As the industry prepares for another pivotal year at Cannes Lions, we sat down with Michael Law, CEO, Carat North America to get his perspective on what lies ahead. From Carat's point of view on the rebirth of media planning to the cultural forces shaping brand growth, Mike shares his insights on the conversations and trends that will define this year's festival.
This is your 8th time at Cannes—what do you usually look forward to the most? Why is Cannes still such a critical moment for our industry?
Cannes is always such an impactful few days for me. What I really look forward to is connecting with our clients and partners in different ways than we do back in New York. There's something about being in that unique environment together, and we try to make the most of that.
Something that we have to keep top of mind though is that Cannes is a creative festival at its core, and a lot of our conversations center around that creativity and the power of bringing Media and Creative together. There's so much pride and focus on the creative work being showcased, and I think it's crucial that we don't lose sight of that but also know that great creative only helps drive growth if there is a media plan behind it that is ensuring people see it.
How is Carat shaping the future of media, marketing, and creativity as we head into Cannes?
At Carat, we're really focused on bringing communications planning back to the center of storytelling. On an industry level, we’ve gotten a bit more focused on silos, and communication planning has taken a back seat, so we're focused on making sure planning evolves to bring to life all the different elements that go into great work—the audience insights, the strategic thinking—with the media plan at the center of everything. Ultimately, this is about proving that Media is a powerful driver of growth, and it helps our clients see a truly unified media strategy and consumers feel a single brand experience across every touchpoint. We believe there’s a need to balance and utilize data, technology, AI, and tools with human insights and real-world experiences to create the most dynamic and impactful experiences.
What does it take for brands to turn cultural insight into commercial impact?
It's so important for brands to be genuinely tapped into culture. Over the past several years at Carat, we've really doubled down on harnessing culture's power to drive brands forward.
We recently launched Cultural EQ—our proprietary way of measuring how much influence and effectiveness a brand has within culture. What's fascinating is that our research shows Cultural EQ is actually a stronger predictor of brand interest than media spend alone. It's helping our clients connect with audiences in more meaningful ways and drive genuine growth. This expands on our EQ suite of tools, which also includes Brand EQ —measuring a brand’s emotional intelligence and its impact on market growth.
What trends are you most excited about?
Beyond the cultural trends we're always tracking, I am excited that brands are seeing growth by recognizing the importance of long-term brand building balanced with day-to-day performance. And I am excited to see how we are laying the groundwork for next-generation consumer experiences, where it is not just about a single channel experience— say “social”— but how that channel is living and breathing as part of a content experience. The opportunities this creates for brands to better integrate is no longer just about the accumulation of impressions, but the impact of each impression and how they are interconnected. As we move towards a world where every impression can be 100% addressable, shoppable, and accountable, leveraging algorithms and human insight will ensure the greatest opportunity for growth.
As we head into Cannes 2025, it's clear that the conversations will be as much about integration and authenticity as they are about innovation. With Carat's focus on unified communications planning and cultural intelligence, Mike and the team are positioning the agency—and our clients—to navigate an increasingly complex media landscape while never losing sight of what drives real human connection and business growth.
