Cannes Lions has long been the global stage for creative storytelling in advertising. But this year, one thing was clear: it’s now just as much about the technology that delivers that creativity at scale, with precision, and in real time.

In 2025, adtech arrived in full force. Media platforms, AI, and data took over suites, panels, and cabanas, reshaping not just the programming, but the conversations overheard on the Croisette. This wasn’t just a creative showcase, it was a full-blown innovation summit.

At the Samba Media Intelligence Lounge, we held over 250 conversations with partners and prospects that reflected this shift. From actionable AI and trusted data signals to clean room collaboration and outcome-based strategies, the themes were clear and the momentum was real. Here's a look at the seven biggest takeaways from the week:

The AI Inflection Point: From Hype to Agentic Action

If there was one thread running through every conversation in Cannes, it was AI. But the tone has changed. Gone is the theoretical hype of years past. In its place is a focus on agentic, business-driving applications that are already being integrated into marketing strategies.

AI is becoming a foundational layer across functions, from media buying and customer experience to dynamic creative optimization. And among more advanced discussions was the question: How do we make AI actually work for our businesses?

The answer lies in the data. AI models are only as good as the training data and infrastructure behind them. Marketers are now focused on building systems where AI-ready data fuels more accurate, accessible, and actionable insights that support real-time, agentic decision-making at scale.

AI Runs on Data: Readiness, Trust and Clean Rooms

Data collaboration now sits at the table next to brand creativity at Cannes. It brings with it an important consideration for privacy and a shift in the balance, with the presence of leading clean rooms at the festival. Clean rooms signal the increasing importance of privacy-first infrastructure and trusted interoperability.

For the first time, we saw real momentum around federated data and learning architectures that support AI workflows across partners and platforms. The clarity of first-party data in clean rooms allows the industry to confront issues like training data bias while building on trusted, representative, and objective data sources.

Measurement Shift: From Currency to Outcomes

“Currency” may have dominated measurement conversations in the past, but this year it was all about “outcomes.” With linear TV viewership continuing to fall, nearly every major media company focused on streaming and presented converged, cross-platform solutions driving business impact - whether that’s awareness, consideration, or conversion.

Performance is no longer confined to the bottom of the funnel. The expectation now is clear: every impression should be accountable, and every strategy should be tied to a real-world business result.

The Creativity Imperative: Boldness Over Blandness

While the conversation leaned heavily into outcomes and efficiency, there was also a growing concern: Are we sacrificing originality for optimization?

Creatives warned against the creeping sameness of GenAI-generated outputs, and urged the industry to continue prioritizing bold brand strategy. The real challenge? Staying inventive while being accountable and balancing short-term performance with long-term brand value.

This conversation extended into the Creator Economy, where creators are no longer viewed as talent or channels, but as strategic partners and co-creators. Every major platform announced new tools to help creators and brands stretch beyond safe briefs and into more authentic, culturally resonant storytelling.

Beyond Buzz: Personalization, Search and the Customer Experience

“Personalization-at-scale” has long been a buzzword, but thanks to AI, it’s finally becoming operational reality. Cannes featured deep conversations about how AI enables individualized customer journeys, powered by smarter contextual targeting, creative optimization, and mid-flight performance visibility.

We also saw the rise of a new frontier: Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). With LLMs reshaping how people search and discover, brands are now considering how to “SEO” themselves inside AI environments. We are seeing a rise in visual search results that influence purchase behaviors, as well as questions about whether branded search should receive any credit for driving purchases, particularly if it’s more product specific and might have converted anyway.

Emerging Channels: Retail Media and Programmatic Audio

New media channels were everywhere. CTV and streaming cemented their role across awareness, intent, and performance, with planners fully embracing them as core to omnichannel strategy. Retail media networks also took center stage among media planners, gaining traction as a must-have for brands looking to connect closer to the point of purchase. Meanwhile, programmatic audio and video podcasts emerged as growing complements to traditional media, offering high-engagement, context-rich environments in a fragmented media world.

Sports: The Cultural Engine

From the Kelce brothers at Amazon to the Wrexham crew and Alex Morgan, sports delivered not only star power but also strategic depth. Cannes used sports as a cultural and creative lens to explore fandom, AI integration, and narrative storytelling. It reinforced that sports isn’t just a media buy, it’s a dynamic brand-building platform that blends emotion, community, and measurable impact.

Final Thoughts: AI On

Marketers are rebuilding playbooks in real time. They're working to find stability amid disruption, and leaning into AI not as a novelty, but as a necessary tool for the next generation of advertising.

While there were questions around AI’s impact on jobs, the broader sentiment was one of curiosity, experimentation, and forward momentum. 

The second half of 2025 isn’t just about keeping up. It’s about leading the charge with bold thinking, adaptive strategy, and data-fueled decision-making.