let me break down the Cannes Lions ecosystem that no one explains to you

@natasha.badger

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Why it worked

The video breaks down a complex industry ecosystem in an easily digestible format, using clear on-screen text and relatable analogies. It addresses a common misconception about Cannes Lions, positioning itself as an informative and insightful explanation.

Summary

The video explains the Cannes Lions ecosystem, highlighting that while many see the glamorous side, the core of the industry involves brands, agencies, adtech, publishers, and platforms all selling to brands. It also emphasizes that Cannes Lions is fundamentally an awards show celebrating creative advertising, with a growing presence of creators who act as hybrid talent and media companies.

Structure

1Introduction to the Cannes Lions ecosystem
2Identifying the key players (Brands, Agencies, AdTech, Publishers, Platforms)
3Explaining the flow of money and the central role of brands
4Highlighting Cannes Lions as an awards show for creative advertising
5Discussing the shift from traditional talent to creator talent
6Explaining the hybrid role of creators in the industry

Product placement

LinkedIn: APPEARS as a lounge at Cannes Lions. Removing it would not change what happens in the video. Adobe: ACTS as a sponsor/presence at Cannes Lions, with visible branding. Removing it would not change what happens in the video.

On-screen text

Original caption

The Cannes Lions ecosystem, explained by someone who’s been in meetings all week🦁🌴 Brands, agencies, adtech, publishers, platforms… everyone’s here fighting for space. But the brands are the ones with the money. So the rest of us are all selling to them, while also selling to each other through partnerships and channels. At the HEART of that is Creativity. Most people forget that Cannes if an awards show to award and celebrate creative work in advertising from the year❤️🥂 I’m an AdTech marketer selling to agencies AND a creator. So I get to see how all of it connects. Whether you’re here or watching from afar, this is how it all connects #canneslions #canneslions2026 #marketingcareer #adtechlife #b2bmarketing

More from @natasha.badger

More breakout videos from this creator.

The Cannes Lions Ecosystem No One Talks About (From the POV of an AdTech Marketer/Creator) Brands Agencies AdTech Publishers Data Providers RMNs Platforms Brands are the hot commodity! the only thing that you don't see are brands and that's because all of those players in the ecosystem are ultimately selling to the brands and the brands are the ones that provide the money that allow basically this entire advertising economy to thrive everyone is fighting to sell to the brands ultimately but where it gets really interesting is that actually we're all selling to each other at the end of the day in a bunch of different layers and channels because there's partnerships between different platforms and publishers and RMN sell to agencies and agencies work with ad tech companies these different layers and weird little intricacies that happen underneath this like hierarchy of the brands trickling the money down the rest of the type of companies in this industry Brand CMOs = Top Dogs C-Suite on panels, with clients Sales fighting for attention so sales people are fighting to talk with CMO's and CEO's all and executives are on every single panel that's out there Cannes Lions is a Creative Awards Show! what I didn't mention are the creative side of this industry which is actually what can Lions was originally built for it is an award show for creative advertising Celebration of work & creativity because they submitted work for the official Cannes Lions ceremony and they're going to get awarded hopefully for their work and they're also having a celebration of all the work that they did for the past year taking their clients out celebrating the work and the culture that they built over the past year through their agencies and that's what really is at the heart of Cannes Lions Talent & Creators at Cannes but I forgot to mention one big player and that is the talent and creator side From Traditional Talent -> Creator Talent traditionally at Cannes Lions this used to be traditional talent like big music stars sports stars etc but now this is started to turn into creator talent but as the creator economy has grown Creators = Hybrid Talent & Media Companies creators aren't just viewed as talent anymore creators are actually more viewed as kind of a hybrid between talent in terms of them getting specific invites for agencies and brands to show off to who they want to sell to but at the same time creators are also here just to build their own pipeline for the rest of the year because creators live off of brand deals with brands and agencies they need to develop those relationships while they're at Cannes so they're kind of operating in this hybrid role of talent and media platform that they can offer their audience to these brands and agencies super fascinating how all the different levels work in this industry and whether you're at can Lions right now or watching from afar now you know exactly how Cannes Lions works and how the whole advertising and media ecosystem works as well bye

Transcript

let me break down the Cannes Lions ecosystem that no one explains to you because most of you are seeing the highlight reels from celebrities and influencers but this is how the actual media and advertising ecosystem actually operates as an adtech marketer and creator I've seen it from multiple multiple sides so let's get into it at the high level you have your Brands Agencies AdTech Publishers Data Providers RMNs Platforms which means like Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, etcetera. All of those types of companies are what are activating at Cannes. Those are all the big beaches and branding that you see out there. Brands are the hot commodity! the only thing that you don't see are brands and that's because all of those players in the ecosystem are ultimately selling to the brands and the brands are the ones that provide the money that allow basically this entire advertising economy to thrive. Everyone is fighting to sell to the brands ultimately. But where it gets really interesting is that actually we're all selling to each other at the end of the day in a bunch of different layers and channels because there's partnerships between different platforms and publishers and RMN sell to agencies and agencies work with ad tech companies these different layers and weird little intricacies that happen underneath this like hierarchy of the brands trickling the money down the rest of the type of companies in this industry. So at the very top of everyone at Cannes Lions are the CMO's. Then you also have the rest of the C suite of some of the major brands of course agencies and ad tech platforms etcetera. So sales people are fighting to talk with CMO's and CEO's all and executives are on every single panel that's out there. What I didn't mention are the creative side of this industry which is actually what Cannes Lions was originally built for. It is an award show for creative advertising because they submitted work for the official Cannes Lions ceremony and they're going to get awarded hopefully for their work and they're also having a celebration of all the work that they did for the past year taking their clients out celebrating the work and the culture that they built over the past year through their agencies and that's what really is at the heart of Cannes Lions. But I forgot to mention one big player and that is the talent and creator side. Traditionally at Cannes Lions, this used to be traditional talent like big music stars, sports stars etc. But now this is started to turn into creator talent. But as the creator economy has grown, creators aren't just viewed as talent anymore. Creators are actually more viewed as kind of a hybrid between talent in terms of them getting specific invites for agencies and brands to show off to who they want to sell to. But at the same time, creators are also here just to build their own pipeline for the rest of the year because creators live off of brand deals with brands and agencies. They need to develop those relationships while they're at Cannes. So they're kind of operating in this hybrid role of talent and media platform that they can offer their audience to these brands and agencies. It is super fascinating how all the different levels work in this industry and whether you're at Cannes Lions right now or watching from afar, now you know exactly how Cannes Lions works and how the whole advertising and media ecosystem works as well. Bye!