Robert Andrews

CANNES — Could the technology behind Bitcoin be used to power digital advertising data, not just a digital currency? At Cannes Lions, the festival of advertising creativity, technology and ad execs alike have been discussing the potential application of blockchain. But “potential” may already be an out-of-date description – because Comcast used Cannes to announce what […]

CANNES — At the latest assembly of the world’s largest festival for creative marketing, the hottest topic up for discussion was… artificial intelligence? It may seem incongruous, but, as executives in industries the world over scramble to assess the benefits promised by AI, advertising decision-makers are amongst those getting excited. “At the agency level, we […]

CANNES — Imagine a future in which a brand advertised to you through your TV, then followed you out of your apartment, down the street, in to the store and inside the movie theater. That future is now, as a new crop of TV ad data companies is rising up to offer not just TV […]

CANNES — Clippy was never this clever. Artificial intelligence is now taking us on a journey to a time where we will interact with lifelike digital avatars in virtual worlds populated by thousands of artificial actors. That is the vision of artificial intelligence pioneer Mark Sagar. He should know – the CEO of Soul Machines […]

CANNES — Brands spend too much time measuring the wrong metrics and should, instead, switch focus to look at a holistic overview of what matters in world in which they take back control. That is according to the chief of the media agency network launched by Omnicom last year. In this video interview with Beet.TV, Hearts & […]

CANNES — GroupM is reconfiguring its agency businesses for a new advertising world in which advertisers expect to measure and pay for ads that bring real, identifiable business results. In this video interview with Beet.TV, GroupM north America CEO Brian Lesser explains the group is responding a world in which the agency business model is fast-changing, […]

CANNES – Brands need to break away from the limitations of traditional digital ad measurement, to embrace a world in which they can achieve true business outcomes. That is according to the tech chief of one leading ad agency. Compared with analog, digital advertising may be sophisticated but, without having full sight of outcomes like […]

CANNES — At this point in the early development of artificial intelligence, many people probably assume that typical AI applications revolve around textual deployments. But we if you could use AI to create lifelike digital brains that, implanted in 3D facial models, could give life and character to virtual avatars? As far-fetched as it may seem, […]

CANNES — Once upon a time, television advertising used to be all about igniting consumers’ initial interest, sometimes long before an eventual purchase. It’s called “branding”, raising awareness at the very start of the marketing funnel – with no real ability to track a TV ad’s specific impact on sales. But all that is changing, […]

CANNES — Who would ever have thought that the world’s biggest festival for celebrating creativity in marketing would have ended up discussing artificial intelligence, blockchain and cognitive technologies? But all these new-wave developments could be set to revolutionise advertising, as well as the other industries they touch. Companies like IBM and Microsoft are pitching their cognitive […]

CANNES — The UK’s two leading pay-TV providers have teamed to develop a “common currency” for addressable TV advertising in the country. Sky (satellite) and Virgin Media (cable) may be fierce rivals, but this week they announced a “strategic partnership” to scale advanced TV ad targeting opportunities, against the common enemy of online platforms. In this […]

CANNES – Each side needs a little of what the other has got, and they are coming together to make something better. That is one way to describe the current state of media – at least according to Turner president David Levy. Speaking with Beet.TV in this video interview, he sees a convergence of digital and […]

CANNES – Who would ever have thought that the world’s biggest festival for celebrating creativity in marketing would have ended up discussing artificial intelligence, blockchain and cognitive technologies? Those were some of the trends on the lips of ad execs as Cannes Lions got underway early this week – but how could they help advertisers? […]

CANNES — In recent years, it has added tracks for entertainment, innovation and even health. But now the creative ad industry’s main event is considering expanding to encompass an even wider array of media industry topics. Speaking with Beet.TV in this video interview as Cannes Lions kicked off, event CEO Phillip Thomas said the biggest […]

CANNES — Over the last year, a noticeable apology for ad-tech has grown louder in the advertising community, as ad execs – once sold on hyper-targeting super-powers – cast their eyes back toward the basic tenets of creative ad craft. To Doug Rozen, that means “making stories matter”. It’s one of the mantras of OMD, […]

In the UK pay-TV market, they are two fierce rivals. But now satellite operator Sky and cable company Virgin Media are forming a “strategic partnership” to scale advanced TV ad targeting opportunities, against the common enemy of online platforms. The pair have announced Virgin will use data from Sky’s existing AdSmart addressable TV system, as […]

Artificial intelligence (also referred to as augmented intelligence) is expected to be one of the most talked about topics at Cannes next week. But it can be hard to fathom exactly what AI could mean, and for whom. That’s why the Weather Company CMO  Jordan Bitterman and his team plan to bring the technology to life […]

In a fast-moving world with fast-changing technologies, new strategies and ideas prompt constant innovation in the way we construct messaging and communicate for companies. But is constant reinvention necessarily a good thing? In this video interview with Beet.TV, one of the creative chiefs from a major international agency calls for longer-term thinking. “We talk a […]

One of the world’s top ad agencies is well used to making messages for TV screens – but TBWA also sees an opportunity to break free from that screen. Speaking with Beet.TV in this video interview, TBWA’s global chief creative officer Chris Garbutt says: “There’s never been a more exciting time for storytelling. All these […]

Most marketers have now been taking advantage of social media networks for several years. By now, everyone knows the medium is both transformational, but also risky. But exactly how risky can social be, and how do brands best respond? News Corp’s Storyful unit, which began by helping publishers validate user-uploaded content for news stories, says it […]