Maria Garrido's lessons in listening

When encountering the multilingual, multinational marketing executive and all-round marvel that is Maria Garrido, a maxim comes to mind: “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” 

Anyone who's managed to hold down two jobs – alongside her role at Vivendi she was also Chief Insights Officer at Havas Group – while being a single mum of three boys, active on a number of boards and a member of the prestigious International Women's Forum – is clearly one to embrace busy-ness.

I sleep well, but I could sleep more. I probably would have been diagnosed with hyperactivity if it had been a thing when I was a kid.

Beaming via Zoom from her Paris office, her bright eyes and smile radiate positivity and she is dazzlingly articulate. A seasoned public speaker – Cartagena Inspira, Mumbrella Australia, Cannes Lions, South Summit, CubeX Mumbai, IBC and more – she never pauses for ums and aghs. 

I ask her how she manages her insane schedule. “I sleep well, but I could sleep more. I probably would have been diagnosed with hyperactivity if it had been a thing when I was a kid." She confesses it’s not always easy having her head in "in 20 different places simultaneously.” 

Once, while at a press conference in the UK, her 14-year-old son was texting her from Paris. “I’m looking down at my phone and I hear my boss go, ‘Oh, Maria can answer that question'. I froze, I thought, ‘I’ve just heard my name; I don’t know what the question is. I wasn’t listening; I’m tending to my son who’s across the Channel, freaking out about something he can’t find for school the next day.”

Above: Garrido notes how campaigns incorporating video games have been trending in the entertainment category. Burger King’s successful launch of the Stevenage Challenge brought BK branding, and a little-known club, into the FIFA game space. 

Listening though, in general, is her superpower. She excels at helping brands and marketers listen to consumers. For 18 years she held both operational and strategic marketing roles at various FMCG blue chips companies, most notably Colgate Palmolive Co and Mondelez. 

In 2014, she made the unusual move of switching to agency side, intent on fast-tracking her digital skills. “A lot of people in the ad world after around 20 years are exhausted and go to the client side. I did the opposite, I went to work for Havas, globally managing insights and analytics. It was great. The pace suited me – it was very fast.” There she learned about data, about insights, about predictive modelling, “all the science part, if you will, the business ROI models.”

This year the amount of video game cases is overwhelming.

She notes how much the profession of marketing has changed. “It’s a very interesting time to be a marketer, because the balance between art and science has hit sort of the sweet spot. There’s a lot more data to work with, and you have to understand how to use that data in a way that you can extract insights and then turn that into brand value.”

But how can brands counter what some consumers might see as the sinister aspect of being ‘listened’ to via data collection? While investigating this question she discovered surprising results – if people could see the value to themselves, such as in the healthcare sector where personal data might lead to a faster diagnosis or the sourcing of a specialist, there was a more positive reaction to the giving up of data. “I think if people see the value of the data collection to themselves as individuals it’s a lot easier to swallow.”

Above: Another video game campaign, for the Kiyan Prince Foundation, featured an avatar of the murdered football prodigy Kiyan Prince in a cutting-edge combo of football, gaming and sponsorship. 

This is Garrido’s first time as Cannes jury president but her third time as jury member. So with brands and marketers seeking to add value and entertainment offering a solution, does she see this particular Lion growing in stature? “Having judged in this category previously, I can assure you there are definitely a lot more entries to get through than in previous years! We are seeing a spike in activity in this space. And the lines are definitely blurred as the ‘new traditional’ becomes digital, offline, entertainment, etc. all at once.   

I think initially brands were throwing themselves into this space more as a test-and-learn, but now I’m seeing better work than I’ve seen in previous years.

And what developments has she noted in the category? Any new trends? “This year the amount of video game cases is overwhelming. Some of them are really basic, like, “Oh, we’ve shoved our brand into the game, and as you’re driving your car through the game, there’s a poster of the brand'. And others are much more interesting as brands are starting to not just use video games, but use gamification as a way to engage customers in spaces that you wouldn’t expect.”

However she cautions against following fads for the sake of it and thinks that brands are wising up to the need for a kind of authenticity in entertainment. “I think initially brands were throwing themselves into this space more as a test-and-learn, but now I’m seeing better work than I’ve seen in previous years, as brands are taking the time to say to themselves, ‘Just because video games are trending doesn’t mean we should throw ourselves into them.” 

She feels there is more of a focus on understanding and attempting to reach that target audience and questioning if using a certain entertaining principle is aligned to the brand. 

Above: One of the earliest brands to enter the video game space was Doritos, which launched Crash Course in 2010 for the Xbox 360. 

On the subject of authenticity in brand purpose she notes that the younger generation, in particular, will not “buy into any BS.” She has been vocal about the subject of inauthentic moves in marketing to the point of being booed on stage. At a finance conference she went on to the podium after the CEO of a large European bank had proudly announced their tree-saving environmental initiative. 

Saving trees is cute and will get you some PR, but it’s not what [banking customers] are asking of you. The ESG contribution aligned to your industry would be things like micro-financing for female entrepreneurs.

“I was listening backstage and thinking, ‘Oh no, I’m going to go on and say that while banking customers are expecting you to contribute to society, and saving trees is cute and will get you some PR, it’s not what they’re asking of you. The ESG contribution that is aligned to your industry would be things like micro-financing for female entrepreneurs, or creating jobs, or contributing to the community in a meaningful way.’ I think you have to be careful with ESG stuff and ensure that it’s aligned to what your brand’s purpose is."

She celebrates the fact that this year’s Cannes Lions has a lot more client presence. “So, it’s not just a festival where all the ad people are patting themselves on the back and giving each other trophies. There really is a focus on bringing value to the target audience and to the brand; about impact on the business.”

She says every time she’s been on a jury ‘impact’ has been hotly debated . “For certain people, it’ll be all about sales results. Others will ask, ‘does it reinforce the brand values?’. A piece of entertainment can be great, but if it’s not actually doing anything for the brand then it’s just a big, glamorous, glitzy thing with no actual role within the organisation's strategy.”

Above: Sinyi Realty's In Love We Trust campaign was one of last year's Entertainment Lions big winners. 

She unpacks how the two Entertainment Grand Prix winners of Cannes 2021 hit exactly the right notes. 

The short film, In Love We Trust, for Taiwanese property company Sinyi Realty, followed the despair of a woman working at the Household Registration Office who lost her faith in love. Created by Dentsu Mcgarrybowen, Taipei, the touching film aimed to inspire more young people to want to get married and buy a home together – to create more customers for the client.

Tinder's, Swipe Night, which won the second Grand Prix, was an interactive adventure video series that prompted users to make choices in the face of the world ending. The campaign, which was launched by 72andSunny LA in 2019, also had the function of matching users according to their decisions, based on apparent shared ethical viewpoints. 

It's interesting to note how both campaigns were about love – either finding it or cherishing it. “In Love We Trust was a beautiful piece of work that showed how a property brand can be deeply embedded in important moments in people’s lives; the case was moving and showcased human connection, while staying true to the brand’s functional purpose. The case from Tinder masterfully intertwined interactivity, entertainment and brand benefits.”