The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is the epicenter of the global marketing world—a whirlwind of opportunities, meetings, and inspiration. But navigating it can be overwhelming. For years, industry leader MediaLink provided attendees with a trusted "survival guide." But in a world of generative AI, they saw an opportunity for something more.

In this episode, host Sarah Nagle takes you behind the scenes of Monsieur Link, a sophisticated AI companion built in partnership with Vurvey Labs to serve as the ultimate guide to the festival. Discover the strategy behind transforming a static guide into a dynamic, interactive personality. We explore the intricate process of building his features, crafting his witty and insightful soul, and hear directly from Cannes attendees who put him to the test. Finally, we sit down for a conversation with the AI himself to understand his unique perspective on the magic of Cannes.

Voices:

Sarah Nagle: Host
Donna Sharp: Managing Director, Media Link
Mark Wagner: Media Link
Matt Lampe: Lead App Engineer, Vurvey Labs
Ben Vaughan: Lead AI Engineer, Vurvey Labs
Monsieur Link: The AI Companion for Cannes Lions

Key Quotes:

Mark Wagner: "We historically have created more of a kind of static Cannes 101... But in the world of generative AI and agents, I looked at the opportunity to create something new and emerging and innovative."
Ben Vaughan: "We wanted to imbue the agent with both the Media Link tone and voice, as well as the vibe of Cannes... We also made him aware of his physical appearance, which changed day by day, and also gave him a detailed history and a backstory."
Cannes Attendee: "I can ask questions of Gemini, or Perplexity, or ChatGPT, but they didn't necessarily understand the context of where we were and the level of depth of what was going on."
Monsieur Link: "The true magic is not in the grand premieres or the massive parties. It is in the unexpected connection... My role is simply to create the space for those moments to happen more easily."

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This episode was brought to you by Vurvey Labs.
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