Cannes Lions 2026: My first splendid, serendipitous Cannes
By Georgia Reierson, Senior Partnerships Executive
Having never been to Cannes Lions before, I was honoured to join the New Digital Age and Bluestripe Group teams at Maison NDA this year. Aside from the usual ‘wear linen and sunscreen’ advice from everyone in the industry, two pieces of advice really stood out to me. The first being, ‘have a plan and be prepared to rip it up’, the second being, ‘be prepared to bump into anyone and everyone in the industry’.
The advice couldn’t have been more true, especially when I landed at 1 am in a very sweaty Nice airport. I ended up sharing a cab with the Partnerships Director at VIOOH and the Director of Strategy at BRAVE - two excellent connections made in the middle of the night, and it wasn’t even day one.
Nothing prepares you for the enormity of Cannes, particularly when you’re stomping down the Croisette for the first time in 35-degree heat, collecting activation wristbands like you’re on the UK festival scene circa 2006. As expected, AI and agentic AI were THE hot topics of the festival. Both were fiercely discussed at every roundtable, panel and keynote at nearly every activation I visited. Retail media content featured heavily, proving it’s gargantuan growth shows no sign of slowing down for 2026/27.
Our venue, the Maison NDA was a sanctuary amongst the madness of Cannes. Located right opposite the Amazon port, we provided not only friendly faces and respite from the heat, but also excellent industry content and insight from our amazing editorial team and from industry heavyweights such as Sir Martin Sorrell and Terence Kawaja.
I was blown away at how Cannes can completely change people's attitudes. I found myself deepening connections with existing clients, and forging relationships with new contacts at a much more relaxed and affable pace. This attitude I found allowed everyone to open up a lot more and be more candid. I had a lot of genuine conversations with those who shared their insight and business challenges with me, and I feel Cannes provided this much more so than over a latte at Costa in London could ever do.
There was a real sense of camaraderie at Cannes, particularly demonstrated by the various female focused panels I attended. There were two discussions that really stood out to me. The first was the Moloco and WIRM panel, giving sincere and practical advice to women on navigating Cannes and unwanted behaviour (gutter bar, anyone?), but also on how to have your voice heard in a very heavily male dominated industry. The second discussion was our very own Digital Women Panel, kindly supported by LG Ad Solutions. The panel session packed out with attendees, something I found was very rare for Cannes, and it provided real food for thought. Chloe Davies, Founder & CEO of It Takes A Village, spoke about how the word ‘ally’ with males and supporters in the industry is frivolous. What we really should be seeking is ‘champions’.This reframing is something that’s stayed with me beyond Cannes.
Cannes has completely re-energised me. I’ve come back with a load of new contacts, strengthened relationships over some Cannes cliché rosé, and I’m looking forward to developing these partnerships now that Cannes is over. The energy and buzz of Cannes is something that you don’t ever forget, and it truly was an honour to attend and be a part of. I’m looking forward to 2027, not only for another Cannes Lions, but I’m excited to see the industry grow and demonstrate how we can help here at New Digital Age and Bluestripe Group.
Bring on 2027! See you on the Croisette.