A Night Out with the Cannes Digerati
Cannes, France -- ClickZ's Tuesday evening was rescued by a friend who's never even been to this town on the southeast coast.
This friend, who runs a notable Brooklyn restaurant, also happens to be a good friend of Alan Wexler, SVP and North American lead at Sapient -- which hosted a VIP party inside the official Cannes gala. Thankfully, Wexler's a guy who likes to take care of people. Otherwise your correspondent might have ended his evening early, marooned outside the velvet rope. After an SMS back-and-forth, Wexler arrived, yellow bracelet in hand, and all was well.10 p.m.: At the Sapient party, people at all levels of the company drank and talked. Pieces of raw salmon decorated with coils of shaved beet were eaten from bite-sized wooden bowls.
Wexler spoke to a series of happy-looking Sapient guys, including Bill Kanarick, former VP of Sapient London and the architect of the company's $50 million acquisition of Nitro Group. Wine glass in hand, Kanarick described the almost two years he spent vetting traditional full-service agencies. (One agency exec opened a meeting with the platitude, "I don't care about technology. The idea is all that matters." The meeting lasted 10 minutes.)
Kanarick's wife Katie approached ("I have to travel with him if I want to see him."), as did Nitro CEO Chris Clark and his fiancée. Clark and Wexler embraced.
The merger of Nitro and Sapient marks the first time a major above-the-line agency has been bought by a digital one, but based on the sense of fun between these people it seems like an easy cultural fit. As Kanarick put it, "I knew within an hour this was the right one to buy."
The party grew, swallowing up the tight knot of senior execs. A group of young party goers, including two women in kimonos, danced between linen-covered tables. A lanky 33-year-old named Jim Allen stood at the party's edge, near the beer table. He said he was a bit surprised he'd been sent to Cannes, calling himself "a lowly creative." Wexler dismissed the comment: "This guy does amazing work." It's a recurring theme at Cannes -- the gratitude of the chosen.
Some of the revelers were subdued. Off to the side, a very pregnant member of the Media Lions jury sat quietly, sipping from a glass -- just glad to have been freed from judging duties.
1 a.m.: In the main Gala, a live band had been replaced by a DJ, and the party was a sea of youth, dancing and snapping photos. It was time to move on to Gutter Bar, the notorious late night hangout for creative director types -- especially in the digital arena.
1:30 a.m.: Three executives from Organic were spotted sitting with two women -- freelance creative directors who've specialized in Hispanic campaigns. One of them is Organic chief creative officer Conor Brady, who has been pacing himself at parties so he can get up early and ride his bike in the mountains surrounding Cannes. But he was out last night, along with Organic's Shane Ginsberg (executive director, corporate strategy) and Jonathan Cohen (group strategy director). The three were celebrating some new business the agency recently won outside the Web development area for which Organic has become known. They wouldn't dish on the subject.
Brady complained about the interactive viewing kiosks for the Cyber Lions entries, which have agonizingly slow load-times. ("The experience is terrible.")
Not far away, Mediabrands Chief Digital Officer Quentin George stood in the road drinking a 1664, the official beer of Cannes Lions. Bottle in hand, he sang the praises of Right Media and enhanced targeting through networks -- not your typical late-night Cannes chat. He predicted that in the next two years an agency will go under because of money fronted for display media.
3:30 a.m.: A stranger at Gutter Bar walked up with a case of 1664, put it down in the road, and started handing them out. Your correspondent decided not to end the night just yet.
3:40 a.m.: On the outskirts of the crowd, a bearded, dark-complected figure was identified as Jeff Benjamin, interactive creative director at Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Benjamin, who'd just flown in from Miami, looked fresh as a daisy. On our way out the door he paid ClickZ a compliment: "Back when I was at Modem Media, I used to read these banner reviews on ClickZ," he said. "I loved those things."
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