Influencers have made their presence felt at Cannes Lions for a few years now, as they muscled into the social media and content space repping their clients. But 2024’s festival ushers in the feeling that influencers and creators — or at least the agencies that serve and support this increasingly important form of marketing — will capture more attention on the many stages and behind closed doors.
In fact, Cannes could prove to be when acquisition discussions take place and a new era of consolidation happens in the space.
“I’ve been in this industry long enough to know there’s always the fragmentation where something specialized comes out,” said Amy Luca, evp and global head of social at Media.Monks. “I believe that we’re in the consolidation phase.”
Meantime, as everyone attending Cannes Lions contemplates the potential, as well as the potential threat, of generative AI, the influencer agency space will demonstrate its ability to grow the automation side of the business, given that the festival has gradually added more content around influencer topics.
AI transparency and automation advances
With artificial intelligence taking off in the industry, Maria Rodriguez, senior director of marketing and communications at Open Influence, noted that influencer agencies are harnessing the technology to boost content creation and productivity – particularly as tech giants from Meta to Google have been experimenting with more AI tools that could benefit creators and agencies.
“But it’s not just the big players discussing AI,” Rodriguez said. “We will also see newer companies leveraging AI to tackle some of the industry’s most pressing challenges.”
One of the agency’s partners, SeeMeIndex, will be discussing using responsible AI to help brands create inclusive marketing strategies.
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