As entry deadline for The Drum Awards Festival draws nearer we hear from Experiential jury president Fran Cortes of Mobile World Congress on how events and experiential have to be about more than novelty.
Fran Cortes, MWC Barcelona event director GSMA
For Fran Cortes, event director of Mobile World Congress (MWC) and president of the Experiential judging panel for The Drum Awards Festival 2025, the biggest challenge isn’t filling exhibition halls in Barcelona - it’s making each of the 100,000-plus MWC attendees feel like the event was built just for them.
That demand for personalization at scale is fast becoming the defining test for every major live event and experience, from CES to Cannes Lions. But MWC’s size, scope and industry diversity make the equation even harder to solve.
“Attendees expect experiences tailored for them,” says Cortes. “The challenge is personalization at scale. We work across incredibly diverse global segments with different behaviors, purposes and objectives. Striking the right balance between scalability and intimacy is tough - whether you’re talking to the C-suite, media, enterprise buyers or developers, everyone has different objectives.”
It’s a problem familiar to any marketer tasked with balancing reach and relevance. The difference for event organizers is that the ‘customer journey’ happens in real time and in MWC’s case that is over four days in a city where even moving between venues can shape perceptions of value.
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Cutting through the noise of constant innovation
If personalization is one half of Cortes’s job, the other is acting as a filter for technology hype. In an age when every few weeks brings a “game-changing” tool, he warns against deploying tech without a long-term plan.
“We don’t want technology to become just a novelty. It needs to have clarity in its implementation, not just be something flashy. The challenge is to decide when to go all in, and when to monitor a technology until it truly enables solutions and unlocks possibilities for delivering on our objectives.”
That philosophy is particularly relevant as AI moves from fringe demos to the operational core of global events. For MWC, it’s already enabling personalized content recommendations, exhibitor matches and streamlined internal workflows, but Cortes insists its application must serve strategic goals, not just be a spectacle.
“AI is a key pillar for personalizing the attendee journey. But aside from streamlining operations, we reassess each solution for its purpose and business case. We go step-by-step, because the goal is not just to impress with technology, but to create lasting value for audiences and partners.”
From telco showcase to tech ecosystem
MWC’s audience evolution underscores why this matters. Once a gathering for mobile network operators and handset makers, 60% of attendees now come from adjacent industries such as fintech, healthtech, media and automotive to name a few. This shift reflects how connectivity - and now AI - are becoming horizontal enablers across sectors. For organizers, it means designing experiences that speak to multiple industry languages without diluting relevance for the core audience.
Fran’s other professional lens - judging The Drum Awards Festival’s Experiential category - reinforces his belief that participation beats presentation.
“Experiential is what brings brand ecosystems to life - storytelling, interaction, building relationships. Audiences want to co-create, test, question, connect. That’s where true brand engagement happens. It’s also a huge opportunity to integrate physical and digital, using data, AI and content to make the experience a continuum before, during and after the event.”
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What will win his vote on judging day?
As president of this year’s Experiential judging panel, Cortes’s criteria for separating the good from the great are clear. “I need to see that a campaign demonstrates strategic clarity, creative purpose and delivers real-world impact. Experiential should do much more than just impress - it needs to influence. I’ll be looking for campaigns that are bold but grounded, human and innovative, and that truly help ecosystems and communities connect with brands.”
For Cortes, judging isn’t just a duty - it’s a form of professional development.
“I’ve always worked with an open innovation and cross-pollination mindset. Judging exposes me to campaigns in other sectors, with other purposes and audiences. That’s inspirational and also a benchmark for our own events. It’s a constant and great learning opportunity.”
In an era where novelty can overshadow necessity, MWC’s approach offers a blueprint: personalize at scale, choose tech with purpose, and measure success by lasting impact - not just headlines. For Fran, the same philosophy applies in the awards jury room as it does on the show floor.
Browse our Agency Business categories at this year's The Drum Awards Festival 2025