Reflections on Cannes Lions 2024 from our Chief Marketing Officer

I say it every year but what an inspiring and thought-provoking week the team and I have just had in Cannes.

Across more than 30 panels, fireside chats, and media interviews, we shared our views and news from some of the hottest topics that have got the industry talking right now.

Sport was a huge theme this year - even the Olympic torch stopped by! It's clear that brands recognise how the world of sport can offer an immense opportunity to creatively connect with passionate fans and put them at the centre of global cultural moments. I loved hearing our Global Director for Beer, Grainne Wafer, and footballing icon, Frank Lampard, talk at the Stagwell Sports Beach about the similar emotions that football and Guinness evoke in people and why our new partnership as the Official Beer and Non-Alcoholic Beer of the Premier League will harness this love for the beautiful pint and the beautiful game.

On Tuesday, I was thrilled to introduce the powerhouse that is Sinéad Burke to the Debussy Stage who urged the industry to "ask themselves who is not in the room" because we must be designing with disabled people and not for them. As diversity, equity and inclusion continues to be a widely discussed topic, the role of advertising in shattering stereotypes in front of and behind the camera was once again a focus of many conversations along La Croisette and the Unstereotype Alliance's new global study, which proves that inclusive advertising drives sales, is a report that we should all be sharing across our organisations.

As expected, AI came up a lot! As well the consumer-facing ways in which many of us are trialling AI, what's also clear is the potential it has to transform ways of working and drive efficiencies in our everyday work, from rapidly testing content to reviewing assets against our Diageo Marketing Code principles which are in the very early stages of testing. For me, the potential to unlock even more creativity and innovation is where AI excites me the most.

And that's because bold and game-changing creativity is what this industry does best and there's no truer embodiment of this than the nightly award ceremonies in Cannes. We were thrilled to be awarded a Grand Prix in Entertainment in Music for Johnnie Walker Brazil's 'Errata at 88' campaign and two Silvers for Baileys' Sound Scales in Audio and Creative Commerce - huge congratulations to the teams, and extended teams at our agency partners.

Finally, I wanted to applaud all of the Young Lions finalists who, in just 48 hours, respond to creative briefs that most of us would have weeks to work on. Two of these finalists were from Diageo Ireland and I am so proud that they came in the top five in the world for the Young Marketer of the Year award. It's a timely reminder of how much we can all learn from the next generation of creative leaders and why I would love to see and hear more of their thinking on stages like Cannes.

Until next year!