Andre is attending Cannes Lions as a shortlist juror, reviewing the work submitted into the Social and Creator category.
Cannes Lions 2025’s Creative Impact session “How Can You Build a Big Brand from Lots of Littles?” brought much needed clarity to the challenge of brand building in a fragmented media age. Featuring analysts Grace Kite (Analytic Partners), Tom Roach (Jellyfish), Jennifer Healan (McDonald’s USA), and WARC’s Aditya Kishore, the panel tackled the core tension: how do you create a cohesive brand from countless micro-moments?
The Challenge: Fragmented Media & Fragmented Creativity
Media isn’t just fragmented, it’s atomized. With budgets spread across endless touchpoints and platforms demanding fresh creative variants, marketers struggle to maintain consistency and connection. Grace Kite coined it “lots of littles” - thousands of small engagements that must align to form something bigger.
Unpacking the “Lots of Littles” Problem
Tom Roach echoed the dilemma. Platforms reward volume and novelty, yet brand effectiveness hinges on consistent, distinctive signals. The secret lies in coordination, not just content creation, but content orchestration across channels.
Real World Playbook: McDonald’s Leads the Way
Jennifer Healan revealed how McDonald’s navigates this landscape.
- Modular creative systems: multiple versions attached to a unified brand story
- Local adaptation with global coherence: recipe holds constant, seasoning varies
- Data + testing: creative variants optimized via real-time feedback loops
This setup turns micro interactions into a cohesive brand symphony.
Why This Session Mattered
As WARC emphasized ahead of the event, it’s no longer enough to ask why, brands need the how. Nielsen frameworks and platform insights are aligned. Now marketers need practical frameworks to tie these “littles” into long-term impact.
Bigger Picture: Carat Brands Winning at Scale
This isn’t theory, it’s marching forward. Stories like Heinz’s It has to be Heinz strategy show that building a big brand from micro-moments works. By leaning into long-term creative commitment while adapting execution, Carat reversed declining sales and won Cannes Creative Effectiveness awards.
Key Takeaways for Brand Builders
- Design for modularity: Creative systems must flex locally while staying cohesive globally.
- Orchestrate, don’t randomize: Align every “little” touch back to brand identity.
- Use data to close the loop: Test, learn, iterate across micro-campaigns.
- Commit long-term: Even small moments build memory when consistent over time.
The message is clear: a big brand is built, not broadcast. In an era of millions of micro-interactions, success depends on mastering coordination, consistency, and creative systems thinking. Cannes 2025 isn’t just asking can you build a big brand from lots of “littles? it’s giving us the blueprints!
