While AI was the talk of the town last year, the star of this year’s Cannes Lions was more human centered.
Whether it was the influx of creators at the festival or the focus on live events and the fandoms and communities that support them, one thing was true: Brand marketers are most concerned about building connections and real experiences in an increasingly disconnected world.
“Relationships matter more than ever,” said Jim Mollica, chief marketing officer at Bose, during a fireside chat at Brand Innovators Cannes Beach. “I don’t think we are going to AI the sh*t out of sports marketing. The analog moment is really key for things that you care about.”
IRL moments grounded many of the perspectives discussed at Cannes. “Sport taught me everything I need to know about life, live sports especially,” said NBA star Chris Paul on a panel at Brand Innovators Beach.
Amazon Port
Pinterest, Netflix, Amazon, Canva, YouTube, Microsoft and Spotify were among the digital brands that used the festival to bring their digital experiences to life in the real world, offering experiential spaces for people to connect in person. Amazon had the Port for the fifth year in a row.
“It really is meant to be a tangible experiential activation that represents various aspects of the Amazon campus, so everything from Prime Video to IMDb to Amazon Live to AWS to Fire TV,” said Claire Paull, vice president of global marketing at Amazon Ads.
Pinterest’s Manifestival beach was inspired by its global campaign, which encourages people to go offline. “We’re really leaning into our new brand campaign messaging, which is really around less URL, more IRL,” said Sean Doyle, director, global brand experiences at Pinterest. The activation included hair bleaching, tattoos and various interactive crafting experiences.
From left to right: Janice Min, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Ankler Media; Mary Ellen Coe, Chief Business Officer, YouTube; Brittany Broski, host of celebrity YouTube show Royal Court
The media paradigm is shifting and the voices of creators matter more than ever before. More than 250 creators attended the festival this year. And rather than just showing up for the after parties, they dominated speaking slots across the event.
Brittany Broski, host of celebrity YouTube show Royal Court shared her journey from fandom to creator to being one of the most influential new media voices in Hollywood.
“It’s this thing of, like, if you don’t see it, you make it,” said Broski during a panel at Brand Innovators Cannes Beach.
As a pop music fan who grew up on Tumblr and Twitter, she knew the birth times and hospitals of all the One Direction members. “It’s to a level that’s, you know, medical,” she quipped.
As a fan she posted, and her “fangirlness kind of evolved” into commenting on celebrity culture.
“I guess my approach to it was very relatable…I kind of was like, there needs to be fangirls interviewing these people because I know what I would ask Harry Styles, and none of these interviewers are asking what I want to know,” she explained.
Spotify Beach From left to right: Musician Troye Sivan; Bridget Evans, Global Head of Ads Business Marketing at Spotify; Joon Silverstein, Chief Marketing Officer of Coach; Cosmopolitan/Seventeen Editor-in-Chief Willa Bennett
Brands are now turning up the volume on that fan voice. For example, Coach and Spotify announced a new partnership at the festival around IRL experiences built for fans with fan participation at the heart of it.
“When we think about our job as a brand, it’s not to tell people who to be,” said Joon Silverstein, chief marketing officer at Coach, during a panel at Spotify Beach, who said that the company is thinking about the “many diverse communities around the world and how we increasingly co-create with them so that it’s not about telling our story… it’s about helping them tell theirs.”
“At Unilever, we have decided to stop asking what our brands want to say and start asking what others want to talk about our brands. It’s a shift from ‘what we do want to say’ to ‘what do others want to carry,'” said Unilever’s global chief marketing officer Leandro Barreto, during a presentation at the Palais.
And of course, brands continue to work with talent who can bring the fans into the narrative. NBA star Carmelo Anthony, for instance, is the official “Head Coach” for CeraVe’s Anti-Dandruff campaign. During a panel at Brand Innovators beach, Anthony shared three principles that he operates on – knowledge, wisdom and understanding – when choosing brands to work with.
“The knowledge is knowing the brand,” said Anthony. “If I know the brand, if I know what you’re thinking and you’re aligned with me, then now we can move it up. The wisdom is being wise enough to know when to go, how fast to go, when to speed, when to stop, when to pivot, right? The understanding in all of that becomes, maybe I’ve got to sit this one out. Maybe I shouldn’t do it right now.”
From left to right: Microsoft’s Consumer CMO Yusuf Mehdi; Author/Podcast Host Mel Robbins
The human conversation was also part of the conversation around building teams internally. Building strong relationships across teams is still core to success. “One of the things I have learned as a CMO is that a big part of success is not you doing great work, it is your team doing great work and you need to teach everyone who is with you on the journey, all of your co-creators, you have to bring them along,” said Microsoft’s consumer CMO Yusuf Mehdi, during a fireside chat with author/podcast host Mel Robbins at Microsoft Beach.
“There is so much possibility that you can unlock if you are clear about what you want and you are willing to take action,” added Robbins.
Motorola was leaning into fashion and personal expression with new partnerships with Swarovski, Pantone and Bose, revealed at Cannes. The brand is exploring how offering different color palettes, premium finishes and immersive audio experiences can meet consumer expectations for brands to provide lifestyle experiences.
“At Motorola, we believe technology should empower people to express who they are,” said Emily Ketchen, SVP & CMO of Intelligent Devices Group & International Markets at Lenovo. “Our presence at Cannes Lions celebrated the power of self-expression, bringing together creators, marketers and lifestyle partners like Swarovski, Bose and Pantone, who share our belief that the most meaningful brands don’t just keep up with culture – they help people shape it. Every color, every design choice, and every experience we create is an invitation for consumers to stand out authentically.”
