If ever there was a sign that Snapchat's advertising business has grown into a real consideration for Madison Avenue, its CEO Evan Spiegel speaking at the biggest advertising event of the year — the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity — is probably a good indicator.
Speaking with Adweek ahead of Cannes, which kicks off this weekend, 25-year-old Spiegel admitted speaking in front of 6,000 of adland's top executives will be "nerve-wracking" — not least because "I've never built an ad business before," he added.
Adweek's profile of Spiegel also takes into account the views of Snapchat and Spiegel from some of those who will be watching his presentation at advertising's annual gathering in the south of France.
Snapchat partner Daily Mail North America CEO Jon Steinberg compared Spiegel's leadership style to the chief executive of the world's largest advertising agency network, WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell.
Steinberg says: "He doesn't believe in bureaucracy and hierarchy," and "he's interested in ideas and doing big things and standing by your word ... I love the guy, and I don't say that about everybody."
But, unlike 70-year-old Sorrell, The Daily Mail executive adds: "Evan runs the company like a startup. He wanders into my office unannounced and asks for feedback on Discover and the ad products ... we also go to him and his team with questions about media, community, and the novel formats they're rolling out.