2026 Programme

Creative legends. Marketing mavericks. Inspiring content creators. They're all taking the stage at Cannes Lions 2026.

Buy your Festival Pass
Explore LIONS Sport , LIONS Creators , LIONS B2B Summit and LIONS Insights for even more.

T&P

The Underdog’s Growth Engine: How Hawkstone Became Britain's Fastest-Growing Beer

Thursday 25 June, 17:15–17:45

Duration: 30 mins
Location: Basement Stage, The Palais

Description:

Launching a beer brand in a saturated market is a fool's errand. So how did Hawkstone become Britain's fastest-growing beer? By integrating a brilliant strategy with a ferocious, AI-accelerated tactical engine.

This is the story of their "Growth Engine" model. The Outer "Strategic" Gear was a simple, powerful brand truth. The Inner "tactical" Gear was relentless culture-hacking, social opportunism, and PR, moving faster than giant rivals. The secret weapon? A human-AI "centaur" approach, where AI augmented a small, agile team to think, create, and strike with disproportionate impact.

This case study will show how modern brands need applied strategy and tactics, and full integration, to succeed.

Questions this session will answer:

  • Learn the challenger’s “Two-Gear” model. See how Hawkstone’s crystal-clear brand strategy guided a relentless tactical engine to create explosive, authentic growth against the odds.

Editor's note

The Creative Impact content stream at Cannes Lions is co-curated with WARC.

Content Stream

Creative Impact

The ultimate guide to proving the value and effectiveness of creativity.

SHARE

Speaking
  • Oliver Feldwick

    The&Partnership

    Chief Innovation Officer

  • Chelsea Carson

    T&P

    Head of Innovation

  • Johnny Hornby

    T&P

    Chairman & CEO

Tags

Content streams
  • Creative Impact
Type of experience
  • Festival Talks