Paris Hilton, CEO of 11:11 Media, sat down with Nate Nicely, Global CMO of dentsu Media, at the dentsu Beach House during Cannes Lions 2025 to chat about purpose, passion, and modern brand success. With billions in product sales, a global advocacy platform, and a cultural legacy that spans decades, Paris has built an empire rooted in authenticity.
Nate introduced Paris to the audience and then went straight away into a candid conversation with her.
Nate: “When we think about the center of media, we also think about the center of influence and how it is the modern infrastructure for growth. There's no one that really models this, I think, better than our next guest, Paris Hilton.
“The original title of this session was going to be called Congress, Children and Commerce because that's literally a snapshot of your working day. So, what keeps you leaning into every area of modern culture all the way from Capitol Hill to Roblox?”
Paris: “I'm so proud of all the amazing work that I've been doing on Capitol Hill and really turning my pain into a purpose to protect children. And then I'm in Roblox because I've loved the Metaverse before there was even a word for it, and we've created this incredible place called Sliving Land inside of there. It's a place where I can connect with my fans and also work with different brands and I'm just always everywhere.
“Always everywhere – I think that's a good motto to live by!”
Nate: “Your 11:11 Media … was launched in 2021 and is already reportedly valued for $1 billion, which is the most profitable female owned media business, which … is no mean feat. … With so many lanes that you could have gone down and so many things and doors open to you, why a media company?”
Paris: “I'm involved in so many different mediums from music to television to film to podcasting to building products to my music to my impact work to building brands and just so much that I wanted to bring all of those under one umbrella and just create this media company with the most brilliant people for every different area of my business.”
Turning the conversation to purpose, Nate asked: “We saw you in Congress and, really powerfully, you opened your congressional testimony with the words, ‘My name is Paris Hilton and I'm a survivor.’ … What drove you to move into this space and think about moving to the halls of Congress?”
Paris: “It's been the most meaningful work of my life. I could never have imagined that I would be on Capitol Hill and passing my federal bill, and now I've changed 14 state laws to protect children, so it really just shows the power in telling your truth. I've done a lot of things in my life that I'm proud of, but I hope that I'm remembered for this because this is my life's work.”
Nate: “Your company funnels a share of its profits straight into impact work. What encouraged you to design a model for your company where purpose is actually a growth engine and a growth driver and not just seen as a cost center?”
Paris: “There's purpose behind everything that we do at 11:11 and just bringing that sparkle and shining a light on causes that are important to me and just helping to make the world a better place – that’s something that is incredibly important to me.”
Nate: “We [at dentsu] recently put out our consumer navigator piece of research that shows 58% of people that are active in their online communities are there every single day. … When we think about third spaces used to be coffee shops, used to be gymnasiums or community centers, third places have really now moved from coffee shops into common threads and into social. Do you think that the brands that you work with and the marketers that you work with underestimate the profit of this kind of creator-driven economy, or do you think brands are catching up to it?”
Paris: “I think it's very powerful and it's amazing how anyone with a talent or something that they want to create by just going on these social media platforms has the opportunity to maybe create one of the next big brands. I think it's a very exciting space and for this generation to really harness all that technology and utilize it.”
Nate: “If you could give one piece of advice to brands who are really trying to connect on a personal level and that kind of long-lasting level that you've built, what would a piece of advice be to the brands in the room today?”
Paris: “My advice is to be authentic because the consumer can see through everything. Do things that lead back to impact where you can help make a difference in someone's life or business, and partner with me and I'll make it iconic.”
Nate: “When you are scrolling your own feeds, and your own platforms as well, what breaks Paris Hilton's attention? What captures your attention?”
Paris: “When you're scrolling – things that are sparkly and fun, things that can make me laugh, things that maybe make me think more into it, or just things that are creative in a fun way that's innovative and new! I've always been someone who loves to do things first, so I love when you see things that you've never seen before, too, which I imagine is rare.”
Nate: “[What is the] single piece of advice you could give the marketers in the room today?”
Paris: “I would say, keep sliving.”
(IYKYK: sliving was coined by Paris and means slaying + living your best life.)
Nate: “Imagine it's 2050 … What headline and what legacy do you really want to describe Paris Hilton, both the person, the brand, and the enterprise?
Paris: “Paris Hilton: from pop culture icon to force of good.”
To hear much more from Paris, watch the entire conversation replay here.
