“Get ready with me to go to Cannes Lions” is a phrase that you could very well hear while scrolling on social media this month.

2024 marks the first year of Lions Creators, a networking and events experience dedicated to creators at Cannes Lions, which offers creators the opportunity to attend the festival at a discounted rate. For that reason, influencer marketers are abuzz, and they seem ready to take over the Croisette alongside creators in record numbers.

“Every year it incrementally gets bigger [for influencer marketing],” Ryan Detert, CEO of marketing company Influential, told us. “This is a breakout year, with the amount of spend being upward of $30+ billion in annual spend in influencer marketing.”

With the festival fast approaching, here are some of the trends and changes that influencer marketers are anticipating this year.

More creators than ever: Detert said he expects to see “three- or fourfold more creators on the ground on the Croisette” this year, not only because of Lions Creators, but also because VidCon doesn’t conflict with Cannes this year, removing a potential scheduling conflict for creators who may want to attend both.

United Talent Agency will have nearly triple the number of creator clients at Cannes this year, its biggest presence to date.

“Gen Zers are coming to Cannes Lions as creators, of course, but also really as a powerful force that’s shaking up the marketing world writ large,” Olivia Frary, UTA executive and head of the company’s ZCannes activation, told us.

Continue reading here.—KH

Can’t travel to New York on June 25? We have good news! We’re bringing the event to you via livestream so you can listen in wherever you are (well, wherever you have Wi-Fi). Tune in and hear from Duolingo, Whalar, Shine Talent Group, Keen, and many more on ROI tracking, leveraging the agency ecosystem, and reaching new audiences.

Expect the Croisette to be littered with shopping carts.

Retailers and their ad networks, some of which have recently overhauled their offerings, will have an outsize presence at this year’s Cannes Lions, which kicks off June 17. Executives from Target and Walmart are returning to the festival this year, while Kroger is sending executives to the festival for the first time. Each retailer will host meetings and pitch their ad offerings at the annual industry ballyhoo.

“We can’t be on the sidelines,” Cara Pratt, SVP, Kroger Precision Marketing, told Marketing Brew via email. “Retail sales is the ultimate proof of advertising effectiveness, so we have a responsibility to be at Cannes.”

Retailers’ increased presence at Cannes comes as their online businesses continue to intersect with the marketing world. In recent years, retailers have hit oil with retail media networks that provide customer shopping data to the ad industry and allow advertisers to target shoppers with ads on retail e-commerce sites. Because they process the payments, retailers can, in theory, tell advertisers whether consumers who see their ads are buying their products.

It’s a big business—this year, the category will account for one-fifth of all digital media spend, and the category is expected to attract $166 billion in ad spend by 2025, according to eMarketer.

Read more here.—RB

Retail Brew’s Erin Cabrey is on the ground at Cannes Lions this year, taking in all things creativity and commerce. She’ll be there all week, so keep coming back here for her daily dispatches—or, better yet, say hi IRL!

With sandals strapped, sunscreen slathered, and setting spray spritzed, I took on Day One of Cannes Lions 2024. It was a lovely sunny day by the beach, and while Monday is set to be the coolest of the event’s five days, I was dripping sweat before noon. That humidity is no joke!

While I’d heard Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” several times since arriving, I’d yet to consume any caffeine since arriving on Sunday, so coffee was the first thing on the agenda. Then, I turned to something sweet—sort of. I chatted with Rankin Carroll, chief brand officer at candy giant Mars Wrigley. He’s been coming to Cannes for nearly 10 years (!) now, which is, well, about a decade more than me. He said he particularly likes the event because it sparks creativity and brings together decision-makers. “A lot can happen quite quickly here,” he noted.

Later, I followed the blue carpet over to Amazon Port, where I came across a booth for the Prime Video romance series The Summer I Turned Pretty that was handing out friendship bracelets (go Team Conrad, obviously). I overheard an Amazon worker explaining the plot of the show to a man who had clearly never seen it before.

I also watched influencer Alix Earle and Marianna Hewitt, the co-founder of skin-care brand Summer Fridays, on Amazon’s “Now trending: #Authenticity” panel. Earle discussed creating sponsored brand content that resonates with her audience (“I usually look for creative freedom,” she said), citing a recent collab with YSL Beauty for which her boyfriend, football player Braxton Berrios (who I spotted in the audience), did the voiceover.

Then, I spent some time wandering around all the brand activations, from yachts to cabanas. While I got a sunburn and my makeup melted off my face, my sandals proved to be quite comfortable. Thanks, Old Navy!

Signing off for the day like Alix Earle: Bye .—EC

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There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

Snap a pic: Tips for building a Snapchat influencer strategy.

Short and sweet: Suggestions to help craft a TikTok bio, plus lots of inspo.

Put a pin in it: Read up on Pinterest’s AI-powered ad tool, Pinterest Ad Labs.

Executive moves across the industry.

• GE’s former CMO, Linda Boff, is the new CEO of marketing agency Said Differently, WSJ reported.
• Lowe’s promoted Jennifer Wilson to CMO.
• AccuWeather hired Matt Gillis, formerly president of Digital Turbine, as chief business officer.