AB InBev's Richard Oppy: 'It's the power of creativity that's building brands'

Richard Oppy, global brands VP at AB InBev, told Campaign US that he’s excited to see how many marketers are at Cannes this year.

"It’s not just creatives on the junket celebrating awards," he said. "Senior executives and CEOs [of brands] are realizing that it’s the power of creativity that’s building brands and that creativity is cutting through and winning the attention war with consumers, and it’s actually driving results."

AB InBev brought 60 people to the festival this year—a jump up from last year’s contingent.

"It’s a big investment, but we think it’s so important to drive performance," said Oppy. "And it’s amazing at a time when we’re tightening the belt that this is something we see as a strong investment for our business and to inspire our team to go back and really push the envelope when it comes to creativity."

The festival, he added, also allows people to see who’s doing the best work and making "brave decisions."

"Agencies want to work with clients making bold decisions and who know the important of creativity," said Oppy.

This year, he said he’s also seen a bigger shift away from old-school ads into more innovative, data-led types of content.

"I think understanding data and creativity and infusing them is where the magic is and that’s where [all marketers] are trying to get to and we’re still navigating that," said Oppy. "Every year we’re all pushing each other to rise the bar to do better, more inspiring work."