As we wrap up Cannes Lions 2024, we’re inspired to explore the potential of great partnerships. This year at the International Festival of Creativity, Merkle and Salesforce continued our celebration of a 20-year partnership built on the foundation of fostering creativity in the experience economy.

As advertisers, agencies, publishers, and platform and tech partners took over the Croisette, four key themes emerged, shaping the future of customer experience:

• Enhance the relevance of personalized consumer experiences: Generative AI has endless opportunities to advance existing brand initiatives. Merkle and Salesforce shared their GenAI initiatives on the ground at Cannes, including Merkle's GenCX — crafting more relevant consumer activations through scalable understanding of interactions, behaviors, and sentiments.
• Maximize the value of retail space and audiences: Retail media networks can have a significant impact on brands by opening new revenue streams. Merkle and Salesforce are developing a tailored retail media network offering, enabling retailers to optimize the value of their space and monetize their audiences.
• Elevate the consumer experience to drive long-term loyalty: CMO discussions consistently uncovered the underlying goal of inspiring customer loyalty. Merkle’s customer-first methodology showcases how this goal is achieved by improving the quality of consumer experiences with an investment in CX functional competencies and Salesforce technology.
• Build a tech stack that accelerates business outcomes: How brands approach the tech stack impacts consumer experience in every way. Merkle shared how starting with business outcomes as a foundation for a Salesforce technology stack builds lasting value for customers.

Merkle’s reputation for unparalleled expertise in data and identity, cross-cloud integration, and digital experience underpins our core value of fostering customer intimacy and transforming brands. With two decades as a Salesforce partner, our heritage as a digital agency enriches a deep understanding of the Salesforce platform and what customer experience capabilities brands need to gain competitive advantage in the experience economy.

Let’s talk about how your brand can unlock creativity through customer identity and experience.