Every AI output starts with an input. Leading edge agencies are being a lot more thoughtful about what that input is. At Cannes Lions 2026, leaders from Adobe DSP, Butler/Till, Genius Sports, Goodway Group, Gus, Marketeer Group, Significant, The Washington Post, The Weather Company, and Wpromote talked through how sharper data, deeper audience understanding, and steady human judgment are changing what agencies deliver for their clients. Watch the conversation below to hear how agencies are rethinking their inputs, audiences, and processes to bring new solutions for their clients.
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How agencies are rebuilding their work around AI and data
Featured partners
- Adobe DSP – Phil Cowlishaw, Managing Director
- Butler/Till – Manny Puentes, Chief Product Officer
- Genius Sports – Saqib Mausoof, Chief Product Officer
- Goodway Group – Mike Wolk, Senior Vice President of Partnerships
- Gus – Spencer Lavallee, Co-Founder and CCO
- Marketeer Group – Stefanie Beach, CEO and Founder
- Significant – Jesse Unger, Co-Founder
- The Washington Post – Paula Novacki, Head of Programmatic and Agency Development
- The Weather Company – AnneMette Bontaites, Vice President of Sales
- Wpromote – Deanna Cullen, Vice President of Media Investment
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This is one of several conversations from Cannes Lions 2026 on how brands and agencies are applying consumer intelligence to drive impact in their campaigns. Subscribe to our newsletter to get our next Cannes conversation delivered to your inbox, read our latest marketing insights, and hear from more industry leaders on the evolution of marketing.
For more from Cannes Lions 2026, continue with another conversation in the series.
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NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Are Traasdahl, CEO and founder of Tapad, the leader in cross-device marketing technology and now a part of Experian, has been named Founder of the Year by the Nordic Startup Awards. The Nordic Startup Awards’ Founder of the Year Award recognizes an individual that has shown exceptional achievements in fundraising, customer growth, financial savvy, and/or leadership throughout the past year. The Nordic Startup Awards evaluates hundreds of players in the startup ecosystem, ranging from investors and founders, to developers and journalists in Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Norway and Finland. Taking place in two stages, each country selects its nominees for consideration for the regional awards which were held in Iceland on May 31, 2016. Traasdahl is recognized for his continuous investment in Tapad as a whole, as well as his dedication to growing and developing Tapad since founding the company in 2010. He has led Tapad from startup through a steady period of growth resulting in an acquisition by the Telenor Group for $360 million in February 2016. “I am truly honored to be named Founder of the Year by the Nordic Startup Awards, among so many other remarkable leaders in the space,” said Traasdahl. “That said, this has always been a team effort. We started Tapad with the goal of giving employees unprecedented growth opportunities while developing breakthrough solutions for our clients. This is a win for everyone at Tapad who has committed themselves to these principles over the past four-and-a-half years.” Tapad is reinforcing its commitment to fostering entrepreneurship with the launch of their new Propeller Program. Through Propeller, Tapad will host five early-stage companies at Tapad’s New York headquarters for a year to set them up for global expansion. In its inaugural year, the first participants will come from Traasdahl’s native Norway. For more information on the Nordic Startup Awards, please visit: http://www.nordicstartupawards.com. Contact us today
NEW YORK, May 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Tapad, the leader in cross-device marketing technology and now a part of Experian, has been honored with two iMedia ASPY Awards. Announced on May 3rd at the iMedia Summit in Lost Pines, TX, Tapad’s 2016 ASPY Awards include “Best Customer Service” and “Best Mobile Partner.” In 2015, Tapad’s proprietary technology, Tapad Device Graph™, was named “Best New Media Innovation” and Tapad employee Chris Martin was awarded the “Rising Star Award.” The iMedia ASPY Awards – determined exclusively by agency votes – recognize the industry’s top marketing technology, media companies and publishers for outstanding service to agencies. The award for “Best Customer Service” recognizes Tapad’s client services team and their dedication to helping agencies fully understand their consumers’ behavior and achieve the best cross-screen campaign ROI through Tapad’s Campaign Pulse and TV Pulse analytics reporting. The “Best Mobile Partner” win recognizes the abilities of the Tapad Device Graph™ to deliver unified cross-screen solutions for the company’s partners. “We are privileged to have a talented and dynamic group of people on our client services team, and we are honored to be recognized by iMedia Connection and our agency partners,” said Tapad Founder and CEO, Are Traasdahl. “We have always strived to provide the best solutions and the best customer support, so it’s extremely gratifying to be rewarded for our efforts. If our clients and partners are happy, we are happy.” For more information on the iMedia ASPY Awards please visit: http://aspyawards.com. Read the full press release here. Contact us today
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