Influential Beach Presented by Brand Innovators Was ‘The Place to Be’ at Cannes Lions

C'est magnifique! Influential Beach Presented by Brand Innovators was the spot during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, held the week of June 17 on the French Riviera.

Influential and Brand Innovators, two leading marketing firms, teamed up to host a five-day lineup of programming that attracted top executives and celebrities alike for the second year.

“Our lineup of CMOs, executives and agencies heads at Influential Beach was second to none,” Ryan Detert, the CEO of Influential, tells Us Weekly. “The speakers, influencers, and celebrity content that we curated, alongside Brand Innovators, truly rivaled that of the official Cannes Lions Palais stage.”

Held at La Mandala Plage in Cannes, Influential Beach Presented by Brand Innovators hosted  panels and fireside chats with the likes of music superstar will.i.am, NFL exec Tim Ellis, Hilton’s Mark Weinstein, Raja Rajamannar of Mastercard, Zappos staffer Joe Canno, football star Shannon Sharpe, F1 champion Lando Norris, and WWE standouts Montez Ford and Bianca Belair.

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The unforgettable week kicked off with the Brand Innovators Gala Celebration at Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, where rising country star Shaboozey performed a selection of his hits. Two days later, Ludacris also helmed a ONE Night concert, co-hosted by Urban One, for attendees such as JB Smoove and Anthony Anderson.

“I started with Urban One [as a DJ in Atlanta],” Ludacris, 46, told Us of returning to his roots. “I started on the radio station 97.5, which is now 107.9, and that’s where I got my start. They provided a platform for me to be authentically myself and from there I was able to evolve and grow and get signed and different things.”

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In addition to Ludacris’ show-stopping set — complete with a duet of “Move Bitch” with Carmelo Anthony — Influential Beach Presented by Brand Innovators debuted the TikTok Influential Awards, hosted by social media star Josh Richards. The ceremony highlighted the CMOs and their brands’ successes on TikTok. Each category had been appropriately named after social media trends, such as “Sheesh,” “Fire” and “No Cap.”

“Influential Beach Presented by Brand Innovators was the place to be at Cannes Lions this year!” Influential CCO Chris Detert, recalls to Us. “From our Ludacris performance with our partners at Urban One, to the TikTok Influential Awards and the King of BBQ party with Anthony Anderson, there was always something amazing happening at Influential Beach.”

Anderson also hosted a barbecue-themed bash that concluded with an epic drone show from Kargo. Brand Innovators also sponsored the “Women in Marketing Leadership Panel” with C-suite executives from the likes of NBCUniversal, SiriusXM, PepsiCo and Snapchat.

Influential Beach Presented by Brand Innovators, which also featured a cocktail hour, was sponsored by Adobe, Smartly and Kantar and presented by GSTV.

“Cannes Lions 2024 was a smashing success by every measure," Marc Sternberg, the co-founder and co-CEP of Brand Innovator, tells Us. "Thank you to our speakers, sponsors and the entire Brand Innovators community worldwide for joining us at our events and activities on the French Riviera this week.  2025 here we come!”