Five things learned from the Havas Social Newsroom at Cannes
As part of its presence at Cannes Lions, Havas ran a social newsroom just off of Le Croisette, the main beachfront strip of the town, open to anyone curious enough to watch the goings on.
A crew of around 10 members of Havas owned social media agency, Cake ran the newsroom alongside network agencies Socialyse and MFG Labs which aimed to cover anything taking place during the entire week of the festival in real-time, from seminars, workshops, parties and celebrity appearances.
Lizzy Pollott, client services director for Cake, offers her insight from what they learned through the project.
We work in a progressive industry
The wealth of ideas, innovation and energy coming out of Cannes was obvious to see: from the sessions in the Palais to brand and agency activity elsewhere. As a content creation engine, it gave us plenty to play with – a dream ‘client’.
Celebrity sells
A big chunk of our best-performing content came by combining social listening with the large celebrity contingent at the festival. From Kanye to Sarah Jessica Parker – it’s obvious, but combining the two (data and celebs) allowed us to reach audiences further afield, away from the festival and broaden the appeal.
Real-time content is here to stay
Everyone I spoke to was convinced by the need for social newsrooms as an essential agency product. I firmly believe that within the next couple of years, they will become a hygiene factor for agencies and brands that want to succeed.
A holistic approach is vital
The most effective social newsrooms draw on skills from across the spectrum. At Cake we have PR experts, social media specialists, event producers, content creators, data analysts and more. By working with other agencies within the Havas network such as Socialyse and MFG Labs, we were able to include elements of earned, owned, shared earned and paid media in our collective approach which definitely helped show how all four areas can – and should – work together.
Wear sunscreen
Pretty self-explanatory.
