# I'm Back from Cannes Lions 2025

Some of my bags are still unpacked, but my notebook is full of scribbled insights from the Brand Marketing Academy sessions.

Cannes is a marketer's dream. Everywhere you look, there's something to admire — global campaigns, agency founders, jaw-dropping activations, and sessions with the most influential voices in the industry. It's everything you'd expect, and more.

But here's what surprised me: the biggest lessons didn't come from the main stage or the award-winning work (as amazing as they were). They came after — after the events, after the sunburns, after the beach club wristbands were cut off.

The real learning happened in small rooms, away from the spotlight — when leaders let their guard down and shared what really keeps them up at night. And honestly? Some of the sharpest insights came from the people sitting right next to me.

So here's what I learned — not the polished LinkedIn version. The messy, useful, uncomfortable truth that's already reshaping how I think and work.

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## Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast (And Dinner Too)

The most powerful insight from Cannes wasn't about AI or attribution or programmatic anything. It was this: culture is the most influential thing in marketing.

Here's why that matters: you can have the most sophisticated data models in the world, but if they contradict deeply held cultural beliefs, they're worthless. Sometimes even data isn't strong enough — culture defines our identity, and our identity defines how we see the world and how we act.

> "Accepted consumer belief is bigger than any test in the world."
> — Najoh Tita Reid, Chief Brand and Experience Officer, Mars

This isn't soft thinking. This is hard business reality. Stop fighting culture. Start working with it.

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## Loyalty Is a Myth

People are not thinking about your brand. They're thinking about their problems, their lives, their next meal. That's precisely why consistency matters more than you think. You're not building loyalty — you're building availability in the moment they need you.

This changes everything about how you allocate resources. Stop chasing loyalty programs. Start building systems that make you consistently useful when it counts.

Every creative platform should efficiently serve two types of demand:

### Current clients
Convert them. Make the sale easy, obvious, inevitable.

### Future clients
Make yourself familiar. Build mental availability for when they're ready to buy.

Most brands optimize for one or the other. The best brands do both simultaneously. That's not complexity — that's strategy.

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## Quotes That Stuck With Me

> "Fire yourself before they fire you."
> — Marc Pritchard, CBO, P&G

Every 18 months, look at things as completely new. Approach your work differently, even if you thought you were once right.

> "Be hard on the work, but kind on the people."
> — Islam ElDessouky, Global VP Creative Strategy & Content, Coca-Cola

The work can be challenged relentlessly. The humans creating it deserve respect and support.

> "Do not spend time proving you belong. If you didn't belong, you wouldn't be here."
> — Najoh Tita Reid, Mars

For agencies: don't waste energy trying to impress the brand. Understand the challenge, share the pen, and do your best work.

> "As long as I understand your ideas, I will defend you."
> — Marian Lee, CMO, Netflix