Cosmetics, luxury, spirits, automobiles… Through the windows of the palace, on the buildings, in front of the hotels, for twelve days, each May, many logos are displayed lengthwise, widewise and across the Croisette . The brands to which they belong were not mistaken. Ranked among the most publicized events on the planet, after the Olympics, the Football World Cup and, depending on the version, the Tour de France, the Cannes Film Festival is in any case the most watched cultural event in the world. . And therefore potentially the most profitable for these companies which sometimes invest heavily during the fortnight.
Whether officially, like L’Oréal, partner of the event for twenty-six years, the luxury group Kering, which arrived in 2015, the jeweler Chopard, creator of the famous Palme d’Or. Or more informally. This is the case with Magnum. The seller of frozen confectionery from the Dutch-British group Unilever has been celebrating nights since last Wednesday, on a privatized beach, to celebrate its ten years of presence in Cannes. Without any contractual link with the organizers of the largest film festival in the world, the specialist in ice cream sticks benefits in any case, without complex, from its aura. An influence carried and amplified by the 4,000 accredited journalists, but also those who are not, the influencers and the stars themselves.
“The Cannes Film Festival is a great showcase”
“For us, this is a very important moment of communication, recognizes Elena Rakocevic, the brand manager in France. Not everything that happens on the Croisette stays on the Croisette. Things travel. The Cannes Film Festival is a wonderful showcase. With the help of muses and stars visiting on the occasion of the film evenings hosted on its sandy spot, Magnum is promoting its new products at a particularly buoyant time. “We are in a very seasonal sector. And spring is when ice cream consumption starts to pick up, so that’s perfect,” she continues.
It is in this logic that the brand had missed the call during the 2021 festival, shifted because of the pandemic in July. “Too late” for effective communication. The festival back in May from last year, the brand has also made a comeback. And she does not skimp on the means. This year, a larger beach has even been reserved. The boss of Magnum in France explains that she devotes “around 10% of [son] annual media budget” to this operation of only a few days on the Côte d’Azur. And she is not alone in investing. ” Each country [les succursales où la marque est présente] contributes to this event,” she also told 20 minutes.
“It’s a kind of big fair”
Communication budgets explode at the time of the festival. Lunches, dinners, and parties follow one another at a frantic pace on the beaches, in hotels or in villas for presentations of products or services. From all walks of life. Sometimes far removed from the world of cinema. “So much so that it even becomes a little grotesque, testifies, on condition of anonymity, a regular at the event. Everyone comes to sell their stuff. It’s a kind of big fair. »
But it is above all the signature of the certain power of the Cannes Film Festival. Even if for the brands, the repercussions are difficult to quantify, “the impact is in any case very important in terms of image”, also rejoices Vincent Salimon, the president of BMW France. The automotive group, which took over from Renault in 2022 on the Croisette, is one of the sixteen current official partners of the Cannes Film Festival. Its electric sedans transport VIPs from hotels to red carpets in an almost incessant ballet. Filmed by cameras around the world and on social networks. “And the return on investment” that the manager did not wish to reveal “is much greater than with simple advertisements,” he explains.
“Last year, we estimated that the event had generated five million direct impacts with the French”, via all distribution channels, he also specifies, “delighted” to see the German brand attached to that of the festival. “It’s a platform that brings together values very close to BMW. Luxury, but also sustainability. The demonstration wanting to reduce its footprint. The manufacturer has one foot in the cinema itself, producing short films featuring its own vehicles. The latest, The Calmstarring Uma Thurman, was unveiled last week.
All-round visibility
The contracts with the organizers of the event would be closed on affinities, which legitimize these partnerships and reinforce their potential, also argues Géraud de la Noue, president of Campari France, “official supplier” since 2022. “Art under all its shapes are part of the brand’s DNA. Cinema first. The only commercial Fellini had agreed to do was for us. We were already at the Venice Film Festival, the Berlinale and the Tribeca Film Festival. We only needed that of Cannes, ”explains the manager, questioned by 20 minutes. A huge bar in the colors of the liqueur, clearly visible from the outside, is installed in the glass roof of the Palais des Festivals. The brand also has a beach in its image and deployed its presence in many establishments, including restaurants, in the city.
For Géraud de la Noue, if the presence of Campari also represents “a large part of [son] budget com”, the meeting in Cannes being the one that lasts the longest, this investment “is justified” even “if it capitalizes above all on foreign markets, because of the Evin law in France” (which strongly limits the right to advertise alcoholic beverages). So much so that he does not “see himself stopping” in three years, at the end of the pact concluded for the moment with the festival. In the interests of both parties? These private partners are in any case essential to complete the event’s budget, which exceeds 20 million euros each year. They “occupy an essential role in the sustainability of the world’s largest cinematographic event”, can we read on the official website of the event which also benefits from subsidies from the State, the city of Cannes and the various communities.
The sustainability of the festival, the other brands are also very important to it. On the Magnum beach, Elena Rakocevic will still see herself back in the long term. “Barring a twist, our presence for the years to come is obvious,” she said.