Canes in Cannes
DAY SIX
FESTIVAL DAY ONE!!!
we woke up around 8:30am and walked down to the festival after a quick stop at the bakery for a croissant. I loved my outfit, I had my festival pass and bag, I was ready for the day. We got to the Palais and waited in line for check-in and once we were in, we had looked at the list of preplanned talks we wanted to go to and started with Championing Online Safety for Girls with speakers Sophia Bush, Emily Mossburg, and Shelley Zails at the Woman’s Equality Lounge hosted by Female Quotient on the rooftop of the Martinez Hotel. I loved the points they made about how simulated VR sexual assault is experienced as a memory and those victims suffer the same trauma responses as real sexual assault victims. They also had a great point about the lack of woman in the technology industry and how “woman aren’t in the room where it happens,” when technology safety programs are created. This talk was fascinating and the Woman’s Equality Lounge is like paradise on Earth. I had a free iced latte and we got to meet Sophia Bush and her girlfriend which was super super cool. On our way out we put in our names for a free custom tote bag that said “Janie @ Cannes” and my friends all got matching ones.
Next we went to the Amazon tent to see Alix Earles and Marianna’s Hewitt's Now Trending#authenticity talk. Personally, I did not like this talk, it all felt like one giant promotion for amazon storefront and I felt that authenticity was in no way part of the talk. After we did get to talk with Alix Earle which was an awesome opportunity. I have been a longtime fan and it was surreal that we were able to have a genuine conversation with her and ask her questions about her rise to fame and what helped contribute to her success. We got pictures with her and Braxton after and my inner fan girl was freaking out.
We got some free food at the Amazon tent and then headed over to the student center in the Palais for Project Management Insititute's talk with members of the board of directors, LuAnn Picard and Jennifer Tharp. I learned about the importance of project management and how it’s a skill that you will carry through the rest of your career. They also gave us links to get a project management certification which many companies look for on a resume when hiring.
After PMI, I walked over to the Pinterest tent. We got our wristbands and went to explore. They had a ton of different stations like, color matching, DIY bracelet making, DIY painted bags, DIY shirt making, and even free tattoos and piercings. They were also passing around these yummy strawberry ice cream desserts. Then we headed back over to our favorite spot, the Woman’s Equality Lounge for some happy hour drinks and to pick up our custom totes. While at the lounge I had my tote bag in hand and a woman approached me asking me where I got it, as I was explaining she looked at my wrist and goes “that’s my bracelet” and I was so confused but I realized I was wearing two bracelets from a company called “Little Words Project”. The woman turned out to be the co-founder of “Little Words Project”. We talked for a little and I gave her my information because she wanted to send me some free bracelets! Such a cool, random interaction and that was my first real experience of networking at the festival.
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After the lounge we walked over to the PWC yacht for a talk on The Reinvention of Media and Entertainment hosted by CJ Bangah, Daniel Bunyan, Wayne Purboo and Chris Ziemer, The most interesting takeaway for me was that the traditional consumer funnel is collapsing and I had learned about that funnel in a class this last semester so it was interesting to know that the process the funnel follows is completely changing. We enjoyed some small appetizers and more Rosé before meeting the rest of our class out at happy hour on the Terrace. We met with everyone, talked about our days, then got in line for the award show.
While waiting for the awards to start, Sami was explaining what a case study is and how certain ones changed her perspective and career goals. Her words before the show increased my hopes and I was not disappointed in the slightest. The first award-show gave me chills, check out my favorite awards page to read about my experience in more detail. After that first show, my entire career perspective had shifted and I left with this new found ambition. I have always been a creative person and have loved making short video compilations throughout my entire life, after seeing the awards and I know that I want to pursue a career as a copywriter and then work my way up to maybe become a creative director or producer. I was so moved by the idea of advertisements being able to create real change in the world and i’m inspired to do the same.
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After awards my friends and I stopped for a quick dinner and then went right to bed because we were EXHAUSTED. Overall an incredible day filled with once in a lifetime experiences.