Collage of six diverse visuals: Discount products with large price tags, a woman in front of a digital art installation, the Cannes Lions logo, a herd of sheep with a rainbow flag, a mother holding a baby indoors, and cheering football players seen from behind.

From price transparency and gender equality to cultural identity, this year’s Cannes contenders from Serviceplan Group’s locations around the world show how creativity can connect brands with people in ways that are relevant, lasting — and built to make a difference.
A group of 26 people pose together outdoors on a grassy lawn surrounded by palm trees and flowering plants, smiling toward the camera; they are casually dressed, with some standing and others kneeling or sitting, under an overcast sky with a decorative pink and green eye-patterned border at the top and bottom of the image.

What’s Cannes like for the new gen? This year’s Sparkies and Young Lions interview last year’s talents – on lessons, leap-of-faith moments, and creative milestones.
Jens Krahe, Managing Partner at Plan.Net Cologne. Portrait of a friendly-looking man with a mustache, wearing a light blue shirt, seated on a brown chair. Decorative red, yellow, and green wave lines frame the image.

In the future, agents are likely to have sole responsibility for corporate brand design. But without agentic governance, brand identity is at risk.
Jasmine Presson, Chief Strategy Officer at Mediaplus North America. Portrait of a smiling woman with glasses and shoulder-length brown hair, standing against a dark blue background. She wears a floral jacket over a black top. On the left side, green and blue graphic patterns run vertically.

They say the only thing that’s constant is change. It might not bring you comfort to hear this, but we do not have simpler times ahead of us. A law of nature published in 2023 states that complex natural systems evolve to states of greater patterning, diversity, and complexity. I believe marketing systems are not exempt from laws of nature.

Interested in more content?

BACK TO ISSUE #19