Value of Industry Events: Don't Discount the Human Factor

I use the pasttense quotwonderedquot because I no longer have any such reservations amp160not since I attended the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in June amp160I came to realize that after peeling away all the glitz these events are worth it due to all of the people who make them so specialamp160Being the young age of 24 two years into my career I naturally was excited for the extravaganceamp160of the event amp160The beaches the yachts the parties and the people I was eager intriguedamp160and most of allamp160thrilled to be a part of this industrychanging week amp160I prepared myself as much as I could perused the daily speaker schedule RSVP39d to as many panels as I could and slept as I knew sleep would become a luxury that week Although I prepared myself to the best of my ability nothing I could have done would have readied me enough for my experienceI met men and women who not only excel in their respected fieldsamp160but are people who I look up to and one day hope to become amp160I exchanged contact information with CEOsamp160and met a young man who founded his now thriving company by the time he was a mere 15 years old amp160Being a part of the Young Lion39s Academy I was surrounded by men and women under the age of 30 from all walks of life eager to absorb as much knowledge as they possibly could amp160All of these people inspired meI had the opportunity to see speakers from all parts of the industry amp160I was particularly enthralled by Sir Ian Murray McKellen Sheryl Sandberg Maurice Levy and Beau Lottoamp160 It is impossible to listen to these accomplished executives and not come away feeling energized inspired and excited to be in an industry that produces such talentMy biggest Cannes takeaway was that despite the overwhelming chatter around AI data and the future people are the center of everything we do in this business amp160Whether it be ouramp160colleaguesamp160that we directly work with influencing our daytoday or our consumers it39s people who keep us grounded in the work that we doI found Cannes to be a great extension of DPAA39s Video Everywhere Summit the event that made it possible for me to go to France in the first place amp160I won a random drawing sponsored by DPAA and AMI amp160AMI sponsored the Cannes prizeAt Cannes it was exciting to hear what brands are planning on exploring with digital utilizing AI data and insights to find new and creative ways to reach consumers amp160Although TV still holds the lion39s share of media budgets it is exciting to see the tremendous shift to digital using actionable data and insights amp160Being in Cannes I was able to witness firsthand how my very own company Adobe is changing the digital landscape for automated datadriven planning and buying across TV and digital amp160Being surrounded by these industry leaders not only at Cannes but in my every day has made me eager for what the future has in storeAt the end of the day it is the people who make the difference at an event like Cannes amp160It is important to both realize and recognize that although there will always be the parties and the yachts we are distinguishing and celebrating the work the people and the evolution of our everchanging industryHalle Donaldson is a Media Strategist at Adobe amp160She attended the Young Lions Academy at the 2017 Cannes International Festival of Creativity as the winner of a drawing at DPAA39s 2016 Video Everywhere Summit amp160She is pictured at top center withamp160Mike Maas CEO AMI Entertainment left and DPAA President and CEO Barry Frey rightThis article was originally published at MediaVillage September 15 2017Click the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Value of Industry Events: Don't Discount the Human Factor

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Value of Industry Events: Don't Discount the Human Factor

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