“It is not just about the imagination and the beauty that creativity fosters—it has real business impact. And what we're focused on, ultimately, is return on investment to our advertisers. We also want people to be inspired and reconsider 9:16 video as something that is worthy of creation.”

—Damien Baines, Experiential Lead at Instagram, on activating at Cannes Lions

When Meta activated for marketers and brands during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity last week, it once again tapped the creative vision of Es Devlin, a world-renowned stage designer behind Instagram’s critically-acclaimed Storyscape activation at the 2018 festival. Devlin's "Reels Cinema," a structure built from the ground up within the Meta Beach footprint, featured a seven-minute film crafted in 9:16 vertical video. We spoke with Instagram’s experiential marketing lead Damien Baines about the inspiration behind the activation, the film’s themes, the business strategy behind the project and much more.

Switching gears to medical marketing… In this particular area, the goal is very rarely to sell a thing, our columnist writes. Rather, it is to inform your base on what options are available to them, how coverage can best be used, and how to navigate an extremely complex industry that has a direct impact on your health. Many of the same tactics marketers use to motivate consumer behavior perfectly lend themselves to care objectives. Here are several.

Lastly, contextual targeting, the practice of placing ads based on the content of a web page rather than user behavior, offers an alternative to targeting solutions that rely on third-party cookies. It also presents distinct challenges that require careful consideration, especially in terms of brand safety and alignment with brand messaging. Here’s a closer look at contextual targeting and its caveats.

Until next week,

Kaylee Hultgren
Content Director
Chief Marketer

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