2026 Programme
Creative legends. Marketing mavericks. Inspiring content creators. They're all taking the stage at Cannes Lions 2026.
Garnett Station Partners
Creativity Has to Strike Back
Thursday 25 June, 15:15–15:45
Overview
Speakers
Description:
We are living in a marketing era obsessed with efficiency.
With optimisation. With dashboards. With shortcuts.
AI promises speed and lower costs. Consolidation promises scale. Performance marketing promises certainty. And yet, brands are getting weaker, work is getting safer and growth is getting harder.
That’s not a coincidence.
In this keynote, Fernando Machado, one of the most awarded marketers in the industry, challenges the idea that creativity is a “nice to have”. He exposes the traps brands keep falling into – over-optimising, under-imagining and confusing activity with impact – and sets out a new definition of creativity for an efficiency-obsessed world: creativity not as decoration, but as a strategic growth engine.
Questions this session will answer:
- What can you do to move organizations/ people/ stakeholders that are conservative, purely rational or focus exclusively in the short term that creativity pays off?
- How can you balance creative risks vs potential rewards?
- What skill should I try to master in order to stay relevant as a marketer?
Content Stream
The Creativity Toolbox
The craft, processes and techniques to help you achieve creative excellence.
Fernando Machado
Garnett Station Partners, LIONS Learning and LIONS Advisory
Operating Partner, Founder and Brand Advisor
Tags
- The Creativity Toolbox
- Festival Talks