Latest news with #WesleyterHaar
Mint
13 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
The advertising industry parties in Cannes, with AI as its new plus-one
Tech companies like Spotify annually host parties for clients and business partners at the Cannes Lions advertising festival, where attendees are known for letting loose after dark. After several years of small experiments with AI and big anxieties over its impact, advertising executives got with the program at this week's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the ad industry's annual five-day gathering on the French Riviera. Almost every company that took over a swanky beach club, hosted guests in a villa or bought its staff $5,000 festival passes told an enthusiastic story about artificial intelligence. Raging against the machine was firmly out. Any remaining rank-and-file worries about job losses were mostly voiced far from official events. 'We've moved beyond the promise and the fear to the practical application," said Don McGuire, chief marketing officer at chip maker Qualcomm, adding that the company is saving 2,400 hours a month by using an AI agent-building tool called Writer. 'People are talking about using it in different contexts. It's no longer, 'Well, it could do this, or could do that.' " Two years ago, at the first Cannes Lions since the debut of ChatGPT announced AI's new potential, ad agency Monks co-founder Wesley ter Haar set up in a small apartment. Cassandra-like, he told visitors that AI was about to upend ad creation and employment. Executives at other companies in Cannes that year described their trials with the technology but emphasized that only humans can develop the emotional insights that steer ad campaigns. This time the idea of AI-driven industry transformation was mainstream, even if leaders still expressed confidence about humans' continued role. 'Obviously the world of business, and the world at large, is being profoundly disrupted as we speak, and the impact on jobs is already being felt," said Marisa Thalberg, the chief customer and marketing officer at Catalyst Brands, the company formed by the merger of Brooks Brothers-owner SPARC Group and JCPenney. 'My optimism comes from knowing how much creativity is—and will remain—so fundamentally and uniquely human, even if the ways we harness and express it continue to change." Instagram and Facebook owner Meta Platforms used the festival to unveil a host of new AI-based products designed to help advertisers make ads as quickly and simply as possible, feasibly without the need for an agency. Executives at the company repeatedly said the tools weren't designed to replace agencies, however—just to speed up their work and help smaller businesses that can't afford agencies. Marketers in Cannes even put concerns such as President Trump's trade war and tightening consumer budgets on the back burner in favor of talking about AI. 'I didn't have one single conversation about tariffs," said Yannick Bolloré, the chairman and chief executive officer of French advertising holding company Havas. The guest list-only 'cafe" run by Havas on the grounds of the Mondrian Hotel used AI to turn guests into 3-D characters in a movie using only a photo. The company last year said it would invest 400 million euros, or more than $429 million at the time, in AI development over the course of four years, a commitment similar to those made by rival holding companies. Now Bolloré is asking that his staff refer to AI agents as 'teammates." 'Those agents will be fully part of the Havas family," Bolloré said. 'In terms of employees we will find a lot of efficiencies, but our bet is that we will manage more revenue with the same amount of people." But reality isn't always close at hand during Cannes, a 13,000-person conference where $1,355 magnums of Dom Pérignon are regularly ordered to business tables at lunch, and executives' public displays of affection for AI began to wear thin with some. Lower-ranking attendees darkly joked at post-programming parties that they'd be replaced by their artificial counterparts before the next festival. And research published Monday raised some red flags for agencies, most of which have been racing to build up their AI arsenal. Agency trade association the 4As and consulting firm Forrester found that although 75% of agencies are using the technology—up from 61% last year—75% of those using it are also funding it directly without passing on the costs to clients, up from 41% in 2024. 'That is deeply concerning," said Jay Pattisall, principal analyst at Forrester, who wrote in the report that 'agencies are backsliding into antiquated commercial models that led to the commoditization and lack of transparency associated with marketing services." The strongest pushback to the AI overload at Cannes came from the celebrities and social-media content creators who now flood Cannes along with traditional ad players and tech companies. Actors Josh Duhamel, Reese Witherspoon, JB Smoove and others touted their own creative companies but also made a case for the employment of Hollywood talent in the ad industry. Advertising benefits from emotional connections that actors, directors and scriptwriters know how to provide, Smoove said. 'We're talking about mastering the moment," Smoove said. 'You meet somebody that you haven't seen in years and they tell you a funny joke? AI can't do that."
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
S4 Capital's Monks Crowned The One Show's First-Ever AI Pioneer Organization
NEW YORK, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In an industry first, S4 Capital's operating brand Monks – the unitary, digital only, data-driven marketing and technology services company – has been named the AI Pioneer Organization by The One Show, which has been recognizing creative talent in advertising and design for over 50 years. This newly created category honors companies pushing boundaries and shaping the future of artificial intelligence. This distinguished achievement highlights Monks' innovative approach, leadership, and commitment to advancing AI-driven solutions across the industry. Kevin Swanepoel, CEO of The One Club for Creativity, shares the reasoning behind the accolade: "In a year defined by transformative creativity, Monks has not only embraced the future – they're building it. Winning the AI Pioneer award at The One Show cements their position at the forefront of intelligent storytelling, where human insight meets machine ingenuity. Monks aren't just using AI – they're redefining what's possible with it." Wesley ter Haar, Chief AI Officer of Monks, added: "Pioneer, we like the sound of that. It's honestly thrilling, and sometimes a little anxiety-inducing, to be at the front lines as a new version of our industry forms. New commercial models, new operating structures, new client expectations, new talent needs. It's full stack, end-to-end and high stakes. To have an organization like The One Show put a spotlight on those efforts means a lot." The One Show's decision to establish the AI Pioneer category reflects the growing importance of AI in creative and strategic domains. Monks has demonstrated exceptional leadership in this space, already having earned recognition like Adweek's first-ever AI Agency of the Year, Business Intelligence Group's 2025 Excellence in Artificial Intelligence Awards in both the Organizational and AI Product categories, runner-up for the 2024 Adobe Firefly Partner Award, and Workato's 2024 AI Visionary Customer Impact Award. These recognitions, in addition to other initiatives – such as WesleyBot, which overhauls the traditional job application process – underscore their commitment to transformative AI innovations. their AI-powered professional managed service, exemplifies how innovative technology can drive impactful results, enabling businesses to streamline operations, overcome creative and operational bottlenecks, and scale personalization. For Hatch, a wellness brand, facilitated the rapid development of niche consumer personas and personalized ads in just six weeks – half the typical time – resulting in a 80% higher click-through rate, a 46% increase in engagement, and a 31% lower CPA, all while reducing ad production costs. Additionally, utilizing for Headspace, the team generated 460 custom assets tailored to 20 use cases for a holiday campaign, which was recently shortlisted for "Best Use of AI" at The Drum Awards for Marketing Americas. The campaign achieved a 62% higher conversion rate, with 13% more signups and a 13% lower cost-per-signup – demonstrating how combining human creativity with AI-driven insights creates measurable impact at scale. Supporting these innovations, Monks places a strong emphasis on internal education and growth. Their "School of AI" program provides ongoing, tailored training to ensure every employee understands AI principles and can actively contribute to AI-driven strategies. Monks' weekly "15 Minutes of Now" sessions deliver brief, targeted learning on the latest AI tools and trends, encouraging experimentation and collaboration, with standout ideas recognized across teams. The company's expertise is further strengthened by their Agentic Advisory team that consults the Monks Foundry, a team of engineers fully dedicated to building and deploying custom generative AI models tailored to enterprise data and domain-specific knowledge. This focus on innovation and expertise enables Monks to deliver highly specialized solutions for their clients, reinforcing its position at the forefront of AI innovation. In addition to earning the title of AI Pioneer Organization, Monks has achieved numerous other awards at The One Show this year, including Silver and Bronze Pencils for AB InBev's Beer Retirement Account in the B2B and Good categories respectively, a Bronze Pencil in the Creative Use of Artificial Intelligence category, and eight Merit Awards for various campaigns. Notably, Monks' cultural experts at Cashmere earned Best of Discipline in the Brand-Side/In-House category, as well as Gold, Silver, and Bronze Pencils and four merits for the "Heinz Mustard x Mustard" campaign. Discover more about Monks' work in artificial intelligence at and follow along on LinkedIn and Instagram for more updates on the company's work. About MonksMonks is the global, purely digital, data-driven, unitary operating brand of S4 Capital plc. With a legacy of innovation and specialized expertise, Monks combines an extraordinary range of global Marketing and Technology Services to accelerate business growth and redefine how brands interact with the world. From crafting tailored, outcome-focused campaigns to modernizing critical infrastructure for the ever-evolving digital landscape, Monks delivers solutions that engage audiences in real time, drive cultural relevance and sustain long-term impact—a tripartite approach that establishes it as a trusted partner to the world's most innovative brands. Monks was named a Contender in The Forrester Wave™: Global Marketing Services, ranks among Cannes Lions' Top 10 Creative Companies (2022-24) and remains the only partner featured in AdExchanger's Programmatic Power Players list every year (2020-24). Named Adweek's first AI Agency of the Year (2023), Monks was also awarded Business Intelligence Group's 2025 Excellence in Artificial Intelligence Award in both the Organizational and AI Product categories. As a trusted partner to cutting-edge innovators in tech, Monks earned titles such as Optimizely Experimentation Partner of the Year (2024), runner-up for the Adobe Firefly Partner Award (2024), and Workato's AI Visionary Customer Impact Award (2024). Additionally, Monks was named Webby Production Company of the Year (2021-24) and achieved a record-breaking number of FWAs. About S4 CapitalOur strategy is to build a purely digital advertising and marketing services business for global, multinational, regional, and local clients, and millennial-driven influencer brands. This will be achieved by integrating leading businesses in two synchronised Practices: Marketing services and Technology services, along with an emphasis on 'faster, better, cheaper, more' execution in an always-on consumer-led environment, with a unitary structure. The Company now has approximately 7,000 people in 33 countries with approximately 80% of net revenue across the Americas, 15% across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 5% across Asia-Pacific. The longer-term objective is a geographic split of 60%:20%:20%. Marketing Services accounted for approximately 90% of net revenue, and Technology Services 10%. The longer term objective is a practice split of 75%:25%. Sir Martin was CEO of WPP for 33 years, building it from a £1 million 'shell' company in 1985 into the world's largest advertising and marketing services company, with a market capitalisation of over £16 billion on the day he left. Prior to that Sir Martin was Group Financial Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Company Plc for nine years. Media Contact:Sarah View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Monks Sign in to access your portfolio
