Some people will tell you Cannes Lions hasn’t moved fast enough. That may still be true on parts of the Croisette, or in the bar at the Carlton, but it wasn’t true in my classroom.
This year, for the first time, I had the privilege of being Dean of the Brand Marketer Academy, one of the Lions Learning experiences inside the Palais. We brought together 40 marketers under 30, from around the world, selected through a highly competitive process, for a week focused on Technology, Leadership and Creativity. After many years of doing Cannes the ‘usual way’, this was different. Less noise, more substance. Less performance, more perspective.
And what stood out wasn’t just the calibre of speakers - it was the quality of conversation. Honest, challenging, and grounded in what marketing and marketers need to become next.
Six themes came through clearly across the week
First, creativity is not a moment of inspiration - it’s a system.
As JaBaris Swain said, “Constraint is the canvas.” James Hurman reminded us that uncreative work costs much more than creative work, and Luis Camano’s advice was beautifully simple: “Please never be boring.”
Second, AI is not the story - people are
Marc Pritchard described AI as a turbocharger for human creativity, while Sean Thielen-Esparza from Anthropic made the case that you need to be both extremely capable and extremely opinionated. The competitive advantage is not access to tools, but how you use them.
Third, brand building still matters - perhaps more than ever
Marian Lee and Karen Nelson-Field both reinforced that memory structures, consistency and long-term brand investment are not optional. Even with all the data in the world, you still need a strong gut hypothesis.
Fourth, culture is the real operating system
Dr. Marcus Collins was clear that culture is a vessel of meaning, and brands must contribute to it, not just extract from it. Victoria Sjardin added that brands can be timeless, but they still have to feel timely.
Fifth, the skills we don’t formally teach - confidence, resilience, self-awareness - are often the ones that matter most
Helen Tiffany spoke about confidence as something you can build, and my own session with Marian Lee returned to a simple truth: clear is kind, unclear is unkind.
And finally, careers don’t happen by accident
Marian Lee, Victoria Sjardin, Ryan Parkhurst and Gael De Talhouet all reinforced the same idea: stay curious, build skills, think ahead, and be intentional about where you go next. As I put it, build skills, not job titles.
Stepping back, one bigger pattern emerged.
The future is going to be K-shaped
At the bottom end, we’ll see a race to the average - AI generating volume, speed, and a lot of interchangeable work. At the top end, we’ll see a very different curve: marketers who combine creativity, judgement and technology to produce work that actually moves people and businesses. AI won’t replace them, it will accelerate them.
The gap between those two groups will grow quickly. Which is why this cohort matters. Because the future of marketing won’t be defined by the debates we have about AI, creativity or effectiveness, it will be defined by the people who learn how to bring them together.
If this group is any indication, the future is in good hands. But it’s also a reminder: if you want to stay relevant, you need to keep learning just as fast as they are. And if you’re early in your career, or building towards leadership, this is exactly the kind of room you want to be in.
Applications for next year are worth your time.
By Lex Bradshaw-Zanger, Dean, Cannes Lions Brand Marketer Academy with some help from Perplexity.
