Sebastian Caramés Analyses Cyber Ahead of Cannes

Does the multitude of digital platforms available to an advertiser make reaching consumers more or less difficult?

The multitude of platforms gives advertisers an arsenal of tools to engage with their audiences. The precision and accuracy levels offered by some of those are incredible and definitely make the job easier. But to truly take advantage of this, there are two fundamental rules. Firstly, you have to know your audience. It sounds obvious but it is crucial. Who are they? What they do? Where do they hang out? What are their interests? Is there only one audience or are there several? And secondly, it’s imperative that marketers have an experienced tech partner to help them navigate the landscape.

Do you think that brands are now more aware of how they need to approach and engage their customers and what their place in a consumer’s life is? 

Yes. Not all brands, of course, but a lot of them are doing excellent jobs. And when I say excellent, it’s not only about collecting huge amounts of data. It’s about processing that data, analyzing it, breaking it down and then working according to your knowledge. The age of sending out a single message to a mass audience has long since passed. There are several types of consumers and each one of them lives a brand in his or her own way. There is no question about the need for a big idea, but now those big ideas need - more than ever - to be adjusted and executed across several communication platforms to create the bonds that every brand needs.

Do you think that VR and AR will have a big say in this year’s, or future years’ Cyber Lions winners, and have brands embraced this new technology? 

VR will keep producing some impressive cases and the buzz will continue. But as a medium it will still be restricted by the lack of distribution standards. There’s a critical mass of devices that we’re yet to reach. Is it going to disappear? No. But it will need a couple of years to mature and truly explode. So in that sense, it’s still very much in its infancy.

And then we have AR. AR passed some impressive milestones last year. While Pokémon Go is no longer as topical, its success was undeniable and marked a real turning point for the technology. And as for Snapchat... The audience is ready and willing. Brands recognised it, we recognised it and platforms recognised it. This is a classic definition of a perfect storm and I’m sure that we will see many more success stories coming to the fore in this way.

What platform do you think is the most powerful or relevant way to reach a consumer & what do you think the next evolutionary step in this category will be? 

As mentioned above, the landscape is huge and there are many touchpoints that a brand can share with their consumers. But in this fragmented scenario where brands need to create and distribute a plethora of communication elements, an old friend is staging a comeback. The Dot com is where the brand lives. It’s as simple and powerful as that. And it’s the perfect place for the brand to have deeper and more meaningful conversations with their customers.

Of course is not about creating a template and filling it with TV spots. And it’s not only about the experience either. Today we can create sites that engage differently with each unique user. Giving them the ability to get what they want, in a locally-relevant way, as quickly as possible. It all comes down to the same thing: knowing your audience and planning. Once that is aligned, brands need to put just as much emphasis and effort into a proper UX. They need to move on from the old visual guidelines where their website was just an extra and they need to create beautiful digital guidelines that are fully animated, and consider customer interactions, transitions and devices. With that, they need to use all the available tools to create the most powerful platform - the centrepiece - from which they can engage and interact with their audience. It’s mutually beneficial. There are some great cases of this already happening and we will only see more brands moving in this direction.

What do you think the jury will be looking for when they’re debating the Cyber Lions entries?

The juries are going to be looking for what they are always looking for. Great ideas perfectly executed. And honesty. Brands that know who they are, who they are talking to and still create meaningful and honest conversations will always be on the stage picking up the awards.

What pieces of work have impressed you in the last 12 months that you would define as being eligible for this category?

Is it too back-slapping to say that Audi's Sandbox project, that MediaMonks did with POL, really hit the VR nail on its experiential head.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned since Cannes 2016? 

Don’t forget your sunscreen :)

But seriously, I think it’s about honesty, values, compassion and empathy. It’s not about the award. That would be the result of mindful input and hard work.  

Will you be attending the festival this year and, if so, what are you most looking forward to about it?

Of course I will! Cannes has always fascinated me. Mostly because of the people, the environment, networking, ideas and the entrepreneurial thinking. The world is changing, agencies and brands are changing, and platforms and production companies are changing. It is not about what to look for but how to find it. I want to connect as much as I can with entrepreneurs, builders and searchers… no matter where they are based.