Nicola Mendelsohn of Meta is on Cloud Island in Cannes. Cloud Island is the name given to Meta's virtual Cannes, which was created as its major Metaverse marketing showcase at the ad festival, and where avatars can play volleyball or otherwise enjoy a digital version of the French Riviera.
Mendelsohn, the company's global head of business solutions, has been showcasing Meta's foray into the metaverse for the past two years while leading the company's presence at Cannes. Because the festival was entirely virtual last year, Meta had to meet with brands in Horizon Worlds, the VR gaming app that is accessible through Meta Quest goggles and will soon be available on more platforms.
“We’re building some different areas for people to be able to have an immersive experience on the Croisette,It’s really the place that people are coming together to push the boundaries on creativity,”
Mendelsohn about Meta’s Cloud Island
At Cannes, Meta is also talking about augmented reality, a more subtle digital layer that people could access via phone cameras and new computing glasses like the ones Meta designed with Ray-Ban and unveiled last year. AR is not only "doing a great job from a brand standpoint," according to Mendelsohn, but it's also pushing lower-funnel goals, such as bottom-line sales and other results brands need to show their marketing is moving the needle. Snap arrived in Cannes as an AR pioneer, demonstrating how the artistic side of augmented reality integrates with commerce. On Tuesday, Meta announced new partnerships with major brands, including guitar-maker Fender and Mini, the car company.