What happens when you remix the spirit of Cannes Lions with Shoreditch energy and fewer yachts? You get MAD//Fest 2025 - a bold, creative-first, and unapologetically fast-paced three days of brand, culture, and marketing collision in East London.
And here’s the thing: the key takeaways mirrored Cannes, almost note for note. But the delivery? I’m told pure MAD.
MAD//Fest and Cannes: Singing from the Same Strategy Sheet
Both events spotlighted the same seismic shifts shaking up marketing today. If Cannes Lions was the global boardroom, MAD//Fest was the underground club. But in both spaces, the big ideas aligned:
1. AI Is Not Just a Tool. It’s the New Operating System.
AI was front and centre in both festivals.
MAD//Fest broke it down into five strategic shifts: from machine-led media buying to live experience design, with creative workflows increasingly powered by GenAI.
The message: marketers who aren’t integrating AI into their strategy today are already behind.
2. First-Party Data Is the New Creative Currency
With third-party cookies collapsing, brands are recalibrating their foundations.
MAD//Fest highlighted six trends shaping the first-party data landscape, including retail media expansion, ML-powered data refinement, and closed-loop measurement.
This echoed Cannes’ obsession with ownership, access, and responsible activation.
3. Purpose Needs Proof
Both events agreed: it’s no longer enough to talk about brand purpose.
MAD//Fest went further - brands like Tony’s Chocolonely, Heineken and Haribo shared how they’re operationalising sustainability and social equity, not just marketing them.
Think carbon labelling, ESG performance incentives, and community-informed product design.
4. Creative Effectiveness Starts with People
While Cannes focused on award-winning work, MAD//Fest zoomed in on the conditions that fuel creativity.
A headline keynote linked marketing team wellbeing to campaign success - with happier teams producing +27% more effective work and 40% lower attrition.
It was a call to treat creative health like business health.
5. Start-Ups Aren’t the Sideshow. They’re the Signal.
From AR-powered retail to Web3 loyalty apps, the MAD//Fest start-up arena was a launchpad for cultural innovation.
While Cannes showcased innovation from the biggest players, MAD//Fest championed early-stage disruption with real-world edge.
💡 Stats from the Stage: What Stuck
72% of marketers are already using AI in creative workflows - from ideation to scripting to optimisation.
Campaigns created by teams with high wellbeing scores were 27% more effective and saw 40% lower attrition.
Investment in first-party data rose by 34% year on year, with brands reallocating spend from media buying to data ownership.
61% of FMCG brands now use retail media as a core channel - not just for performance, but for brand building too.
AI-led media planning is cutting media waste by up to 40%, outperforming traditional rules-based methods.
Brands using generative AI for creative development saved 2 to 3 weeks per campaign on average, particularly in early concepting and production planning.
🎤 The Verdict
MAD//Fest didn’t just talk about the future of marketing—it made it feel urgent, cultural, and within reach. While Cannes Lions remains the global benchmark for brand creativity, MAD//Fest proved that the UK has a scrappier, more accessible festival model that delivers just as much insight - without the gatekeeping.
Where Cannes brought polish, MAD//Fest brought momentum.
⚡Final Word
For brand strategists, marketers and creatives watching where culture and commerce collide, MAD//Fest 2025 was a clear signal:
We’re entering a new era of marketing. One powered by machines, shaped by values, and built by healthy, creative humans.
Next year, expect more noise, sharper takes - and even bigger conversations.