Cannes Lions 2023: ‘Creatives who get evaluated at Cannes, are not who get rewarded by the consumers’

Beauty, and William White, CMO, Walmart, discussed the role of creativity in moving brands and businesses forward.

The talk was moderated by Johanna Botta, a TV presenter.

Marchisotto spoke about how brands need to look and use creators with the e.l.f Beauty experience.

“You need to look for insights from within the community. It’s about what people like about our products. We take those insights and use them within our creative. We actually look for fans of our brands,” she said.

She added the importance of real-time and explained how the brand created its Super Bowl ad in less than a month.

“Most companies work for 12-18 months for a Super Bowl ad. We created it in three weeks. We move at the speed of culture, and that’s how we work with the creator economy,” she said.

Botta then asked Singh about the metrics he uses to measure creativity.

“We have some iconic brands. But the fact is that people trust what others say about our brands much more than we do. We have always been controlling the message in the past. But with the creator economy, we have that flexibility. For me, the biggest metric is about being ‘unmissable’. We look at that for everything,” said Singh.

Shift in influence

Marchisotto pointed out how the ecosystem of influence has changed.

“When we looked at voices of influence, we looked at journalists first. Then came the influencers. Now it’s creators. I read thousands of comments every week. I go on TikTok Live to hear stuff. I take our CFO on these live sessions, so that we get the needs approved. It’s about opening a door for the consumers to see the company inside, and that’s important for Gen Z,” she said.

White spoke about how creativity goes beyond the discipline of marketing at Walmart.

“We are looking at innovation across the company. Creativity shows up in how we show up across the market. For us, when it comes to measuring creativity, the metrics are how we are driving traffic and sales, and also building loyalty and the brand,” said White.

On the topic, he added, “Creativity is the fuel for marketing. It’s about being relevant as well. The speed of retail is moving fast, so we’re looking at that. We are very focussed on how we are driving equity and look at weekly.”

Diversity

Marchisotto stated that e.l.f. Beauty’s ‘lofty’ ambition is to change the world.

“Creativity causes impact. We measure creativity through diversity and inclusion. Only four companies out of 4,200 in the USA have a board of directors which comprises two-third women and one-third diverse, and we are one of them. We have diversity in the higher seats,” she said.

Building on his point of being unmissable, Singh added, “You have to make your work unmissable. A study revealed that 47% of the ROI of a campaign comes on the back of the creative. Media investment is below that at 22%. A lot of the creatives who get evaluated at Cannes, are not who get rewarded by the consumers and connect with them.”

Botta then asked Marchisotto and White about the role of a CMO.

Botta said, “What a CMO means in one organisation isn’t the same at the other. At e.l.f, my role is to ensure creativity. The CMO has to serve the community and not numbers. Numbers are an outcome of serving the community.”

White added, “The role of the CMO is to drive growth. When we look at it, it’s about getting more consumers to shop more.”

Botta also engaged the trio in a set of quick-fire questions:

The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning?

White: I shower.

Marchisotto: Get love and affection from my cat.

Singh: Kiss my wife.

If you weren’t a CMO?

Singh: Film director

White: Running coach

Marchisotto: Travel journalist

Overused word in marketing

Singh: Creative Awards

Marchisotto: Metaverse

White: Authenticity