The Pulse of Cannes Lions 2025: Redefining the Creative Frontier

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025 reflected the key shifts transforming the global creative and marketing landscape. As brands navigate growing complexity, from technology disruption to changing consumer expectations, this year’s festival focused on how creativity is evolving to become more intelligent, inclusive, and impact-driven. Central themes included AI’s role as a creative collaborator, the convergence of media and commerce, and the increasing importance of trust, sustainability, and brand authenticity.

This report, The Pulse of Cannes Lions 2025: Redefining the Creative Frontier, explores key themes that shaped the Cannes Lions 2025 dialogue, from reimagining creative partnerships and rising performance-driven storytelling to the need for compliance, transparency, and cultural relevance. It shows how marketing leaders are adapting their strategies to keep pace with disruptions, while delivering long-term brand value in an increasingly competitive and fragmented environment.

In addition to synthesizing key insights from the event, the report includes Everest Group’s perspectives on what these developments mean for service providers, technology providers, and design agencies. It offers strategic recommendations on how these players can evolve their capabilities, reposition their offerings, and support clients in building agile, measurable, and future-ready creative strategies.