If there’s one safe prediction heading into Cannes this year, it’s that AI will be everywhere: in panels, on yachts and splashed across every DOOH ad within a 10-kilometer radius of the Croisette. But behind the noise, something real is happening. We are witnessing a strategic shift. AI is evolving from a shiny object into a performance engine that helps marketers uncover hidden audiences and iterate faster while delivering relevance at scale.
The biggest opportunity? Replacing our industry’s identity obsession with future-proof intelligence.
The death of the ID game
As an industry, we’ve spent two decades chasing identifiers, from cookies and device IDs to email hashes. We built entire tech stacks around stitching together the fragments of who someone is.
But as those signals continue to erode (thanks, iOS 14.5), the real challenge isn’t technical; it’s conceptual. We must move past our identity addiction to embrace a longer-term approach.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Advertisers don’t need to know exactly who each person is. They need to know what that person is likely to do next.
From profiles to patterns in motion
AI excels at spotting the behavioral signatures that traditional targeting misses. For example:
The Thursday-evening optimizer: Visits big-box retail every Thursday evening before buying the same staples each week.
The weekend momentum builder: Streams fitness content Saturday mornings, checks travel apps Sunday afternoons and browses outdoor gear midweek. Classic “experience seeker” pattern and perfect for adventure travel campaigns, even if they’ve never bought a plane ticket online.
The pre-intent signal: Exhibits the behavioral footprint of a car shopper 3 to 4 weeks before they hit dealership websites. Earlier touch point, lower competition, better ROI.
These aren’t hypothetical examples. These types of personas deliver measurable results, especially in channels where identity has always been weak, including iOS apps, DOOH screens and the privacy-first open web.
The intelligence advantage
Smart AI models trained on real-world movement and context data can turn a simple ZIP code into a better proxy for purchase intent than any identity graph. These models can:
- Surface unexpected audiences that demographic targeting would miss entirely.
- Predict behavior windows when someone is most likely to convert.
- Adapt in real time as patterns shift without waiting for campaign end reports.
The platforms winning this transition aren’t rebuilding the identity layer; they’re bypassing it entirely, turning context into powerful connections.
The hype reality check
AI will dominate Cannes conversations. But smart marketers should ask more informed questions than “Does this solution use AI?”
Try these instead:
- Can it find audiences I wouldn’t have considered?
- Can it predict performance before I spend my budget?
- Does it work where identity targeting fails?
If the answer is “no,” you’re looking at AI theater. If the answer is “yes,” you may have found something that will move the needle.
AI in your next campaign
The shift from identity to intelligence isn’t coming; it’s here. The question is whether you’re still playing the old game while your competitors are writing new rules.
The takeaway: Start testing behavioral pattern targeting alongside your traditional demographic campaigns. Measure not just reach and frequency, but also pattern accuracy and predictive lift.
In a world where everyone is talking about AI, the brands that quietly use it to understand behavior better than they understand demographics will be the ones still growing when the hype cycle ends.
We’ll see you at Cannes. Or rather, you’ll see us.
Ready to move beyond identity theater? Let’s talk about what intelligence-driven targeting could mean for your brand.
