Blink:

Friends are asking me how I am dealing with the record heat wave here in France. Not an issue given I live two blocks from the Mediterranean and have AC. The situation I am having a problem copping with is the current OPM epidemic here in Cannes.

Read On:

The mover and shakers in marketing and advertising from around the world (an estimated 15,000 attendees from 90 countries) have descended on Cannes (population 70,000) for the International Festival of Creativity 2026. Their agenda is to discuss industry trends and how thanks to technology (of course AI), their strategies are evolving as they try to reach consumers globally, specifically young people (Gen Z). In addition, a majority want to enjoy some Cannes OPM.

Attendees are at the marketing director level and above, as well as a few marketing wannabees (a.k.a. toadies) who were here managing the networking lounges – Google, Pinterest, Spotify, LinkedIn, etc.. The keynote sessions conducted in the Palais des Festivals et des Congress featured C-suite executives who are paid the big bucks to make pithy statements like “The goal these days isn’t really about visibility, it’s about enhancing the relevance of your brand.” I apologize if I am missing something here, but as a former CPG brand marketer dating back forty plus years, building brand relevance always was the objective centric to branding. In addition, to main draw, there were also some free sessions on a side Beach Stage tent equipped with huge fans to keep attendees cool. The sessions were about brands & culture, an area of interest since I am a student of social media and influence marketing.

In closing, I could not help, but network. Validated what I always thought about when I engaged at conferences in choice locations like Las Vegas, San Diego, Miami, and even the National Restaurant Show in Chicago. A majority of the people are in a conference daze high on OPM. What is OPM? Other peoples’ money. Cannes is a great place to attend a conference for free on a corporate expense account so you can talk about the petite dejeuner you had in the old harbor complete with the best croissant you ever had or the 25 € Negroni at the Ritz Carlton bar or the awesome parties and the great weather.

Good thing the conference ends this weekend. The OPM epidemic will be over. Life gets back to normal.