Sparks CXO Robin Lickliter Talks Trends and Cannes Lions with AW360 Podcast

In a recent episode of Advertising Week’s AW360 podcast, Sparks’ Chief Experience Officer Robin Lickliter shares her professional insight on experiential marketing trends, as well as her thoughts and predictions on the upcoming Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The AW360 podcast highlights key innovators of the marketing industry, so it’s no surprise that Lickliter is this week’s featured guest.

At Sparks, Lickliter is responsible for the overview of the strategy, sponsorship, event production and execution teams, managing a total of about 275 people. The level of variety in the work as well as the ever-changing nature of the industry is what keeps Lickliter coming back, as she finds these aspects of experiential marketing the most exciting and rewarding.

Cannes Lions 2024

Cannes Lions is a highly anticipated and prestigious award, networking and leadership-focused celebration of marketing, communications and creativity. This year, Sparks will be attending the festival held annually in Cannes, France for the second time.

Lickliter tells AW360 that this year, she is most excited about the introduction of new award categories such as Lions Creators and Humor, as well as the return of sports and the continuous integration of AI technology. Lickliter emphasizes both the importance of celebrating creators and the inclusion of joy and humanity in marketing. Successful marketing is all about making a connection, so authenticity is essential.

Predictions

Take her word for it…here are campaigns Lickliter predicts will perform well this year.

1. Lickliter describes Google’s Guided Frame as a strong example of an ad that demonstrates the humanization of technology. As demonstrated in their Super Bowl commercial, this product helps the low-visioned take photos by providing auditory instructions.
   
   
2. France Telecom’s Orange is a campaign that puts the heads of male stars onto female bodies, boldly emphasizing that women’s skills in sports are equal to men’s. This campaign has already won awards and currently has nominations at Cannes in both the Good and Titanium categories.
   
   
3. Finally, The Dove Code campaign challenges AI’s impact on human body image and self-worth by advocating for true, authentic beauty without the overlay of technology. Lickliter determines this message to be crucial as the world of technology advances.

Sparks at Cannes

To emphasize how “authenticity, empathy and generosity” are essential to effective marketing, Sparks is partnering with Upworthy at this year’s festival for “The Happiest Hour” event. This event is a spin-off of the CMO Dinner Series in which Upworthy takes the stage with other high-level marketers like Google, Invisalign, e.l.f. Beauty, CeraVe, and Mastercard to highlight the importance of generous brand messages in advertising and marketing. Sparks is extremely excited to bring this project to Cannes this year.

For more details or to join in on The Happiest Hour event, check out thecmodinnerseries.com.