Cannes Lions 2026 round-up: from inspiration on the Croisette to action back in the business

The team returned from Cannes Lions with a clear takeaway: brave creative work still matters, but it needs the right partnerships, commercial confidence and funding conditions around it.

It was a scorcher of a week at Cannes Lions.

The Croisette was full of panels, meetings, beach sessions, partner catch-ups and conversations about what comes next for marketing. Our Cannes squad had a packed agenda, joined by colleagues and partners from across the industry, including our AMS US colleagues.

For us, the most useful conversations were not just about what inspired people at Cannes. They were about what happens next. How do brands protect the ideas that matter? How do they fund them? Who do they need around the table? And how do they turn a week of inspiration into action inside the business?

The biggest Cannes conversations do not end in Cannes. They come home with you.

Cannes felt bigger than advertising this year

One of the clearest shifts was how broad the Cannes conversation has become. It is still a festival of creativity, but the discussion around it now stretches much further into business leadership, culture, entertainment, technology and growth.

That matters because creativity is no longer being judged in isolation. The strongest ideas are expected to move through the business, earn attention, build relevance and prove their value. That is a healthier conversation, and a more demanding one.

It also reflects what many marketing leaders are facing when they return home. The idea may be exciting. The opportunity may be obvious. But the business still needs to know how it will be funded, what it will deliver and what needs to change to make room for it.

Partnership was one of the biggest themes

One of the standout messages from the week was the importance of true partnerships.

In a session with Eli Lilly and Shaquille O’Neal, the discussion focused on how a single campaign collaboration evolved into a long-term partnership built on trust, shared purpose and mutual value.

For Kieron Murphy, that message landed immediately.

That’s us. It’s what we’re all about.

Kieron Murphy

That same theme came up across very different conversations. Whether the topic was the future of Total Video at the RTL Group Beach, the changing agency model at the Little Black Book Beach or the evolution of media channels to deliver more effective campaigns, the point was consistent.

Short-term transactions are not enough. Brands need partners who can help them create value over time, not just deliver against a single brief.

Relevance beat visibility

Another strong thread was the move from simply showing up in culture to earning a meaningful place in it. The best work did not just chase attention. It understood the audience, the context and the behaviour it wanted to be part of.

That is an important distinction. Visibility can be bought. Relevance has to be earned. It comes from sharper thinking, better partnerships and a clearer understanding of what people actually care about.

For brands, that creates a commercial challenge as much as a creative one. If the work needs to be more relevant, more participatory and more connected to culture, then marketers need the time, budget and flexibility to build it properly.

AI was everywhere, but the human question was louder

AI was high on the agenda, as expected. But the more useful conversations were not just about speed, automation or producing more content. They were about judgement.

How do teams use technology without flattening the work? How do brands move faster without losing distinctiveness? What should be automated, and what still needs human taste, experience and instinct?

That feels like the right place for the debate to be. Efficiency matters, but it is not the same as effectiveness. More output is not the same as better communication. The brands that win will be the ones that use technology to support better decisions, not to avoid making them.

Creative ambition still needs a commercial route

This is where the Cannes conversation becomes very real for marketers.

The industry can celebrate bold ideas all week. But once teams are back in the business, those ideas need a route through budget conversations, procurement pressure, measurement demands and competing priorities.

At a time when every pound, euro and dollar is being questioned, the answer cannot be weaker work. It has to be a stronger commercial case for the work that matters.

That is where Active International can help. By unlocking value already in the business, brands can create more room to test, invest in brand, fund bigger media moments or support ideas that might otherwise be cut.

Our week on the Croisette

Outside the panel sessions, some of the most useful moments came from conversations with partners and industry peers.

The team spent time with partners including Ozone, JCDecaux, Bauer Media Group, WPP Media, Goodstuff, LoopMe, AdsWizz, VideoAmp, TikTok and Sky.

Thank you to everyone who made time to meet, host us, share ideas and talk about what is next for the industry. A special thank you to Ozone for the relax gift bags. After a week like that, the team will be putting them to good use.

What we are taking home

For us, the biggest takeaway is simple. Brands still need brave, brand-building ideas. But they also need the right commercial conditions to make those ideas happen.

That means stronger partnerships. Smarter use of value already in the business. Clearer measurement. Better funding routes. And a willingness to protect the work that matters, even when budgets are under pressure.

Cannes gave the industry plenty of inspiration. Now comes the more important part: turning it into action.

Talk to us about creating more room for the work that matters