Cannes debuted a new award for creative consistency this year. 73 brands entered. Just two won.

This week, Elena, Angela, Rob, Catherine, and Nikki unpack what actually happened at Cannes versus what just made headlines. The team shares why intelligence-gathering, not glamour, is the real reason to attend, and how AI is quietly reshaping ad tech products behind the scenes. They also weigh in on where live sports, retail media, and creator marketing genuinely fit into an effectiveness-driven strategy versus where they're overhyped. Marketers will walk away knowing which Cannes trends deserve real budget attention and which are just award-show noise. 

Topics covered:
[02:00] Why Marketing Architects decided to start attending Cannes
[04:00] The real gap between Cannes glamour and the actual work
[13:00] How AI is quietly reshaping ad tech products
[14:00] Live sports as a growth opportunity, not a silver bullet
[17:00] Why competing streaming platforms are all facing the same challenges
[21:00] Retail media and creator marketing: tools, not full strategies
[24:00] Cannes' new award for long-term creative consistency



To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.  


Resources:
2026 The Drum Article: https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/andrew-tindall-what-ritson-and-sharp-got-right-and-wrong-at-cannes


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