HISPANICS INCREASE PRESENCE AT THE CANNES LIONS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF CREATIVITY

Latinos gained greater representation than ever at this year’s Cannes Lion International Festivity of Creativity. In a major breakthrough, the number of Latino Jury presidents accounted for 20% of all jury Presidents, leaping from 0 to 6 out of 29 juries from the previous year.

Latino interests also gained greater representation at events and panels this year, with more than 20 sessions by or about Latinos, starting at the Palais with the first-ever Latino Happy Hour; Havas seize the opportunity panel, Whalar’s panel about the intersection of sports, AI and marketing strategies in the Hispanic community; Meta’s VIP Cannes Hispanic Mixer, as well as the first-ever Latino Day, to name a few.

The surge in interest came with more sponsorships and partnerships with major brands than ever before, including the Cannes Festival’s Chair, Phil Thomas, and partners including Republica Havas, P&G, NFL, Lerma/MEL, Remezcla Media Group, Malka and Nielsen.

We Are All Human Foundation CEO & Founder, Claudia Romo Edelman, stated: “We have been working hard to create visibility for Latinos at global platforms such as Davos and Cannes. We are proud that we brought Latinos together at Cannes, in part by creating a digital hub that gave information, access and built an immediate community for Latinos attending the Festival.”

The non-profit organization, dedicated to the progress of Latinos through its Hispanic Star initiative came to Cannes with the message that companies looking for future growth will find it in the Latino population. Latinos are the youngest and fastest-growing population in the United States, and already account for a staggering $3.4 trillion in purchasing power. By 2030, Latinos will be 30% of the population.

The industry has yet to make a full commitment to the Latino market. Only 5% of US ad spend is targeted at the Hispanic Market. New data underscores the need for change. The new Edelman Trust Barometer found that 66% of Latinos have experienced racism in the past year, which connects to a second data point that 66% of Latinos feel that diversity is a key consideration for brand and marketing success.

“Latinos don’t feel that big brands and media are reflecting their values, which makes them feel excluded from the American narrative. That is a loud and clear message to brands and agencies to take a big bet on Latinos. Brands that bet small will get small results,” Romo Edelman states. “But taking the big bet means more than marketing spend, though. We have to keep driving for greater representation because it is impossible to make work that is about us without us,” she added. One key area for increased representation must be AI, which will have the power and accountability for either bridging or widening the gap of stereotypes and visibility.

The enormous support from the Festival was essential to the group’s goal of driving representation and inclusion of Latinos as a key driver of the future growth of brands and all communications about them.

“Our partnership with We Are All Human this year was a wonderful coming together of Latinos and allies. We believe that the greater involvement of Latinos will not only enhance the bottom line for brands but also enhance the creativity of the work. The Festival this year showcased the power of Latinidad, and we believe this will impact how brands tap into the Hispanic market,” said Gabrielle Perez, Senior Partnerships Manager of Cannes Lions.

Work for next year’s Cannes Festival has begun, including plans to increase Latino representation at Cannes through sponsorships that will fund Latino entries and travel to the Festival.