advertising taking center stage. The event emphasized the need to focus on serving up tailored content that resonates with individual consumers, cultivating brand affinity.
The intersection of science and art was highlighted, emphasizing the role of data-driven insights and creativity in supporting frequency capping and delivering engaging content.
Advertisers are adapting to cookie deprecation by shifting from cookie-based third-party targeting to first-party data solutions. This is due to the significant changes in the consumer privacy landscape, which have limited advertisers’ access to signals emitted by consumers through their devices and browsers. As a result, alternative IDs like UID2, Ramp ID, and ID5 are emerging as viable options for advertisers to continue personalized targeting.
Balancing AI and creativity at Cannes Lions 2023
Participants shared invaluable insights on how to strike the right balance between harnessing AI’s capabilities and nurturing creativity to keep the human touch alive. The event emphasized the importance of understanding the boundaries of AI while utilizing tools that drive innovation and imagination. Attendees explored the dynamic roles that AI provides and discussed how it can help push the boundaries of their creativity while still keeping the human element intact.
As technology continues to advance, so does the need for advertisers to adapt their approach and integrate AI in a way that enhances their creative output.
Experian events at Cannes Lions 2023
We hosted a series of events that included a kick-off event and four panels. The activities were designed to provide attendees with valuable insights on various topics related to advertising and data privacy. Here’s a recap of what we covered during the week.
Experian’s Cannes Lions kick-off event
We co-hosted a kick-off event on Sunday with Audigent. It was a successful event that brought people together to launch an important week in the AdTech industry and build connections with clients and prospects alike.

Data on the sell-side
Ongoing signal loss has marketers, agencies, and platforms tapping directly into the sell-side for high-quality audience and context. In this panel, industry experts from Truthset, Captify, Audigent, Newsweek, and PubMatic joined Experian to discuss the imminent disappearance of cookies and the need to adapt and future-proof data privacy strategies. The deprecation of third-party cookies presents an incredible opportunity to redefine data privacy practices and empower consumers.

Our panelists emphasized the need to adapt and invest in alternative identifiers in order to thrive in a cookie-less future. Publishers were urged to create valuable content, engage in first-party activities, and consider the next generation of consumers who are growing up without traditional identifiers. The fragmented landscape calls for a variety of tactics and partnerships, while AI can provide opportunities to explore beyond deterministic identifiers, fostering creativity and innovation in advertising practices.
Stacking the marketer’s toolbox for success
In partnership with Adweek Abroad in Cannes, industry leaders from FreeWheel, Tubi, and Instacart joined Experian to discuss opportunities for brands to unlock deeper, richer, and more scalable insights into current and potential customers.
The panelists highlighted several key considerations, including building a robust first-party data strategy, ensuring accuracy in data quality partnerships, and establishing better-connected communications and relationships with consumers.

Participants acknowledged the value of consumer data and urged advertisers to remain purpose-driven, always putting the viewer first. The freshness and recency of data were identified as critical factors for establishing quality connections with consumers and staying attuned to consumer trends.
What does the future of identity hold?
During this panel discussion, industry leaders from the IAB, MiQ, Cint, Direct Digital Holdings, and Tatari joined Experian to explore the future of identity.

The panelists discussed the challenges cookie deprecation poses in programmatic advertising and the need for new identifiers and solutions. They also acknowledged the expanding media landscape and the importance of frequency capping and attribution measurement in a post-cookie era. Trends to watch for include the potential consolidation of identifiers and the movement of first-party data in-house by larger media companies. Panelists shared different views on cookie deprecation readiness and the overhype of AI in the industry.
Streaming takes center stage

OMG, Roku, AMC Networks, Paramount, and Disney joined Experian to discuss streaming TV as a fragmented and evolving landscape. The panelists debated whether it has become a performance channel and emphasized the need for client education, attribution, and optimizing performance metrics. They also discussed reaching audiences across different mediums with data interoperability, audience targeting, and reliable identity solutions. The panelists explored the emerging trend of AI, optimizing ad placement, refining targeting, streamlining creative approval, and enhancing ad breaks.
“A lot of trends in AdTech are relevant to TV, but the most consistent trend has definitely been having a solid identity source throughout the whole lifecycle of a campaign within TV.”
ali mack, sr. director, platforms, experian
Let’s keep the conversation going
The innovation and possibilities for signal loss, collaboration, personalization, and balancing AI and creativity are limitless, but understanding exactly how to get there is what can make all the difference.
As we wrap up another successful week at Cannes Lions, let’s use these conversations as an opportunity to advance together toward a more connected future — what trends are you most looking forward to? If you’d like to discuss any of these topics further, get in touch with us!
Check out more Cannes content:
- Insights from a first-time attendee
- Four new marketing strategies for 2023
- Exploring the opportunities in streaming TV advertising
- The future of identity in cookieless advertising
- Maximize ad targeting with supply-side advertising
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NEW YORK, Oct. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Tapad, part of Experian and a global leader in digital identity resolution, today announced a new partnership with Retargetly, a leading independent full stack data company. The partnership combines Tapad's cross-device identity resolution technology with Retargetly's robust data toolset, allowing brands and agencies using Retargetly's platform to seamlessly access an expanded audience across devices, without compromising precision. In addition to reach expansion, Tapad's global, privacy-safe digital cross-device solution, The Tapad Graph, enables Retargetly's brand and agency clients a more holistic digital customer journey analysis, and efficient campaign capabilities like frequency capping and online attribution. At the same time, Tapad will be able to extend its presence into the LATAM region, tapping into Retargetly's existing regional footprint. "Combining The Tapad Graph's technology with Retargetly's platform will enable customers to make holistic, data-driven decisions that increase the ROI of their campaigns," said Chris Feo, SVP of Global Data Licensing and Strategic Partnerships at Tapad. "We can now offer advertisers the value of both technologies to optimize their marketing initiatives across the globe by creating seamless experiences across multiple devices and channels." Understanding a consumer's cross-device journey is a marketing necessity. A recent study showed that 75% of consumers expect a consistent experience from brands1. With the number of devices per individual rapidly increasing, digital identity resolution becomes essential to create that streamlined experience consumers crave. "Similarly to Tapad, our goal is to offer marketers a suite of products that can increase the ROI of their campaigns," said Juan Amuchastegui, Head of Product at Retargetly. "In order to achieve this, marketers need digital cross-device identity resolution to gain attribution, acquisition and reach expansion capabilities. We chose Tapad as our partner because The Tapad Graph has differentiated global scale, and privacy-safe measures, which we knew would benefit our clients' campaigns." Santi Darmandrail, Managing Director at Retargetly added, "Across the Americas our clients choose to work with us because of our scale, our precision, and our unique approach to what data can do to transform business outcomes. In that scenario, partnering with Tapad and integrating The Tapad Graph onto our platform was really a no-brainer and we are beyond excited to be making that available for our more than 700 clients across the region." To learn more about Tapad and our digital identity resolution products, visit our identity solutions page. Contact us today! About Tapad Tapad, Inc. is a global leader in digital identity resolution. The Tapad Graph, and its related solutions, provide a transparent, privacy-safe approach connecting brands to consumers through their devices globally. Tapad is recognized across the industry for its product innovation, workplace culture and talent, and has earned numerous awards including One World Identity's 2019 Top 100 Influencers in Identity Award. Headquartered in New York, Tapad also has offices in Chicago, Denver, London, Oslo, Singapore and Tokyo. About Retargetly: Retargetly is the leading independent data solution from Latam. Their proprietary platform processes over 25 billion data events a month and transforms them into actionable analytics that drive business results across the board. The recently launched Retargetly Audience Platform (RAM) is the number one data exchange in Latin America, with over 1000 active buyers and millions of dollars traded every year. Regargetly provides services across Latam and has offices in Buenos Aires, Mexico City, São Paulo and New York. For more information, visit www.retargetly.com

NEW YORK, Oct. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Tapad, part of Experian and a global leader in digital identity resolution, and The Trade Desk, a global advertising technology leader, partnered to integrate The Trade Desk's unified ID solution in April 2019. The Trade Desk's unified ID solution's objective is to serve as a standardized cookie ID to help marketers reach more of their audience on the open internet. After an initial six month period, Tapad reports significant adoption rates and enhanced customer results since their joint integration in April. As a result of the partnership, client brands, agencies, DMPs/ DSPs, Data Providers, Mobile Networks and Measurement/Analytics Providers, saw increased match rates up to 38% and more global coverage without compromising precision. With this combined offering, Tapad's global, privacy-safe digital cross-device solution, The Tapad Graph, connects brands with consumers over 4 billion devices globally. "There is a need for digital identity solutions outside the walled gardens that can accommodate the need for both precision and scale," said Chris Feo, SVP of Strategy and Global Partnerships at Tapad. "Through our partnership with The Trade Desk, we are empowering companies to have a comparable digital identity resolution across the open web as compared to the walled garden environments." Over 25 companies who license The Tapad Graph, such as Annalect, Semasio, Retargetly, and ThinkCX, have also included The Trade Desk's unified ID solution as a key identifier in their graph output. "The vast improvement in scale that Tapad has seen illustrates the value digital identity resolution products can bring for brands," said Nate Gawel, General Manager of Data Partnerships at The Trade Desk. "We're looking forward to continuing work with Tapad to prove that the open internet can deliver the very same benefits many reserve for large platforms." Adoption of the unified ID solution allows all parties across the supply chain (SSPs, DSPs, DMPs and data providers) to utilize The Trade Desk's cookie footprint to increase their own cookie coverage across the global independent internet. For more information, please visit The Trade Desk's unified ID solution site, or https://www.experian.com/marketing/consumer-sync to learn more about Tapad's digital identity resolution products. About Tapad:Tapad, Inc. is a global leader in digital identity resolution. The Tapad Graph, and its related solutions, provide a transparent, privacy-safe approach connecting brands to consumers through their devices globally. Our one-of-a-kind Graph Select offering enables marketers the flexibility and freedom of choice to correlate devices to varied objectives, driving campaign effectiveness and business results. Tapad is recognized across the industry for its product innovation, workplace culture and talent, and has earned numerous awards including One World Identity's 2019 Top 100 Influencers in Identity Award. Headquartered in New York, Tapad also has offices in Chicago, London, Oslo, Singapore and Tokyo. About The Trade Desk:The Trade Desk™ is a technology company that empowers buyers of advertising. Through its self-service, cloud-based platform, ad buyers can create, manage, and optimize digital advertising campaigns across ad formats and devices. Integrations with major data, inventory, and publisher partners ensure maximum reach and decisioning capabilities, and enterprise APIs enable custom development on top of the platform. Headquartered in Ventura, CA, The Trade Desk has offices across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. To learn more, visit thetradedesk.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. Contact us today!

What generation already has 68 million consumers, is set to be the largest generation ever, and $360 billion of disposable income? While you may think these attributes describe millennials, they are actually a portrait of Generation Z, better known as Gen Z, the newest generation that is emerging in the marketplace. Gen Z is beginning to make an impact worthy of focusing your next auto marketing campaign around. Gen Z and the automotive market Made up of consumers born after 1996, Gen Z is ready to be noticed and become a force to be reckoned with in the market. In the automotive market alone, Gen Z made up 3.8 percent of all new vehicle registrations in the first quarter of 2019. While that number may seem small, consider the fact that in 2015—just four years ago—they only made up 0.5 percent of new vehicle registrations. These are statistics that should make automotive marketers pay attention. Digital consumption of Gen Z Most marketers tend to lump Gen Z with millennials – after all, they grew up with smartphones and social media, so how different can they be than the generation that came of age with the Internet? However, unlike millennials, Gen Z is considered a true “digital generation” – performing many of life’s day-to-day activities online. This means that they do a lot of research when shopping for a product. In fact, according to the Center for Generational Kinetics, 52 percent of Gen Z has looked at online reviews for a product while shopping in-store. But how do digitally native consumers impact automotive marketers? In order to sell cars, marketers’ messages need to be relevant. Like many other generations, Gen Z interacts with brands across a number of different devices and touchpoints. They’re constantly bombarded with messages and advertisements, so much so that it becomes information overload. Auto marketing to Gen Z To create consistent messages that resonate, brands need to communicate across these different touchpoints and tell a story that is relevant to your audience. For example, you wouldn’t show an advertisement of someone buying their dream sports car to a member of Gen Z. Most of these consumers are buying their first car, so it would typically make more sense to show them ads for economical, reliable, sedans or cross-over SUVs. Historically, automotive marketers have relied exclusively on CRM data, but this strategy isn’t effective when it comes to Gen Z, the fact of the matter is that they probably haven’t purchased a car from you previously. Identity resolution and Gen Z auto marketing The recipe for marketing success with Gen Z is identity resolution – combining your first-party identity signals across channels with third-party resources, as well as advanced technology, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, to truly create and deliver campaigns that are relevant to the youngest generation. The more knowledge marketers have on your audience, such as demographics, life events and purchase behavior, enables them to tailor the messages to the audience in a way that will cut through the noise and resonate. As more members of Gen Z come into the marketplace, automotive marketers will want to ensure they’re meeting them where they are, delivering messages that matter to them. This will help marketers not only sell more cars, but also begin to create relationships that could last for years to come. Your identity resolution partner Experian is here to help you create an identity resolution strategy that will take your automotive marketing campaigns to the next level. We help brands put real people at the center of their business by resolving fragmented identity signals. Deliver personalized, relevant messages across channels to effectively target your ideal customers. Get started with identity resolution today!