It is evident that mobile is becoming more mainstream, since the channel had a more prominent role at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival this year.

Mobile Marketer's Giselle Tsirulnik interviewed Paran Johar, chief marketing officer of Jumptap, who attended the Festival. Here are his musings from Cannes:

What is the overall mood at Cannes?
Incredibly positive. Though the abundance of past years seems more subdued, everyone in general, is very positive regarding the outlook advertising for the remainder of the year. 
 
What are some cool new trends in advertising?
I wouldn't call them 'trends' per say, but certainly digital is a dominant force in Cannes. It is impossible to miss the pervasive presence of the digital media companies.
 
Yahoo and Microsoft have equally taken up residence, each covering half of the beach and Croisette.  Industry luminaries Matt Scheckner and Lance Pillersdorf hosted a series of under the radar" exclusive events at their penthouse roof deck.
 
A virtual who's who of digital and advertising celebs were spotted there including WPP's Mark Read, Mediabrand's Quentin George and Matt Freeman, Omnicom's Jonathan Nelson, Tribal DDB's, Paul Gunning, as well as Liz Ross of Digitas, Sean Finnegan of Mediavest  and a throng of other notorieties.

Also spotted hanging out were actor singers, Nick Cannon and Common and none other than Mr. Facebook himself - Mark Zuckerberg. The highlight of the week was a special private performance by Sony recording artist, Natasha Bedingfield.
 
What is mobile's role at Cannes this year?
Mobile has earned its own stage this year and is proving its staying power.
 
Whether it's mobile advertising, video, SMS or augmented reality, it is clearly pervasive in all aspects of the creative campaigns being showcased.
 
Unfortunately, Jumptap was the only pure mobile company being represented. The big news for mobile was Eric Baeder, formerly of leading Mobile Agency Brand In Hand and now Chief Strategy Officer at Initiative, gave a presentation on mobile to a packed, standing room only crowd, clearly illustrating the interest level in mobile.
 
What do you expect next year? How will mobile fit into the bill?
I expect mobile's presence to grow exponentially. Almost every agency CEO I spoke with was incredibly bullish and passionate on mobile. I have not seen such enthusiasm since the early days of the Internet.
 
You say there are a lot of media people at Cannes. Is there a common thread in terms of people's feelings on mobile?
Media people in Cannes are fast becoming the new rock stars. The most common theme among the media executives I spoke to, was the need for additional standards for audience measurement and tracking, and education on how to leverage the medium to its full potential.