Photo by Eric Legouhy[/caption] Flipboard has seen over 25 percent audience growth in France since the beginning of this year. We have a local curation team as well as local advertising representation in the French Market. To deepen our brand relationships, we recently partnered with CBNews, a leading advertising and marketing publication in France, to host a panel discussion around mobile trends. Michel Juvillier, a leading digital expert, led the conversation over breakfast at the Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris. [caption id="attachment_36337" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Photo by Eric Legouhy[/caption] French marketers and agency representatives gathered to hear about mobile trends, Flipboard’s role in mobile, and important topics such as brand safety. Some highlights:

• France’s mobile penetration is very high. More people are connected via mobile in France (68%) than in the U.S. (52%)
• We are checking our phones 150 times a day. Christine Cook, Flipboard’s Head of Advertising Partnerships, highlighted the massive amount of information that is pulling at consumers every day. And mobile devices, with access to all of this information around the clock, can be overwhelming for all of us.
• People are looking to reclaim their time. Flipboard’s Interest Graph data provides us with insight into what people are reading. We have seen readership of topics like mindfulness, productivity, happiness, and self-improvement increase in the last year, signaling that there’s a desire to find tools that separate the signal from the noise and surface quality information that moves people forward in their lives.
• Brands need to reclaim their power. Antoine Dubuquoy, digital and brand expert from Image 7, shared his perspectives around brand safety and his concerns around the duopoly of Facebook and Google. “It is the responsibility of a brand to ensure maximum reach across multiple touch points of the consumer. And bet on a good user experience in there,” said Dubuquoy.
• Brand safety cannot just rely on machines. The panelists also  discussed the role of humans as it relates to brand safety and journalism. Flipboard’s Cook said, “It is more than algorithms. It is humans that will ultimately get you closer to the truth in this ecosystem.”