Given the shortened attention span and massive amounts of advertising, marketers face a daunting task in connecting with consumers, says Sean Reardon, President of Publicis-owned Roar. Consumers are exposed to about 5000 messages each week and will likely only remember 10 to 15 of them, he says.

“It’s a combination of engagement and exposure,” he adds. “It’s not just a big punch, but a lot of messages adding up over time.” The sheer volume of advertising puts pressure on marketers to be consistent in voice and tone across all those messages. But once a marketer captures a consumer’s attention, there is a greater chance of connecting with them because of amplification tools, like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, he says. “How can you create noise in front [of a message],” he says adding that digital channels allow for that broader reach.

We spoke with Reardon as part of our series titled “The Road to Cannes,” a preview of the Festival and an overview on the state and future of digital media by a range of thought leaders. The series will be published over two weeks.  The series is sponsored by Videology.