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Our Cannes Lions 2026 coverage continues with more brand action from the annual festival of creativity, this year June 22-26. From patisseries to panels, here’s a look at another batch of experiential highlights from the French Riviera.   CADENT’S SALON While the Croisette was bustling with cabanas and exclusive suites, adtech brand Cadent carved out fresh real estate in town to solve a known pain point amid the French Riviera’s mega-heat by offering touch-ups, blowouts and a glass of champagne during...

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential marketing cover a margarita salt cave, museum spectacles and Dragon Solstices.   CAYMAN JACK ANSWERS BACK-TO-OFFICE MANDATES WITH A MARGARITA SALT CAVE While (evil) corporations are forcing employees back into the office in large numbers, ready-to-drink cocktail brand Cayman Jack wants to ease the pain by reigniting post-work happy hours, which diminished in the fallout of the pandemic. So on June 25, the brand popped...

If you thought 2023’s “Barbie” movie summer was the end of the pink trend, think again. Brands have been leaning into the bubblegum palette to spark feelings of playfulness, creativity, coziness and, often, empowerment in their activations. While Barbie collabs have been driving a lot of the reenergized pink craze, companies have staked their own claim on shades of the rosy color. Take LoveShackFancy. The apparel and lifestyle brand became known among Gen Z for its coquette aesthetic and blush, flower-pattered...

The who’s-who of the marketing and communications world converged from June 22-26 for a week of education, idea exchanges and relationship-building at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Once again, some of the best interactions and experiences took place outside of the Palais des Festivals. And let’s just say there was a lot happening. So we began with part one of our coverage, spanning activations, suites and VIP events that took place on the Croisette and beyond. Check...

Welcome to Studio Sessions, interviews filmed in the field with the minds behind the moments. In this episode, Sylvia Lopez-Navarro, national manager of brand experience, corporate events and auto shows at Kia America, joins us at the 2026 Experiential Marketing Summit to discuss how brands like Kia are building real emotional connections with audiences, what that actually looks like in practice, and the small, unexpected moments that often land hardest. Plus, we explore what it means to feel fully...

Forget the branded tote stuffed with collateral and QR codes. The post-show “experience” today is becoming a well-crafted campaign, with the on-site hero engagement as the jumping off point. Let’s explore the ways b-to-b event marketers are making their show messaging sticky and shareable with the keepsake long game.   Turn the experience into a resource. For the Taste Collective by 1800 Tequila bartender roadshow, Proximo Spirits brought in a James Beard-nominated food scientist, the owner of North...

When Hendrick’s activated a Time Traveler’s Tavern at Tales of the Cocktail last summer, spirits industry insiders got a taste of its eccentric “Giniverse” with a tour through a world of paradoxical characters and concepts. This year, with the launch of Another Hendrick’s, the first permanent expression added to its lineup in a decade, the notably peculiar brand opened up its cabinet of curiosities to consumers, and upped the ante on what “immersive” and “world-building” really mean. Welcome to Anotherland....

When Hulu debuted its Get Real House last year, it was like “lighting in a bottle,” says Kottie Kreischer, svp-events at Disney Entertainment Television. The event brought together the streaming service’s reality TV stars under one roof to share announcements, offer series first looks and create content-gathering opportunities. With all the positive buzz the event generated, Hulu had to bring it back, but year two saw everything scaled up. On April 22, more than 150 unscripted TV icons and creatives—along...

Every year, the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix draws ire from racing fans for being too hot and muggy, but Florida’s humid climate proved to be the perfect testing ground for SheaMoisture’s newest frizz-fighting product, Silk Press in a Bottle Prep Cream. The brand identified the May 2-3 race weekend as the next stop for its Sheacation experiential platform, popping up its Hot Off the Press Newsstand in the Lincoln Road Shopping District to highlight the second edition of its Yes, And magazine that debuted...

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential marketing cover cave raves, salty stunts and nostalgic Bowl Heads.   MINUTE RICE DISHES OUT BOWL CUTS AND A HELPING OF NOSTALGIA Millennials will recall that the hairdo of our youth was unequivocally the bowl cut. From the classrooms filled with boys sporting the dishware-inspired haircut, to the boy bands who rocked it on stage, it was a cultural phenomenon. And thanks to Minute Rice, and America’s preoccupation with...