Every year, we see adtech and media-branded yachts at Cannes. The port is filled with them.
But who had the best yacht? The worst?
To figure it out, I walked the port in Cannes and very scientifically evaluated them all based on three rigorous criteria: vibes (how does it feel), branding (how does it look), and lines (do people care).
Here’s my ranking of every yacht I saw, scored on a one to five-yacht scale.
Samsung Ads
🛥️🛥️🛥️ = Good
Good start here! Nice branding that wraps around the boat. The vibes seemed solid. Decent foot traffic. The yacht was a little small, though. Does size matter in these rankings? Sure.
Accenture Song
🛥️🛥️ = Solid
Great vibes here. Very elegant and classy. Minimal branding, but that may be part of the aesthetic. There were also lots of pretty people drinking coffee.
Cheil Agency Network
🛥️🛥️🛥️ = Good
Vibes were immaculate and solid branding. Full disclosure, I was on this yacht for a breakfast, and the food spread was excellent. That counts for something.
The Room
🛥️🛥️ = Solid
I take it this is a collection of vendors sharing one yacht. That creates a bit of branding confusion, but I do appreciate any attempts to save money at Cannes. Still, we do have to call out Outfront here. If you sell out-of-home ad space, your own OOH branding has to be good. Hence, the “solid” grade.
Webbula
🚤 = Needs work
This kind of looks like a haunted boat that has escaped the Bermuda Triangle and will disappear again at midnight.
Cognitiv
🛥️🛥️🛥️ = Good
Great yacht. Nice branding and good vibes. Cognitiv also hosted a Pride Party on the yacht this week which is appreciated. Perhaps the branding imbalance on entrance versus yacht is an issue but we’ll allow it.
IAS
🛥️🛥️🛥️ = Good
Clean branding and solid vibes. I liked the trees under the canopy/waiting area and the wood accents around the reception desk. Nice touch.
JCDecaux
🚤 = Needs work
This minimally branded yacht featuring what appeared to be a crumpled sign on the side is from another out-of-home advertising company. Come on! We’re expecting an improvement next year, JCDecaux! (Full disclosure — I do not know how to pronounce JCDecaux.)
Mediaocean
🛥️🛥️🛥️ = Good
A very good yacht. People seemed to be having fun. Did I hear Drake playing? Instant points from me!
Axios
🛥️🛥️🛥️🛥️ = Excellent
The blue color scheme and the Axios logo really pop here. Great vibes, too. Busy space. Axios has consistently done a nice job with its Cannes presence, and this year’s yacht is another proof point.
DoubleVerify
🛥️🛥️🛥️🛥️ = Excellent
I couldn’t get a clear photo of the canopy here or even the yacht because the line for the party was quite long. That’s good — points! Strong branding, great vibes. DV had long lines for its events all week. This was a fun yacht. Fun always wins.
Criteo
🛥️🛥️🛥️ = Good
Great branding. I couldn’t get a read on the vibes but the boat seemed pretty active. I also owe Criteo for my tough rating of their OOH ad in downtown Cannes. So, “good” it is!
Equativ
🛥️🛥️🛥️🛥️ = Excellent
Solid branding, but I have to give extra credit for how active the yacht seemed throughout the week. I also loved the Equativ Club signage. Felt “exclusive” and cool. Cool is always good.
Attain
🛥️🛥️ = Solid
Decent canopy, but not much branding on the actual boat (at least from what I could tell). I didn’t see enough activity to judge the vibes. I did spot some shoes outside, though, so clearly meetings were… Attained.
Magnite
🛥️🛥️🛥️🛥️🛥️ = Yacht Supreme
Okay, this yacht rules. Just look at it. The branding is excellent as the black color scheme is striking and works well with the blue trim at the bottom. I also dug the massive “M” sign. Strong vibes, strong branding, strong yacht. Good lines. You’ve earned these five 🛥️ emojis, Magnite.
What Makes a Good Cannes Yacht?
As fun as it is to assign yacht emojis (thank you to all the companies for being good sports here), the reality is that pulling off a Cannes yacht activation is hard work.
To get the perspective of someone who actually does it, I spoke with DoubleVerify’s Senior Director of Events and Experiential Marketing, Maya Shor, who was overseeing the company’s yacht presence.
According to Shor, a successful yacht starts with the basics: “You have to have a really good space for networking, thought leadership, and meetings.”
In other words, a yacht is a floating meeting space and event venue, or at least it should be. It needs to serve many purposes.
As for keeping attendance high, Shor says every yacht needs “a pull.” For DoubleVerify, that came in two forms this year: its people and a performance from Sophie Ellis-Bextor of Murder on the Dancefloor fame. (Pictured above.)
But while meetings, content, and entertainment get people onboard, Shor says attendees ultimately make judgments based on something less tangible: “vibes.”
Which, if you’ve made it this far, validates my entire methodology for this ranking. See? Science.
AdTechRadar is owned by Chris Harihar, an EVP at Mod Op. DoubleVerify is a Mod Op client.
