10 years at Cannes Lions

Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is the largest annual gathering of the creative industry. As we’ve already shared, in its first year, minds&marketing will be attending and covering Cannes Lions for the first time. We are preparing together with you, ready to listen to every question, and shaping our Cannes agenda around your curiosity (you can leave your questions via this link).

At the same time, we continue asking questions ourselves—speaking to everyone who is going this year, those who have attended in the past, and those participating in Young Lions competitions, among others.

Today, we explore expectations around this year’s Cannes Lions and share the experience of someone who has attended the festival for over a decade. Flutter CEE’s brand strategy director, Qeto Barabadze reflects on what keeps bringing her back to Cannes, what she usually takes away from it, and what role the international stage plays in shaping Georgia’s creative industry.

what wins at cannes lions?

Originally established as a creative awards festival inspired by the Cannes Film Festival, focused on advertising reels shown before movies, Cannes Lions has expanded far beyond traditional advertising. Today, it brings together media, design, global tech giants, artificial intelligence, sports marketing, and more.

Over the years, both the criteria and priorities of what wins have significantly evolved. According to keto, influence has replaced pure idea as the dominant currency:

“Previously, the lion was awarded to the smartest idea. Today, it is awarded to the thinking that actually changes something—numbers, behavior, or culture. Ten years ago, categories like Creative Business Transformation Lion, Entertainment Lions for Sport, or Social & Influencer Lion did not exist. The fact that they exist today signals that the industry has officially recognized how creativity extends far beyond traditional advertising formats.

The most interesting shift for me is the jury itself. Jury presidents now come from markets that were once almost invisible at Cannes. This changes taste and evaluation criteria. Awards always reflect who is judging them—and today, a much more globally diverse world evaluates the work.

Another major change: when I first started attending, it was easy to predict which countries would dominate. Today, that is no longer possible. Markets that were not even on the radar 10 years ago are now winning Grand Prix. Even this shift alone says a lot about where creativity lives today.”

In this sense, winning work often says more about society than about the brand or product itself. Beyond awards and recognition, Cannes Lions ultimately serves a much larger function: it becomes a global compass showing where the industry—and its creative future—is heading.

what Cannes Lions means for Georgia?

The Cannes Lions stage carries significant strategic and cultural weight for Georgia. It is one of the key platforms where the country demonstrates that despite being a small market, it possesses strong intellectual and creative capital. This is evidenced by the growing success of Georgians in the Young Lions competition year after year. For all of this, special thanks go to Ako Akhalaia and Levan Lepsveridze, who opened the path for Georgia at the Cannes Lions and who invest tremendous effort every year in organizing Young Lions Georgia.

I’ll share more about this topic in the next article.

To put this in context, Georgia has received several Cannes Lions awards since 2015: a Grand Prix in 2024 for Metro Production’s project “The First Speech,” Silver and Bronze Lions in 2017 for Windfor's and the Georgian National Tourism Administration campaign “Dinner with Georgia” (“The 6 Millionth Tourist in Georgia”), as well as two Bronze Lions for Leavingstone campaigns for “Beer 34” (2015) and “100% Real Virtual Reality – Old Irish” (2016) for Natakhtari.

But Cannes Lions is not only a history of nominations and wins. It is also a history of knowledge accumulation and transfer—something many Georgian professionals have contributed to over the years.

Qeto Barabadze, Brand Strategy Director at Flutter CEE:

“Georgia clearly has strong creative talent. I’ve seen it firsthand and built teams with these people. But talent without context only goes so far. Without global benchmarks, you only compare yourself to yourself. Cannes shows you the real boundary—not the one you assume exists.

If everyone who attends Cannes keeps their experience to themselves, knowledge remains personal. The moment you share it, it becomes infrastructure. That is how an industry is built alongside individual careers. People who are building brands here deserve access to the same standards. Sharing this feels more like responsibility than generosity.

For all of this, special thanks go to Ako Akhalaia and Levan Lepsveridze, who opened the path for Georgia at the Cannes Lions and who invest tremendous effort every year in organizing Young Lions Georgia.”

cannes lions 2026 – what to expect

This year, one of the dominant themes is expected to be the relationship between artificial intelligence and creativity. AI is already a constant topic across global and local discussions, and Cannes Lions will likely offer a clearer lens on one central question: in an era where idea generation is increasingly automated, what remains distinctly human in creative work?

Alongside AI, human-centered storytelling is becoming even more critical. As content generation becomes easier, it becomes harder to communicate real meaning. In this context, the role of the consumer evolves—from passive audience member to active community. A community that expects not just products, but interaction, value, and participation.

Another expectation is the rising importance of local culture as a global creative advantage. In an era of accelerated globalization, blurred geographic boundaries, and AI-driven production, authenticity and cultural specificity are becoming strategic assets.

These topics are not new—we have discussed them many times, heard them from many voices. But between June 22–26, at the Cannes Lions stage, we will once again have the opportunity to see the newest ideas, practices, and perspectives shaping the industry in real time.

and finally

When I asked keto during the interview what keeps her returning to Cannes after 10 years, she answered:

“The first time, I went back for inspiration. Then—to understand where Georgia’s work stood in a global context. Now, I return because Cannes shows you where the industry is going before it actually gets there. Cannes is always roughly one year ahead.

There is also the people factor—after 10 years, you build a network that exists only in that one place, that one week.

But one thing remains constant: every year I think I’ve seen it all. And every year, something on stage proves me wrong.”

So I go with the same expectation—to learn a lot—and with responsibility: to cover your areas of interest as fully as possible and find answers to your questions.