As Cannes Lions festival goers hang up their linen and espadrilles for another day, Jupiter Festival Miami is the newest celebration of creativity on the horizon. Now, it’s getting some added support.
Ahead of the festival’s debut from Oct. 6 to Oct. 9, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) will join as a founding partner, bringing to life something that began as a simple idea 15 months ago, according to William Mellis, Jupiter Festival Miami CEO and founder.
Mellis told ADWEEK that the event seeks to answer one central question through its programming and provocative keynote speakers: What is the future of content? And that question is proving to be a catalyst for IAB’s strategic partnership.
“The definition of content today is very different from the definition of content when I was growing up in the business,” David Cohen, IAB CEO, told ADWEEK. “We do think that content is a differentiator, a game changer, and we saw an opportunity to get in at the ground floor.”
Cohen said that IAB’s main interest in becoming a founding partner was the ability to influence the festival’s offerings and agenda, with the potential of having an IAB-specific stage. In the six years that Cohen has led the IAB, this is the first time it has partnered with a festival before the launch.
IAB is the latest among a number of partners, including Boston Consulting Group and MCH Group, which owns a 20% stake in the festival. The MCH Group owns and operates Art Basel, the for-profit contemporary art festival known globally.
A strong starting lineup
Jupiter Festival Miami’s lineup of speakers thus far includes Tribeca Enterprises CEO Rebecca Glashow, former executive producer at 60 Minutes Bill Owens, and Inside the NBA host Kenny Smith. Meanwhile, the ad industry is represented by Neil Waller, CEO of Whalar Group; Ross Martin, president of Known; and Robin Clarke, M+C Saatchi’s global CEO of sport and entertainment, with more speakers from the content creation space on the way.
“I want speakers that challenge and provoke,” Mellis said. “We vet speakers very carefully to make sure that they’re going to have a point of view that the industry may accept or may reject. At least it’s going to make them think.”
Within a crowded festival slate, Jupiter Festival brands itself as the only one merging media, entertainment, and sport. And after his strategy-side experience with Cannes Lions and Money20/20, Mellis wants it to be a place for corporate executives to network, not make deals.
“There are other places that do that,” Mellis said. “This is much more about genuinely forming the partnerships that are going to be long-term, that are going to help shape and formulate the industry, and formulate a content agenda in the future.”
