| | | The Croisette is calling. |
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| Marketers and advertisers are furiously packing their linen and laptops for the biggest industry moment of the year: The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where big ideas are awarded, and conversations flow as freely as the rosé. |
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| BMF returns to Cannes for the 10th consecutive year, supporting a number of activations on and off the Croisette, with more BMFers than we’ve ever had on-site. We’ll be working, mais oui, and working the rooms. If you’ll be in town, reach out to Founding Partner Brian Feit at brian@wearebmf.com. We’d love to hear from you. |
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| This issue gives you what you need to make the most of the week, from the activations and seminars worth your steps to a refreshed travel guide for navigating Cannes like a local. |
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| Whether it's your first Lions, your fifteenth, or you’ve already got FOMO, we’ve got you covered. |
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| Photo via Unsplash | Diane Picchiottino |
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| Pulse Check: BMF’s Cannes Lions Survival Guide |
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| Cannes Lions has more programming, more activations, and more beach clubs than any single schedule can hold. This is your cheat sheet: the sites worth your time, the bites worth a detour, and the tips and tricks to keep your week sharp from the first panel to the last rosé. Pack our guide and your SPF–we'll see you on the Croisette! ➔ |
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| BMF Connects With Behnaz Ghahramani |
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| As SVP, Global Marketing at Marriott International, Behnaz Ghahramani helps shape how one of the world's most beloved and iconic hospitality brands shows up at the center of moments like Cannes Lions every day. Ahead of the festival, she and BMF Founding Partner Brian Feit sat down to discuss the evolution of Marriott Bonvoy, the future of brand marketing, and why the most successful brands of the next decade will balance technology with humanity. ➔ |
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| | The New + The NoteworthyEverything Worth Doing/Seeing/Getting/Booking |
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| Photo via Marriott International |
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| Photos via Le Speakeasy & CapCut |
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| The week kicks off with CapCut’s private event at Le Speakeasy, teaming up with BMF to design and produce the CapCut Creative Hour, where product education is as easy as ordering a drink. Neon lighting, specialty cocktails, and music keep energy high, alongside the AI-powered Design Studio, where 1:1 demos with CapCut specialists let guests work hands-on with the tool and make something of their own to take home alongside a curated branded takeaway. Register here and try the tool yourself here. ➔ |
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| | LinkedIn returns to BMF client IHG’s Carlton Cannes Hotel with a week of rooftop sessions, live studio programming, and exclusive conversations designed to show why powerful ideas perform best when they reach the right people, in the right context, at the right moment. Open Monday through Thursday, June 22-25, 9AM-5PM and Friday, June 26, until noon. Register here. ➔ |
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3C Ventures takes over Lucia Beach from June 22-25 with PLAGE 3CV, founder Michael Kassan's idea of a dealmaking room dressed as a beach club. The scheduled slate stacks C-suite panels on culture, commerce, AI, and sports, much of it moderated by Kassan himself. Off-stage, a Chef's Table activation with Michelin-starred chefs and daily Sunset Sips keep it social. Register here. ➔ |
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| Photo via Female Quotient |
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| BMF client Female Quotient scales up this year at Cannes Lions, keeping its FQ Lounge on the Hôtel Martinez rooftop and adding FQ Beach on the Croisette, a live stage for daily panels June 22-25. With daytime panel programming, nights turn social–from the Unwell Beach Party with BMF client Sephora to a Lowe's-backed Ladies Night Out billed as a permission slip to take an evening for yourself. See more and register here. ➔ |
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| | Yahoo is back and taking over La Plage du Martinez June 22-25 with the Explorers Society, a nautical experience with a “Jacques Cousteau” look-and-feel that brings Yahoo Scout, its new AI-powered search tool, to life. Be sure to find their traveling purple submarine installation, which will be popping up in the space and on the Parvis for surprise-and-delight moments all week long. Register here. ➔ |
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| Photo via Karlie Kloss/Jared Kocka & UTA |
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| UTA Beach is one of the few Croisette spaces open to every Cannes Lions badge holder. From June 22-25, no invite is required for its Main Stage panels, which pull cultural tastemakers from its own agency talent pool, from Karlie Kloss with Capital One’s Lia Dean on how brands are reinventing to Olandria Carthen with BMF client poppi’s Sophia Sesto on turning a campaign into a cultural moment. Need we say more? Find the full schedule here. ➔ |
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| | Sport Beach returns as Stagwell's official LIONS Sport activation, turning Plage du Festival into the next best conference room from June 21-25 for athletes to do business. Expect conversations with top athletes and executives across themes like athletes as cultural architects and owners, the shifting economics of sport among the youth, and music as an evolving infrastructure to expand sports fandom. Don't miss out on the Strava Run Club on June 24! Find out more here. ➔ |
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| | Meta Beach takes over La Plage Barrière Le Majestic from June 22-25, where it argues AI puts creativity back at the center of brand success. Its marquee session pairs artist Daniel Arsham with Instagram's Tessa Lyons on what's shifting in creativity and what stays timeless, while BMF client Sephora joins Jackie Aina for a discussion on creator-led beauty. In the Creator Sandbox, film and edit your own Reel alongside creators like Laila Gohar and Ellen Sheidlin, then go hands-on with their newest tech. Register here. ➔ |
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| | Pinterest's Manifestival returns to BMF client IHG’s Carlton Beach Club June 22-25, taking inspiration off-screen and into the real world. Expect less scroll and more soul, from artist-led activations and trend-driven programming, to the Pinterest Palette styling studio mixing 2026's top colors. The Original Pinterest Tattoo Parlour is back with a new twist, turning a trend-inspired tat into the most talked-about souvenir on the Croisette. Be sure to RSVP here. ➔ |
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| | Cannes is a splurge and the bill proves it, but BMF client Bilt earns you points on your rent and mortgage—the spend you can't avoid—then lets you transfer them to hotel stays, flights, and car services with travel partners like Air France and BMF client Marriott Bonvoy, which comes in handy year-round. Start earning here. ➔ |
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| | The FrequencyWhat We’re Listening To Now. |
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| Photo via @meredithmarks | Instagram |
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| Whether you're already on the Riviera or holding it down stateside, DJ Meredith Marks is calling all to “Disengage and Dance,” with her new Pride Mix. With 23 hits B2B, ranging from Crystal Waters to Ariana Grande to Cher, she makes a strong case for both without ever letting the floor cool off. Just press play and don't fight it. We know you want to. Listen here. ➔ |
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| | That’s Fire By Sir Candle Man 🔥 |
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| Photo via Grace de Monaco |
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| BMF tapped fragrance tastemaker Kudzi Chikumbu, aka Sir Candle Man, for our scent spotlight. We're burning Promenade Sur Le Rocher by Grace de Monaco, the house's namesake fragrance poured into a white ceramic objet d’art. It evokes the feeling of waking up in the south of France on a dewy morning, catching the waft of jasmine rolling down the hills. Rose, Princess Grace's favorite flower, leads with sunny bergamot, then ylang-ylang, amber, and musk. Light it here. ➔ |
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| | The DestinationNow Departing: Cannes |
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| Photo via Jim Thirion | Unsplash |
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| Each June, Cannes becomes the global epicenter for creativity and advertising as Cannes Lions takes over the Croisette, but is known above all for its sun-soaked coastal French Riviera views, for its film legacy, Mediterranean glamour, and a hospitality scene that runs deep year-round. Allow us to show you around. ➔ |
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| | | | Let’s chat about how we can keep your brand in tune with the pulse of culture. |
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| | The SublimeCreators, Innovators, And Cool $#!+ You Should Know About. |
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| | DoorDash Ads' Cannes Lions Atlas maps the week's buzziest activations and beach takeovers on one illustrated guide, from the Palais to every beach club worth your steps. Download it here. ➔ |
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| | New for 2026, the Cannes Lions Wrap-Up Live compresses the whole festival into 90 minutes, running through the biggest winners, the themes that defined the stage talks, and takeaways straight from the Jury Presidents, plus early access to the annual Wrap-Up Report. It runs Friday, June 26, at 2PM local time in the Debussy Theatre, for those of us who need to walk into the office Monday with a coherent debrief. View previous years’ reports here. ➔ |
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| | Oprah Winfrey will receive the 2026 Cannes LionHeart, the festival's highest individual honor, with a live-streamed seminar at the Lumière Theatre on Tuesday, June 23, ahead of the formal ceremony that evening. For an audience of advertisers, Winfrey's presence carries specific weight as one of a few living figures who have shaped consumer trust and brand affinity at the scale she has. Learn more here. ➔ |
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| | ADWEEK House brings its programming and a roster of names to Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic this week, Antoni Porowski among them. He lands fresh off Best of the World, his new Nat Geo travel series roaming Paris, Mexico City, London, and NYC for the food, the culture, and the stories behind each. You catch him there, then let it stir up your own summer travel list—it's only June! Register here and watch here. ➔ |
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| | LIONS Creators returns for its third year with a full beach venue, content studio, and programming slate that includes Mel Robbins, Steven Bartlett, and Dhar Mann—read our recent Connects interview with Mann here. Three years ago this was a side stage; now it has its own infrastructure, pass tier, and awards night. That trajectory alone speaks to the evolving industry landscape more than most of the keynotes inside the Palais. Explore the lineup here. ➔ |
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| | Apple's Eddy Cue receives the Cannes Lions 2026 Entertainment Person of the Year award, with a Monday fireside chat alongside Jerry Bruckheimer, whose Apple-produced film F1 broke global box office records this year. In six years, Cue built Apple TV+ from the ground up into one of Hollywood's most awarded studios, making him a rare Cannes honoree who got there through infrastructure over campaigns. Learn more here. ➔ |
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| | After a decade, Spotify Beach has become the Croisette's most reliable barometer for who's having a moment in music. The nights turn into concerts, with Raye, Central Cee, and Beastie Boys' founder Mike D performing on June 23, then Mumford & Sons, John Summit, and Lykke Li take the stage on June 24. By day, Spotify is pairing artists with brand marketers to unpack fan loyalty, drawing Troye Sivan, Anderson .Paak, and Jay Shetty into the conversation. Read the full lineup here. ➔ |
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| | Brand Innovators returns to Cannes with its Marketing Leadership Summit spread across three venues: Rado Beach, Armani Caffè, and the LVMH Villa, running June 22-25. Registration is complimentary and restricted to brand-side marketers, which makes it one of the few spaces on the Croisette where the room is entirely clients. Find the full list of speakers, panels, and sponsors here. ➔ |
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| | AKQA's Future Lions returns for its 21st year, the student competition that asks anyone worldwide with under six months in the industry to solve a real problem with emerging tech. It stays the clearest read on where the next generation of creative talent is placing its bets. Alumni have gone on to win Lions, sit on juries, and staff the agencies now competing for the same awards. See past winning work here. ➔ |
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Reddit returns to the Croisette with the Community Deli, an activation space built from its own platform data after conversations about deli culture jumped 4x in a year. It's a smart bit of self-reference, using its own trend signals to design the room it shows up in. Reddit bets that 84% of shoppers find their buying confidence on its platform. CEO Steve Huffman, COO Jen Wong, and CMO Jim Squires will be on site alongside panels, daily specials, and a secret menu. Find out more here. ➔ |
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First-timers and veterans alike: the festival has consolidated its logistical resources into a single trip-planning hub, both on its website and app, covering travel, visas, accommodation at every price point, childcare, accessibility, and a pre-festival webinar for solo attendees. Bookmark it here. ➔ |
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| | The Week in ReviewICYMI... |
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| Travel Cannes Lions 2026 Schedule—Events For CMOs, Creatives, Ad Tech Leaders And More ➔ Move Over Quiet Luxury — Hushpitality Is Travel's New Status Symbol ➔ Playcations Are On The Rise, According To Airbnb Summer Travel Trends Report ➔ Call It A ‘Book-cation’ Or A ‘Readaway,’ Literary Travel Is Having A Moment ➔
Fashion & Beauty Accessible Luxury Brands Are Taking A Slice Of The Euro Summer Pie ➔ Can Perfume Really Boost Your Mood? How Wellness Is Redefining Scent ➔ Coach Unites Celebrities, Gen Z Storytelling Under New Brand Platform ➔ Can Beauty Crack The World Cup? ➔
Entertainment Mel Robbins, Ludacris, Paris Hilton, Priyanka Chopra Jonas And More Than 70 Creators Set For UTA's Cannes Lions Slate ➔ Nike Reveals A World Cup Universe That Rips Up Its Own Script ➔ For The Win Grammys Announce Five New Categories, Including Best R&B Collaboration And Best Latin Song ➔ Hollywood's Mass Exodus: Why Film And TV Production Is Fleeing L.A. And What Can Be Done About It ➔
Technology The New Power Player: How Cannes Lions Is Grappling With AI ➔ When They Arrive At Cannes, Pharma Companies Will Be Ready To Show AI Receipts ➔ Publicis Calls Out AI 'Pitch-Maxxing' Ahead Of Cannes Lions ➔ Martin Scorsese Is Embracing A.I. ➔
Media Cannes Lions 2026 Creators' Guide: How The Festival Connects Influencers And Brands ➔ Cannes Lions Launches LIONS Sport, Elevating Creativity As The New Competitive Advantage ➔ These 18 Campaigns Are Competing For The Coveted Cannes Titanium Lion ➔ The Micro Pitch: Why Brands Are Flocking To Microseries ➔
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