The brand lessons that outlasted Cannes

After attending Cannes Lions for the first time, Hannah Partridge, head of client services at Seen Studios, reflects on the three shifts that stood out above the noise and what they reveal about where branding is heading next.

After more than 20 years in marketing, I finally made it to Cannes Lions.

I'd always watched from afar, assuming all the intensity and glamour probably wasn't for me, so I was surprised by how instantly welcome and connected I felt. This really is where the marketing world comes together to share ideas, challenge thinking and push the industry forward.

At first, I felt like a bit of a marketing tourist, wandering The Croisette, exploring impressive brand spaces and clocking up a record step count in the blazing sunshine. By day two, we'd found the best spots for shade and ice-cold drinks and moved from guests to contributors, with our MD, Katie, taking to the stage to host a panel at Empower Café.

As the week unfolded, conversations shifted from keynote sessions to beach activations, rooftop parties and chance encounters over coffee, but long after the wristbands came off, it wasn't the spectacle I was thinking about. It was the ideas.

Here are the three themes I kept coming back to.

Sport is becoming culture infrastructure

Sport was everywhere at Cannes this year, and not just in the dedicated sessions. From conversations about the global growth of the NBA and NFL to discussions around fandom, it became clear that sport is increasingly being used as a platform for culture rather than simply a sponsorship opportunity.

The most interesting conversations centred on participation. Across sessions featuring the WSL, Manchester City and Baller League, speakers repeatedly returned to the idea that fans don't simply want to watch anymore – they want to belong. From watch parties to community-led campaigns, the strongest organisations are finding ways to bring fans into the story.

One comment that particularly stayed with me came from Susan Allen Augustin, co-founder of Here We Flo, who described brands as having the power to create communities, not just customers.

For me, that's the bigger shift. Sport has gone way beyond being a media channel. It's becoming a platform for identity and participation.

Looking good and feeling good are becoming one and the same

Beauty was another recurring theme, but interestingly, it rarely showed up in isolation.

Across beach takeovers, brand activations and panel discussions, beauty was increasingly positioned alongside wellbeing, movement and self-expression. The boundaries between beauty, sport and wellness are becoming increasingly blurred.

That shift was reflected in the brands that stood out. e.l.f. Beauty explored how company culture fuels creativity and growth, while The Ordinary challenged long-held beauty marketing conventions through its Grand Prix-winning campaign, The Periodic Fable. What united them was purpose.

Beauty brands weren't simply selling skincare or cosmetics, but using their platforms to challenge assumptions, start conversations and build communities around shared values.

AI is moving from experiment to everyday

It wouldn't be Cannes without AI, but unlike previous years, it no longer felt like the headline act.

The conversation has shifted from experimentation to implementation. Instead of asking whether to use AI, brands are now figuring out how to build it into the everyday reality of creating, managing and growing brands.

Amazon's Rue Visionnaire showed visitors how AI could build an entire retail business in minutes, while Cognizant focused on practical applications such as real-time customer journeys and creative generation.

Perhaps the clearest sign of AI's maturity came from Cannes Lions itself. Forty per cent of this year's award entries used AI – double last year's figure.

The challenge now isn't adopting AI. It's building the right systems, guardrails and behaviours around it while protecting the creativity that makes brands distinctive.

The bigger picture

Looking back, I don't think Cannes was defined by a single trend. It was defined by convergence.

Sport became a conversation about community. Beauty became a conversation about wellbeing. AI became a conversation about better creative systems.

Across all three, the brands making the biggest impression weren't chasing attention. They were finding meaningful ways to become part of culture rather than simply market to it.

For me, that's the biggest takeaway from Cannes. The future belongs to brands that contribute something valuable, not just something visible.