20 December 2024
Wow! What an exciting, enriching, and exhilarating week. Industry leaders from around the globe gathered at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to discuss the future of the adtech industry and celebrate creative excellence.
Together with RTL AdConnect, G+J iMS , Yospace, TechAlliance, and Amobee, we invited business partners to come to the RTL Beach for inspiration, networking opportunities, and to celebrate a big announcement. We had the pleasure of unveiling the name of a new international advertising champion — RTL AdAlliance. The new name was revealed during the session “Three become one: behind the scenes at an industry merger”, which began with a lively introduction from Stéphane Coruble, CEO of RTL AdConnect, Dr Oliver Vesper, Co-CEO of smartclip, and Stefanie Meierfrankenfeld, Managing Director of G+J iMS. Celebrations for the new partnership continued into the evening with a lavish party including more than 800 happy guests.
What does this change mean? The media sales division of smartclip will be merged with RTL AdConnect and G+J iMS to form RTL AdAlliance, the new Total Media powerhouse for international advertising and technology sales. Consequently, the tech unit of smartclip will continue to focus on developing technology to service and simplify the advertising ecosystem.
Aside from the big announcement, the week at the RTL Beach was packed with insightful presentations, interesting panels, and many future-focused topics, with spotlights on the power of total video, alliances and partnerships, media and technology, content and creativity, and responsibility and purpose. CEOs, CMOs, and innovators such as Karen Nelson-Field, Founder of Amplified Intelligence, Joanna O’ Connell, VP & Principal Analyst at Forrester, and Taide Guajardo, Chief Brand Officer Europe at P&G took the stage at the RTL Beach to discuss how these topics are affecting their work and their communities.
Other major discussions included:
- Unique Carbon Footprint feature of Realytics’ Adkymia platform: “Where are we at with cross-media measurement?”
- Shaping TechAlliance: “You can’t do it alone! A new partnership for Europe”
- Measuring advertising effectiveness and attention: “The value of connection”
- Role of tech in sustainability: “Responsible tech and climate-neutral advertising”
- Can CTV keep legacy media companies relevant?: “Is CTV the Savior for Legacy Media Companies?”
- Exploring evolving viewing habits: “The new life of the living room: Global trends from Europe and the US”
- Discussing the importance of partnerships: “Answering the uncertainty of the industry with alliances” and “The Power of Alliances”
Our main takeaway from the event was that the industry must take an active role in shaping the cultural conversation around the future of adtech and partnerships, while also maintaining our roles as responsible leaders in technology and sustainability.
After three years away, the festival did not disappoint. Being able to meet again in person reinforced the fact that our industry is about creating meaningful connections between people and brands worldwide, and without the ability to form these connections, our industry cannot thrive.
Au revoir!
Kathrin has solid experience in building strategic partnerships with international and national media outlets throughout Europe. As an award-winning communication specialist, her expertise lies in strategizing the management of digital media companies in all aspects of press communication and public relations. This skill set has made her a key player in the image branding and the Europe-wide networking of smartclip. She has been heavily involved with smartclip since its inception in 2008.
Kathrin Müller
Executive Director Europe I PR & Communication
