The week before Cannes your inbox lights up, brimming with emails from long-lost clients, agency friends and Cannes comrades asking if you’re going to the Cote d’Azur next week. Half the industry is buzzing in anticipation, the other half are planning their week of World Cup viewing. For me this year, Cannes was a chance to join my fellow founding members of the Digital Future Council as we strategise over the future of our respective creative and media worlds. To catch up with a number of industry partners, clients, agencies and, well, let’s face it… mates. It’s not all work.

The Digital Future Council had a villa a short walk from the Croisette and the founding members had sessions on Monday and Tuesday. Sessions centred on Blockchain technology and how it may affect the creative and media worlds. Much more to come on this (watch this space). The event was well attended and prompted a lively debate about technology and the future. I spoke with people from varying industries all tasked with understanding new tech roles for their business. It is clear the tech players are beginning to own Cannes. Facebook, Snap, Twitter, Google, Pinterest, Spotify all have prominent spots along La Croisette beachfront. Plenty more had their yachts moored up for intimate chats with the right person. But it’s clear the ad tech world is viewing Cannes with big cow eyes. Rubicon, Trade Desk and MediaMath booked out some nice spaces to party into the night, while the Media Agencies take their usual spots at large hotels. It definitely feels like the tech players and publishers are splashing the cash to get in on the action.

Despite Lion’s creative heritage and emphasis on being creative, this year’s festival was dominated by technology. Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), blockchain, Artificial Intelligence and printing technology, and how these technological advancements are about to change the face of the creative and media worlds. With well publicised decreased agency presence, the void was filled by digital firms shouting about their tech-based offerings. As well as entertaining the creative community nightly with live music, beaches and of course cocktails, Minuty and Lager beer on tap (they know us so well.) So much entertainment was on offer that chats at each beach party invariably moved quickly on to ’where we going next?’ or ’did you see The Killers last night?’ or ’are you going to watch Duran Duran later?’ (incidentally overheard on the Croisette from a young Lion ’I think my mum saw Duran Duran once’ – man I feel old.)

So are the awards a sideshow to all of this? I don’t think so. The two mutually exist. While there were several peers I spoke to that by Thursday hadn’t even picked up their delegate pass, there were quite a few discussions about shortlists and awards from that night or the next. I was really pleased to see the hard work I put in with the Cannes Lions Outdoor team come to life on the awards side of things. For too long I’ve written about how the categorisation of Outdoor has almost excluded Digital. It’s now fully integrated into the Outdoor category, though judging by the shortlists and entries it’ll take a few years to bed in on both agency and judging sides. Don’t get me wrong, there were some very worthy winners, but there were also again some technically suspect entries with poor categorisations.

In amongst everything were some real flashes of brilliance, and a real stand out I thought, was McCann London’s, XBOX Dynamic Campaign Outdoor win. A very smart and dynamic way to promote a product they were not allowed to talk about. Outside of that, it was great to see our partner Adam and Eve do well at Lions, especially for the great Project 84 campaign, but also in reclaiming the coveted agency of the year award.

Tech tech tech. This platform. The whole thing is pointless without effective creative, storytelling and crafting. So the question is: With all this technology, from sponsors, platforms, publishers, media owners, tech providers and future thinkers are we ruining the ’festival of creativity’?

I cannot see it changing anytime soon. Creative and Media are a huge business. And Tech knows it. Tech is rich. Tech is powerful. Tech can woo your client on the yacht while you’re watching The Killers.

We are stood at the very beginning of a transformation of the media and creative worlds in terms of digitisation and technologification. Predictive analytics and artificial intelligence are set to change the way we buy, distribute and attribute campaign work at scale. Smarter integrated campaigns, with better results for clients. Transparent in their process through the implementation of blockchain technology throughout the entire campaign. There is still a race to be the first. I feel there should be more pressure on collectively being ’the best’ as industries, working collaboratively to build a brighter technological future so that smarter creative can make the whole thing work.

Daniel Dawson, CCTO Grand Visual

Technology Grand Visual Digital OOH
At Grand Visual we are always searching for new, creative uses of technology and original campaigns. The intention of this new monthly instalment is so you get to know people from GV a little better. Each month varying people from around the business will be sharing things that we’ve worked on and loved, new technology we’ve been looking at and thoughts on how it could be applied within digital OOH.
LEGO Star Wars – COLLINS, SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR

“The cool aspects of the Star Wars movies was being able to use “the force” (telekinesis) to move things around and of course the space battles.

With this game, it has incorporated both aspects and combined it in an organic way. If you’re feeling heroic you can select the light side and help build lego ships to defeat the evil empire and if you want your inner Darth Vader to be revealed you can join the empire and help defeat the rebels.

What I found about the game was how smooth the camera was able to capture you and your movements. The icon would snap to your marker and the longer you held it the more points you gained.

The sound /effects also play a big part as it helps to make you more engaged in the game and you find yourself becoming quite competitive especially when playing with others.

There’s also a nice little selfie you can take of yourself with the characters which I think kids will love.”

All about real-time motion capture – STEVE, CREATIVE

Creativity digital ooh

“Real-time motion control systems are extremely close to becoming an affordable reality. Whilst researching for a brief that came in, I’ve found some really interesting products.

A small team in Cambridge, England worked on the motion capture for a PS4 game called Hellblade. Seeing the game I thought the motion capture was amazing… now I’ve learnt that it can be done in real-time!”

The real-time motion capture behind ‘Hellblade’ – endgadget

Qlone; 3D scanning app – ADAM, MGFX DESIGNER

creativity digital ooh

 

“This 3D modelling technology is incredibly cool. To go from clunky scanners to a super-fast, scalable, real-time app is quite unbelievable. And the fact that you can use the AR view to beam your models back into the real world feels very futuristic.

It’s really exciting thinking about how this technology can be applied on a larger scale in digital OOH. Because the app is so quick, it could potentially improve production speeds or even be gamified.”

Key features of Qlone scanning app –  Qlone

Evolution of the World Cup ball – RIC, CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Creativity Digital OOH

“For all those wrapped up in World Cup fever, did you ever wonder why the design of the football looks the way it does?

Well… even if you hadn’t thought about it, here’s a lovely bit of motion graphics from the people at The Guardian, in one of their great explainer videos.”

T-model to Telstar 18: the evolution of the World Cup ball – video explainer – The Guardian

AR demo integrating with real-world objects – ED, PRODUCER

Creativity Digital OOH Augmented Reality

“If some people are willing to make long treks to obscure places to catch rare Pokemon, why not go one step further and have them run around to try and catch them when they get there? Looking at Niantic’s latest demo at least it seems that could be the case.

What makes this demo particularly exciting of course is that the technology driving this is more aware of the environment, particularly the depth (or z-axis) allowing the Pokemon (or whatever augmented item is placed in the scene) to be obscured by any real-world object that is placed between it and the camera. Up until now, a common problem is that the illusion of augmented reality can be easily broken by such objects and so special consideration to avoid this had to be made when designing AR experiences. With this limitation potentially removed more exciting opportunities that were never possible before could become an option.”

Niantic shows off a stunning AR demo that lets Pikachu hide behind real-world objects – The Verge

LEGO star wars augmented reality
To follow on from the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story, LEGO has launched a digital OOH campaign, inviting shoppers to “Master the Force.” The experiential campaign uses on-screen LEGO bricks to build galaxy fighters, and promote the latest characters and brick sets tied to the Star Wars anthology.

Gesture sensor technology enables passers-by to engage with the on-screen LEGO sets, with users prompted to choose a side, and start building the spaceships of the new galaxy. The goal is to win the ultimate accolade of becoming a true Jedi Master, so the faster they build, the higher the score. After the game, there’s the opportunity for participants to ‘take a photo with the crew’, encouraging social sharing and amplifying the reach of the campaign.

Mark Phillips, Developer, Grand Visual, comments:

“It was fun developing the game using new camera technology which is still in development. The camera has the ability to recognize humans and can track joint movements in a 3D space, in essence, it’s an updated version of the Microsoft Kinect. The camera has incredible sensor technology, and is able to capture the movements of the player without confusing them with people in the background who are not involved in the game.”

The campaign was a collaborative effort, conceived by Initiative, with production, animation and interactive build by Grand Visual. Media planning and buying by Initiative and Rapport. The week-long Application runs on large-format Limited Space screens at busy shopping malls Bluewater and Newcastle Metro Centre from the 28th May.

Ric Albert, Creative Director, Grand Visual, said:

“Immersive experiences created with strategic use of creative technology allow the customer to get hands-on and explore LEGO’s latest products in a fun and memorable ways. At the end of gameplay the photo op then broadens the audience by encouraging people to share their picture online with family and friends.”

Integrated Systems Europe is the world´s largest AV systems integration show, taking place in Amsterdam from 6-9 February. Jon Jones, Creative Technologist, and Dan Dawson, CCTO went along to check out the latest cutting-edge technology. We hope you enjoy the social commentary from their time at the show.

Last week Advertising Week Europe descended upon London for its 5th year. The event brings together an estimated 30,000 people from the advertising industry, attending 160 events held throughout the week.

A few of us from Grand Visual made our way to Piccadilly’s Picture House to hear the latest opinions in ad land…

A standout theme that emerged was hearing brands, agencies and creatives talking about the need to focus on storytelling and ‘humans’ rather than data and algorithms.ms.

On Monday we attended “Reinventing the Real World”, where panelists discussed connections – to people and to things. They made the point that brand communications need to enhance, rather than interrupt consumers lives and brands should be really clear on the role that their comms take.

On Tuesday we saw the Dentsu Aegis session “Renaissance: A New Creative Value System” where the panel discussed how the world is now more than ever powered by technology and data. They discussed the power of ideas and the changing roles that creativity and technology are playing when it comes to advertising. Tracy De Groose (CEO, Dentsu Aegis) mentioned a study by McCann Japan who pitted an AI Creative Director against its human counterpart – the human won. The panel agreed that it was best for the industry for technology and creativity to be ‘happy bedfellows’.

Our final highlight was “Realising The Human Potential: Technology’s Cognitive Capabilities” hosted by Microsoft. Ravleen Beeston kicked things off with some stats on how technology is changing adoption rates. It took TV 38 years to reach 100 million sets sold mark, Smartphones 3 years, and PokemonGo took just 33 days. The discussion explored voice, image and emotion recognition and what opportunities these technologies present for marketers.

The main takeaway this year was the shift towards ‘people based advertising’, a refreshing change after years focused on data & technology.

 

Last week, Advertising Week celebrated its 13th Annual gathering in New York City. With over 250 sessions held across nine different venues, it’s safe to say that plenty of different conversations developed throughout the week. Nonetheless, a general sentiment for change was consistent across seminars and workshops… A change that the industry should take in order to grasp what’s needed now, not in the future.

The theme of change was highlighted mainly when it came to the following topics:

Technology

Technology is opening the doors for more and more media channels to become digital. In the session “Technology vs Strategy: Who’s Steering the Future?”, Rich Raddon (Co-Founder, ZEFR) said “technology needs to be part of every brand… it empowers it, it super charges it”. Strategic technology decisions are making businesses more competitive and in IBM’s session “Digital Transformation in the Cognitive Era”, Bob Lord (Chief Digital Officer, IBM) explains how his company contributes to this shift, mainly by applying Watson to campaign planning and execution.

Machine learning will get better and better… But it’s important to recognize that agencies and marketers need to go beyond machine capabilities and add a layer of creativity, aiming at closing the gap between the digital and physical world. AR and VR are definitely helping to bridge these two worlds, and beyond this, location technology is raising the bar, transforming smart cities into connected cities.

Data

In the session “The Great Debate: Agencies vs Consultancies”, Mark Barrett (President, Heat) said “the language of business is data and CMOs are increasingly speaking this language”. With all the emergent technologies and access to data, our industry needs to guide brands through what specifically can be measured, its value and how it drives a positive impact for their business. As a result, there’s a need to invest in metrics that measure performance across devices in a more connected way… in the way that it impacts consumers.

We all need to be aware of the fact that not all big data is good data; context is what matters most when connecting with consumers. In the session “Media Meets Creativity (Again, Always, & Forever): The Value of Getting Closer”, Jim Mollica (VP of Digital, Under Armour) points out that we all need to know the difference between data vs insights you can build an idea off of. Data is digested to get insights from which strategy is developed; there is no longer a need for long research processes. But be aware… insights are debatable; be ready to test and repeat. Even if you have access to all the data in the world, it doesn’t mean you’ll get the results you are looking for on your first try.

Organizational Shifts

With technology and data shaping the world we live in, organizations need to structure themselves in a way that embraces these digital foundations; this is required across the board (creative agencies, media agencies, brands, consultancies, publishers, media owners and partner/vendor teams).

During Droga5’s “Media Meets Creativity” session, Lindsay Nelson (Global Head of Brand Strategy and Marketing, VOX Media) alleges that the current structure is designed to fail; we talk about what should be done, but we are still not adequately integrated… Why? She says “follow the money”; see who is incentivized and how, and you’ll understand why most of these structures are not as flexible as they should be.

The number of times the terms “working in silos” and “lack of transparency” was mentioned throughout the week was astonishing. Put this into perspective… When it comes to technology, trust needs to be handed to the specialists. When it comes to data, if we don’t collaborate, it will sit unused.

It is “the end of marketing as we know it”, said Marie Gulin-Merle (CMO L’Oreal USA) in the session “Building Connected Stories”. She assures we are moving towards “designing experiences”; these experiences are designed by strategically adding layers of content, data and services along the consumer journey. Let’s not forget what our consumers want, it’s still all about them. The brands that are using technology and data to collaboratively identify and engage with consumers in key touch points are winning the game.

So why wait for the future? Let’s make our industry better… now. This was the big takeaway from Advertising Week 2016.

Last week a record-breaking crowd of more 50,000 converged in Amsterdam to attend this year’s “Integrated Systems Europe expo”, securing its place as the world’s leading professional AV and electronics expo. The GV Labs team went along to see some of the latest and greatest developments in the industry over the past year. Here, Michael Farrance shares some of the team’s favourites of the show.

Strong Trends in Projection Mapping

Projection mapping dominated the landscape at ISE this year. Advances in object mapping and spatial augmented reality have made the medium more accessible than ever. The technology was used in a variety of situations, from simple signage to creative and artistic exhibitions.

We witnessed some impressive auto-calibration equipment that was able to map a model car and within thirty seconds the content was being accurately projected onto the car.

projection maping

Effective Holographic Executions

Although we’ve seen holograms before, there were some skillful executions this year which integrated real world objects with the virtual to create some thoroughly immersive effects. Examples include this one from McDonalds which uses coffee to mimic fireworks bursting from soil.

Holograph

4K 3D Without Glasses

The move from HD to 4K has made vast improvements to the quality of the lens-less 3D experience. Although, we’re yet to experience the 3D Jaws from Back to the Future, we’re actually at a nice trade-off where the effect is apparent but subtle. An exhibitor was able to demonstrate this by adjusting the third dimension depth on the fly, providing a live comparison.

4k3d

Driving Simulator

This year the wish list addition to the GV office is this driving simulator. The stand got everyone’s attention with its beautiful curved, ultra high definition screen and hydraulic reactive chassis

driving simulator

Dan Dawson presents at the GV Breakfast at the Hospital Club

Lured by the prospect of a free breakfast and the opportunity to play with some of our new DOOH tech toys, around thirty team members from Rapport, UM London, and Initiative UK joined us last week at the Hospital Club for a presentation on technological developments in Digital Out of Home (DOOH).

Dan Dawson, Grand Visual’s Creative Technology Director, took attendees through an explanation of the role Grand Visual plays in DOOH creative, and how the japanese concept of waku doki (the feeling of anticipation, joy, and excitement delivered by an experience) influences our work. He also talked through some video case studies of recent work, including McDonald’s “See One, Want One”, Disney “Virtual Memories”, and Roadshow Film’s augmented reality billboard for Into the Storm.

Having demonstrated how GV utilises new developments in dynamic content, interactivity, and augmented reality, the presentation concluded with an opportunity for people to try out some of the technology we’ve been developing — such as our Agent controlled virtual penalty shootout game, “The Grand Kick”; facial identification technology that can determine whether someone is male or female, smiling, or even follow the movement of their eyes; and our new dual-screen solution for producing virtual reality activations that allow large groups to participate in the experience.

We intend to run more of these presentations to help agencies gain an insight into the work we do and how we do it. If you think members of your team would be interested in attending such an event, let us know.