The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has evolved far beyond an awards show. Each year, the event brings together the world's leading marketers, media companies, technology platforms and creative organizations to explore the ideas shaping the future of brand building.

This year, Newell Brands leaders joined those conversations with a focus on the trends and partnerships that will help drive the company's continued marketing transformation.

Throughout the week, Chief Marketing Officer Nick Hammitt and Global Head of Media & Partnerships James Clarke met with strategic partners across the media, retail and technology landscape while participating in industry discussions centered on artificial intelligence, commerce media, measurement and the evolving consumer journey.

Strengthening Strategic Partnerships

As consumer behavior continues to evolve, collaboration across the marketing ecosystem has become increasingly important. During Cannes, Newell leaders met with partners including Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect, Reddit, Spotify, Pinterest, Google & YouTube, agencies and industry organizations to discuss emerging opportunities in retail media, AI-enabled advertising, audience measurement and commerce.

These conversations reinforced the importance of building integrated partnerships that connect brand storytelling with measurable business outcomes across Newell's diverse portfolio of consumer brands.

Exploring the Future of Marketing

In addition to partner meetings, Newell leaders participated in sessions featuring some of the industry's foremost voices on marketing effectiveness, creativity and artificial intelligence.

Discussions throughout the festival highlighted several themes that are shaping the future of marketing:

  • Using AI to enhance creativity and streamline content production

  • Advancing retail media and commerce as key growth drivers

  • Improving measurement across increasingly complex consumer journeys

  • Building brands through integrated, consumer-centric experiences rather than channel-specific thinking

  • Creating marketing organizations that can adapt more quickly to changing technologies and behaviors

These themes closely align with Newell's ongoing efforts to modernize its marketing capabilities and deliver stronger experiences for consumers.

Sharing Newell's Perspective

Beyond attending industry sessions and partner meetings, Newell leaders contributed to conversations shaping the future of marketing through interviews, panels and executive forums.

Nick participated in executive discussions with industry leaders and marketers throughout the week, including appearances on the CPG Guys podcast and at the Harris Poll Content Studio. He also joined invitation-only executive roundtables and marketer forums focused on topics ranging from marketing effectiveness and brand growth to the role of AI in modern marketing.

James also represented Newell on stage at the Brand Innovators Marketing Leadership Summit, joining fellow marketing leaders to discuss how brands can navigate an increasingly interconnected marketing ecosystem. During the festival, he also spoke with Ad Age during Xumo's "2-Minute Power Play: FAST, Unfiltered" series, sharing his perspective on the growing role of free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) as both a brand-building and performance marketing channel.

Reflecting on the week, James noted that the most valuable moments often happened outside the formal sessions.

"I've been thinking less about the sessions and more about the conversations."

He also highlighted a theme that resonated throughout the festival:

"Consumers don't experience channels. They experience brands."

That idea echoed many of the discussions Newell leaders participated in throughout the week. As consumers move seamlessly between retailers, creators, social platforms, search and increasingly AI-powered experiences, the opportunity for marketers lies not in optimizing individual channels, but in creating connected brand experiences that drive sustainable growth.

Building for What's Next

The conversations at Cannes reinforced themes central to Newell’s broader marketing transformation, including the role of AI in helping teams create content with greater speed and scale.

That work was also reflected in Adobe’s Cannes activation, where visuals from Newell’s collaborations with Adobe at Summit and MAX were featured in a broader video highlighting Adobe partners.

Together, the week’s discussions and partnerships underscored a clear theme: the future of marketing will depend on how effectively organizations connect creativity, data, technology and agility.

As Newell continues to invest in modern marketing capabilities, the insights and relationships developed during Cannes Lions will help inform future innovation and strengthen the company's ability to build brands that connect with consumers around the world.