Cannes reflections: Publishing showcased attention, trust and outcomes

Opinion

L-R in the Cannes Panel picture: Hannah Buitekant, Lisa Snell (Executive Global head of Video, MailOnline), Jamie East (Head of Podcasts, dmg media), Matt London (Executive editor, Opinion, features, DailyMail+) and Hannah Blake (Managing Director, Eliza)

This year’s Cannes Lions reinforced that, while the pace of innovation continues to accelerate, the core challenges for media and advertising remain remarkably consistent: how to earn attention, build trust, and deliver meaningful outcomes for both brands and consumers.

AI is everywhere, but the impact depends on the application

AI dominated the agenda, with use cases spanning campaign optimisation (Meta), content creation (Adobe), predictive analytics (Havas) and more. However, the most effective examples were those that enhanced human creativity and decision-making, rather than replacing them.

Brand safety remains a priority, but progress is slow

Despite renewed urgency, the industry continues to wrestle with fragmented standards and limited accountability. Real progress will require coordinated action across platforms, publishers, advertisers and verification partners.

There were plenty of conversations in Cannes, but it is clear that we need more evidence-led initiatives like Bountiful Cow’s RA: Unblocked to shift perceptions and unlock safe, high-performing inventory in quality environments.

From impressions to attention

One shift that has taken place, however, marketers are focusing less on reach and more on real attention, with advertisers now prioritising time spent, relevance and context over volume alone.

At the same time, audiences are responding to authentic, platform-native content, whether that’s creator-led video, editorial storytelling or commerce experiences.

Trust and relevance are the currency, and strategic creator partnerships provide the authenticity brands need to connect with communities.

This was in evidence from Amazon’s creator collaborations, and the NMA round table with Bloomberg, Hearst, DDM amongst others—not to mention our own panel discussions and event.

Commerce media is accelerating, driving both consideration and purchase

As brands look to influence decisions closer to the point of action, commerce media is becoming a strategic priority. But delivering real impact means going beyond last-click conversion, and building experiences that support discovery, intent and trust across every touchpoint.

Discussion is already pivoting to how commerce media propositions can connect to wider audiences and data points to extend their vision beyond the basket to drive fully integrated success stories which influence consumers at every stage in their purchase journey.

Many of the discussion topics lighting up the Croisette aligned with the Daily Mail’s unveiling of our Seriously Popular content strategies built around trusted creators, premium formats, and integrated partnerships.

Our belief that the future lies in cross-functional collaboration, where editorial, commercial, product and tech teams work together to deliver measurable value for both users and brands, was reflected in so many of the other panels and events we attended throughout the week.

For our strategies to synch up so closely to these other key themes served as proof that we’re not simply on the right track as publishers for the future success of our offering. We’re also in lock step with how our commercial partners and their agencies are thinking and planning for their futures.

Hannah Buitekant is chief commercial digital officer at DMG media.