Must-Watch Marketers At Cannes In Cairns!

With such an almighty slate of content at this year’s Cannes in Cairns, presented by Pinterest, the mind can boggle over which session to attend.

When the main stage isn’t being commanded by the showstopping keynotes, there are two content tracks in the Cairns Convention Centre and new for 2024, an afternoon content track in the iconic Hemingway’s Brewery on Cairns Wharf.

Across the three expertly curated days from Tuesday 4 to Thursday 6 June, we’ve cherry-picked the top unmissable marketer-skewed sessions to attend below.

Cannes in Cairns advisory board member, fellow speaker, and CEO of the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA), Josh Faulks, said: “It’s great to see Cannes in Cairns is back with such a robust slate of impressive marketers and top brands.

“The role of marketing in driving business growth and profitability has never been more important, especially in this challenging economic environment.

“Unpacking some of the big issues in marketing – be it effectiveness, the work, or brand building – can only serve to better inform and connect our community.”

Faulks is also leading popular Cairns Extra, the AANA Walking Group, whereby marketers and brand aficionados alike will join the CEO and other AANA members for a casual morning walk and talk with fellow peers – all while taking in some of the most beautiful coastline in Queensland. Find out more HERE.

Buy your Cannes in Cairns tickets now! They’re selling like hotcakes (and we’re really not lying, either).

Global CMO Keynote: It’s Not All About Change

Sometimes you need to focus harder on the things that aren’t going anywhere, rather than the shiny thing ahead, according to Fernando Machado, global chief marketing officer, NotCo.
More details to come.

Global Keynote: Responsible Marketing Unpacked

Join US-based award-winning inclusive marketing strategist Lola Bakare, CMO advisor and inclusive marketing strategist as she demystifies, peels back the layers and hits home the importance, necessity and priorities around truly responsible marketing.

Holy Shit! The Importance Of Adding Risk To Your Marketing Mix

Holy shit, is the increasingly rigorous application of marketing science in Australia the end of risk-taking in the marketing mix? Or, is it the opposite, and the principles of marketing effectiveness actually require us to roll the dice on some of our decision-making to deliver above-expectation results?

Who better to interrogate this sweary topic than CMO Tourism Australia Susan Coghill, who will lead the unpeeling of this onion, supported by The Marketing Academy Scholars?

Panellists:

Robbie Bramall, director of marketing and communications, Museum of Old and New Art (MONA)
Ruth Haffenden, global head of brand and marketing, Boody
Susan Coghill, CMO, Tourism Australia
Final speaker TBA.

Prepare for talk of animated kangaroos, moisture-wicking g-strings, the unexpected benefits of pissing off cruise ship passengers, and forgoing first mover advantage in the beer-flavoured water category. Yikes.

A New Era of Brand Building – WTF Does This Mean?

Flying in from South Korea, the head of global brand group and EVP of food giant CJ CheilJedang, joins Pernod Ricard’s global marketing director and the heads of brand at a medical cannabis company and Australia’s fastest-growing technology, Montu, to share candid and fascinating insights around the brand building. With experienced adlander Lou Barrett moderating, this session is not to be missed.

Panellists:

Lou Barrett, managing director, national sales, News Corp Australia
Eric Thomson, global marketing director / CMO, Pernod Ricard Winemakers
Shawn ParkHead, head of global brand group, executive vice president, CJ CheilJedang Headquarters
Zoë Phillips, head of brand, Montu

THE WORK: Eat my Dust: Doritos Unpacked

PepsiCo’s chief marketing officer ANZ, snacks and beverages and VaynerMedia’s head of creative and consulting unpack The Work. More details soon.

Panellists:

Vandita Pandey, chief marketing officer ANZ, snacks and beverages, PepsiCo
Yash Murthy, head of creative and consulting, VaynerMedia Australia

Eff-off! The Efficiency Panel

Two top CMOs will join Boomtown’s chairman and The Ideas Business’s founder to talk about the importance of efficiency. We’ll cut through the bullsh*t and hear first-hand from some of the nation’s leading brands about how they actively pursue efficiency through finding oft-ignored additional audiences. Presented by media collective Boomtown, you’ll hear real stories from brands about their results from treating consumers outside the five metros with more respect — with absolutely no spin.

Panellists:

Brian Gallagher, independent chairman, Boomtown
Kirsten Hasler, head of marketing, AU&NZ IKEA
Wade Kingsley, The Creative Coach, The Ideas Business
Final speaker TBA

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly – Top Marketers Cut to The Chase

What is the thought process and motivation of today’s top marketer and will that differ in 2025? Here we’ll unearth exactly what should be celebrated, binned or outright demonised for getting in the way of this crucial role.

Panellists:

Josh Faulks, CEO, AANA
Sophie Smith, head of marketing at Officeworks
Jessica Manihera, head of marketing ANZ, Sanitarium
Final speaker TBA

Effectiveness in an Age of Efficiency

Ad effectiveness doyen Andrew Tindall jets in from the UK to discuss never-before-seen new research from System1. It will examine why work gets attention, sparks emotion, harnesses great creativity and provides a holistic view of what effectiveness means across the entire media mix.

THE WORK: Wieden + Kennedy & CJ CheilJedang (bibigo)

CJ CheilJedang’s head of global brand group, executive vice president jets in from South Korea to join Wieden + Kennedy’s Tokyo/Seoul president Yosuke Suzuki to unpack The Work around its bibigo brand. More details coming soon.

Panellists:

Shawn Park, head of global brand group, executive vice president, CJ CheilJedang Headquarters
Yosuke Suzuki, president, Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo/Seoul

OG Skincare Brand Pond’s Shares Routine for Heritage Success

Pond’s global brand director is one of a top trio looking at reimagining a 170-year-old heritage brand for a new generation. Armed with a historic and iconic brand legacy, the Unilever-owned skincare giant is just as strong and radiant now as it was back in 1846. But what is its secret?

Panellists:

Jopa Malantic global brand director, Pond’s
Rose Herceg, president, WPP
David Dahan, founder and managing director, WPP@Unilever

The Risk And Reward Of National And Local Pride In Advertising

IAG’s chief customer and marketing officer, Michelle Klein, takes a look at the concept of “being Australian” — which is far more nuanced than past advertising has suggested. This session will explore learnings from deep customer and community insights, to show how celebrating national and local pride can better connect with and reach more Australians.

Breaking Barriers: The Power of Inclusive Storytelling in Australian Media

Join four inspiring individuals as they explain why it’s imperative that the stories we tell reflect every facet of our nation’s diversity. This panel explores how brands and screen productions can become catalysts for change and will discuss what making tangible, meaningful changes to the way content engages people with disabilities truly looks like.

Panellists:

Michael Apte, CMO, Guide Dogs NSW
Paul Nunnari, Paralympian and ambassador, Inclusively Made
Tracey Corbin-Matchett OAM, chief executive officer, Bus Stop Films
Henry Smith, founder, Inclusively Made

THE WORK: From Start-up to Mainstream: Exploring Uber’s brand-building journey in APAC

Uber’s Asia Pacific marketing director joins Special’s head of strategy to unpack the brand’s award-winning creative. More details coming soon.

Panellists:

Andy Morley, director of marketing, Uber Asia Pacific
Celia Garforth, head of strategy, Special.

Where’s The Action in Audio?

The effectiveness conversation around audio has never been more topical, but how are brands investing in audio and what results are they seeing? Join Lion’s core beer marketing director, Menulog’s head of brand and media and two audio aficionados who will dig into the evolving role of audio, music, the growth of sonic branding – and more.

Panellists:

Chris Allan, head of core beer marketing, Lion
Fiona Bateman, head Of brand and media, Menulog
Two more speakers TBA.

Creator Marketing Trends You Can’t Ignore… And Those You Can

Join a creator and Bake Off semi-finalist, a top CMO and Australia’s trusted authority on the creator economy, for a panel session with a difference. Jules Lund will deliver five rapid-fire snapshots of creator marketing trends being pioneered by global brands before relying on our expert panel and audience’s bullsh*t detector to determine… Is this marketing trend fleeting or the future?

Hoda Alzubaidi, general manager and publisher Travel Weekly, content creator and TV food and travel personality
Jules Lund, founder, TRIBE Creator Solutions
Serena Leith, global marketing director, Australia & New Zealand, TikTok

THE WORK: Coca-Cola & Ogilvy Asia

Two seasoned and celebrated regional creatives unpack The Work. More details coming soon.

Panellists:

Adam Ross, senior director, creative strategy ASEAN and South Pacific region, Coca-Cola
Nikhil Panjwani, regional ECD, Ogilvy Singapore

View the rest of the Cannes in Cairns agenda here!