06.09.2010 – At this summer’s Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, set fire to the old assumptions about what marketing is and think about what it can be. The Burning Question: Ask It and Transform, will be held on Friday, June 25, 2010, from 5:15 p.m. to 6 p.m. CEST in the Debussy Theatre. The panel is hosted by Bob Gilbreath, Chief Marketing Strategist at Bridge Worldwide and author of The Next Evolution of Marketing: Connect with Your Customers by Marketing with Meaning, and Jim Stengel, Adjunct Professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and President/CEO of The Jim Stengel Company, LLC. Together, they will address today’s marketing and advertising disruption and confusion by revealing the burning question that, when asked, can provide direction to the industry and influence the work and careers of business professionals. 

“We’re honored to be speaking at the most prestigious event for advertisers and are using this platform to deliver a seminar that’s unique to Cannes,” Gilbreath said. “We’ve recruited panelists from leading businesses like AT&T, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Luxottica, IBM, Samsung, Levi’s, and P&G to share how their companies are answering the burning question and shifting their approaches to marketing.”

The discussion has been brewing online at www.burningquestion.com since mid-March, where business and marketing thought leaders around the world have shared their perspective on where the industry must shift. The seminar could spark significant advertising change, according to Stengel.

“The Burning Question will be the coolest—and most important—experience at Cannes this year, especially for clients,” Stengel said. “It will accelerate a fundamental movement that is reframing our industry for the better.”

Additionally, Bridge Worldwide sponsored a contest in search of fellow change agents to help spread the fire, and has selected Stan Phelps, Executive Vice President at Synergy Events, and Tyson Adams, Founder and Chief at liveGLOCAL, as the Top Marketing Revolutionists. Both receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Cannes, France and will join Gilbreath and Stengel at the Ad Festival. Visit: www.burningquestion.com/the-contest to view their burning questions and what they’re doing to answer them. Submit your burning question via Twitter™ by using the hashtag #theburningquestion.

Meet the Panel
Esther Lee, SVP, Brand Marketing and Advertising at AT&T, and Lisa Mann, VP for Consumer Experiences at Kraft Foods, will offer their anecdotes on stage with Gilbreath and Stengel while other key industry leaders participate via video. These contributors include: 

o Salman Amin, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, PepsiCo
o Indra Nooyi, Chairman, CEO, PepsiCo
o Fabio d’Angelantonio, Executive Vice President, Sun and Luxury Retail; Chief Marketing Officer, Luxottica
o John Kennedy, VP of Marketing, IBM 
o Sue Shim, Chief Marketing Officer, Global Marketing Operation, Samsung Electronics
o Jaime Cohen Szulc, Senior Vice President; Chief Marketing Officer, Levi’s Brand
o Marc Pritchard, Global Marketing & Brand Building Officer, P&G
o Mary Beth West, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Kraft Foods

At the festival, the session will conclude with beachside breakout conversations to determine what needs to happen next to spark change. Visit www.canneslions.com/festival/event_detail_page.cfm?event_id=39 for more information about the seminar. Follow live updates from Gilbreath and Stengel on Twitter during the festival using the hashtag #atcannes.