Digital innovation Cannes drive change for good

Author
Lionell Schuring
Publication Date
26 June 2018

Digital innovation Cannes drive change for good

We’re back from Cannes Lions - the world’s biggest festival for creativity - where we participated in last week’s “Change For Good” hackathon hosted by our partners Amazon and AWS, along with Huge and advocacy platform Global Citizen. While we were sad to leave the beautiful scenery behind, we’re eager to share our recap of the event.

During the hackathon, teams were tasked with building solutions that change the world for the better by furthering six impactful Global Citizen Campaigns: No Poverty, Food & Hunger, Health, Education, Gender Equality, and Clean Water & Sanitation. We took on Health as our cause, focusing our solution around water-borne diseases.

The World Health Organization states that, every year, more than 3.4 million people die as a result of water-related diseases, which cause 4 out of 5 illnesses in developing countries. These staggering statistics left us with a question: How can we inform people in these areas, who often can’t read or write, about the current - and even future - condition of their water sources?

In response, we proposed Project Poseidon, a cloud-based, connected system of sensors that would allow people to learn about the quality of the water around them through a simple phone call. With just one call, people could find out which water sources are drinkable and take tips for making water potable.  

The ever-growing network of smart buoys that we envisioned would be equipped with ultra low-power water sensors, all running serverless on AWS for scalability. The platform would also connect to an app that had many capabilities, including a visual guide in the form of a map and the ability to select your favorite water sources and receive updates on their condition. As the system continued to collect data, it would turn into a powerful predictive tool, not only allowing locals to stay informed but also guiding governments in targeting their interventions.

Beyond reducing illness from water-related diseases, the solution would have significant benefits on the economy. We estimate that it would lead to a 4.3 return on every dollar spent by lowering associated healthcare costs and increasing the productivity of those who currently suffer.

While our idea ultimately didn’t win, it’s clear that the event was about so much more than taking home a trophy. It was about creating innovation that makes a meaningful difference in the lives of others, a mission that we work to stand behind each and every day.

And finally, a big congrats to the other participants and winning team. It was inspiring to compete alongside you.

Check out our video below for a behind the scenes look.

 

 

 

Lionell Schuring

Lionell Schuring is Mobiquity Europe’s Chief Creative Officer and a member of the Europe Management Team. In this role, he seeks to close the gap between what brands promise and what people actually experience. Developing value propositions from strategy to concept to building and continuously expanding them. As head of the creative department, Lionell is responsible for creative output, talent recruitment, development, coaching, training and retention. Partnering closely with key leaders from other disciplines to keep elevating the quality of their work, managing client relationships and being hands-on in projects. Together with his fellow management team members, he is responsible for managing operations, supervising performance against agreed targets, developing go-to-market strategies and making Mobiquity an awesome place to work for everyone. He joined Mobiquity in December of 2017 after 17 years of working in the advertising industry for companies including Grey, Young & Rubicam and Ogilvy. Over the years his work has been featured on i.a. TechCrunch, Creativity, Forbes, CNet, Contagious, and honored by internationally acclaimed awards shows like the Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, EFFIE, London International and NY Festivals.

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