Cannes Takeaways: From Search to Storytelling

Featured in Mediashotz

Chris Pearce, Managing Director at Greenpark Digital

Written byChris PearceEMEA | Managing Director EMEA

Chris is a distinguished digital transformation and customer engagement agency leader. Chris previously headed up MRM Worldwide (UK) Ltd, part of McCann Worldgroup, and TMW Unlimited, winning Campaign’s ‘Customer Engagement Agency of The Year Award’ twice, and worked on JP Morgan, Sage, Imperial College London and British Cycling. Chris sits on the DMA’s Customer Engagement Committee and is part of the AI task force.

At this year’s Cannes Lions Festival, Greenpark’s Managing Director, Chris Pearce, spoke with Mediashotz about what he’s overheard and learnt at the festival from talks to candid conversations. Chris shares his thoughts on how the landscape of storytelling, discovery, and content effectiveness is rapidly evolving – and what that means for brands.

Storytelling is Evolving

Is storytelling changing? No, but how it’s delivered is. Storytelling remains a fundamental part of how brands connect with people, the methods in delivering that message however is always evolving. What once lived in long-form formats or glossy campaigns is now happening in real time, across platforms, with content designed to meet consumers where they are.

Discovery is no longer linear. Consumers are finding products and brands through TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and AI-powered tools. In this environment, storytelling must be shaped for speed, relevance, and adaptability and still be rooted in audience insight.

A New Era of Search

Previously considered the quiet workhorse at Cannes, search became a hot topic at this year’s Cannes. We’re seeing a fundamental shift in how people search and it’s not just happening on Google – it’s gone omnichannel. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram are now major search destinations, with TikTok alone handling billions of searches a day. LLMs like ChatGPT are also taking a growing share, with 14% of global searches now happening on generative platforms according to TikTok’s talk.

This shift marks a golden moment for a new kind of SEO: one that spans social, AI, and traditional search. Greenpark is applying its deep experience in content strategy and search performance to help brands show up in this new omnichannel discovery landscape, wherever attention and intent intersect.

Content That Drives Commerce

While human behaviours evolve slowly, the platforms that shape those behaviours are moving fast. Social and AI-powered environments are collapsing the traditional purchase funnel, shrinking the time between discovery, consideration, and conversion.

Brands now have the opportunity to respond to consumer interest in real time, creating content that’s both culturally relevant and built for immediate action. That seamless shift from content to commerce is becoming the new standard.

Gen AI: From Hype to Impact

AI was everywhere at Cannes as expected but the tone has matured. The focus is shifting away from rapid deployment toward thoughtful integration. Brands are asking how to structure teams and processes to make Gen AI more effective, not just more efficient.

Greenpark has been using Gen AI tools for content production for over 18 months, integrating automation with expert creative and data-led strategy. The result is smarter content that doesn’t just scale, but it performs as it’s rooted in audience data.

A Broader Mix of Voices

Beyond the official talks and award shows, Cannes itself reflected the energy of a changing industry. With more media, tech and brand-side players in the mix, the conversations were richer and more cross-disciplinary than ever before.

And as always, some of the best exchanges didn’t happen on stage but in line for the loo at a boat party, or over a warm glass of rosé on the Croisette. Creativity might drive the headlines, but connection drives the work.