Another Cannes Lions Festival has come and gone, but this year had a different energy. Still sunny, still full of rosé, but noticeably sharper and more grounded. The noise was dialed down, the priorities clearer.
Gone were the splashy stunts, and in their place thoughtful activations, proof-backed progress, and pragmatic innovation, especially in media. Panels felt more intentional, with dentsu, TikTok, and Amazon leading some of the most focused and forward-looking conversations of the week.
Here’s a look at the key themes and emerging trends shaping the road ahead.
1. AI x Creative Intelligence x Performance Integration
AI took center stage, but not as a replacement for human creativity. The consensus? AI’s true power lies in amplifying human intelligence, driving speed, personalization, and scale.
- TikTok launched Symphony, its full GenAI suite featuring Image-to-Video, Text-to-Video, and Showcase Products, designed to scale native content with speed and agility.
- Meta’s Advantage+ tools now auto-generate videos from image sets with AI-driven product spotlights.
- Google’s Veo was revealed as part of YouTube’s creator toolkit, unlocking next-gen video creation for storytellers.
2. Creators as Strategic Partners
Creators have shifted from content amplifiers to central players in campaign strategy and distribution. This year's narrative was clear: co-creation is the new collaboration.
- YouTube’s Open Call invites advertisers to post briefs directly to 3M+ creators.
- Amazon Live made waves with real-time commerce content, elevating creators from endorsers to storytellers.
Twitch creators featured heavily in Amazon’s programming, underscoring the move from influencer marketing to integrated narratives. Across the board, there was growing urgency for tools that help brands systematize creator selection and performance measurement, especially in live commerce.
3. Retail Media and Commerce, Everywhere
Retail media continues its meteoric rise, redefining what relevance means in modern media. Commerce intelligence - real-time, AI-powered, omnichannel - is rapidly becoming table stakes.
- MiQ’s Sigma connects more than 300 data sources to align programmatic planning with commerce data in real time.
- Criteo’s Auction-Based Display enables real-time bidding across retailers like Costco, bringing open-web programmatic scale to commerce.
- Reddit bridged the gap between culture and commerce with CVS shopper targeting.
- Pinterest turned catalogues into predictive, shoppable AI-powered collages.
- Amazon continued to blur the line between entertainment and retail, scaling Amazon Live across Europe and integrating with partners like Roku and Disney DSP.
4. The Return of Live and Real-Time Experiences
Live isn’t just back, it’s where attention lives. Moment-based media, a term coined by Amazon this year, is transforming how brands plan and create in real time.
- Amazon Prime Video is piloting low-latency streaming for real-time ad synchronization.
- TikTok and YouTube are doubling down on live commerce formats and creator integration.
- Dentsu and Amazon leaned into branded entertainment strategies, combining film, gaming and social commerce into immersive ecosystems.
5. Purpose and Sustainability Still Matter
While the conversation was less front-and-center this year, sustainability remains a priority, and it's about to become measurable.
- Ad Net Zero announced a universal carbon measurement framework for ad media, backed by major holding companies.
- TikTok and Snap now partner with Scope3 to offer advertisers tools for tracking campaign carbon footprints.
- A dedicated Sustainability Hub at Cannes showed purpose isn't just a trend, it’s the standard.
What This Means for Brands
Cannes Lions 2024 showed that the industry is maturing with a focus on measurable outcomes, AI-powered acceleration, and deeper partnerships across commerce and culture.
For brands, the path forward is clear:
- Move from experimentation to integration
- Treat creators as strategic partners
- Rethink media through the lens of real time, retail, and relevance
- Make purpose tangible and accountable
Cannes might be over, but the momentum is just getting started. Here's to a sharper, smarter, and more strategic year ahead.
