Sophie Billi-Hardwick, Global Chief Growth Officer
The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is about to go live, what does the Festival reveal about the future of experiential marketing?
Cannes Lions is one of the best indicators of where experiential marketing is heading. Every year competition for attention gets tougher. The activations that people remember are the ones with a genuine understanding of their audience and a clear reason to exist beyond creating content or collecting leads. The smartest brands are becoming less focused on who sees them and more focused on who they see and whom to connect with. Valuable outcomes happen behind closed doors, over dinners, roundtables and conversations that never make LinkedIn.
Brands are being asked to deliver more impact than ever, often without larger budgets. How is that changing the way experiences are being designed and delivered?
Clients are asking more from every investment: stronger business outcomes, more content, more measurable impact and longer-lasting value. And faster! That’s forcing all of us to think differently. The conversation is no longer “How big can we make this?” but “How hard can this work?”.
The most successful experiences are the most focused. Clear objectives, a defined audience and a smart strategy will outperform a bigger budget almost every time. We’re also seeing clients look beyond traditional event formats. Through Gaïama (part of DesignScene) we’re designing high-end culinary experiences that bring together renowned chefs, and exceptional storytelling, proving that meaningful engagement doesn’t always come from the biggest production.
What’s the biggest misconception brands still have about experiential marketing today?
That the event itself is the outcome. The event is often just the visible moment. The real value comes from the relationships, conversations, content and actions that follow. Experiential needs to earn its place as a standalone discipline within the marketing mix. That’s also why measurement has become so important. We need to stop evaluating experiences on attendance or social impressions and look at whether they changed perception, strengthened relationships or moved a business objective forward.
Creating some of the industry’s most talked-about experiences
What’s one thing you’d like to see change in the way brands and agencies work together?
Recently, a client joked that I sometimes act as their therapist. I took it as a compliment. The best agency relationships are built on curiosity, challenge and trust. If there’s no room for questions, no tissue sessions and no access to key stakeholders, it’s often a sign that the process isn’t being taken seriously.
If I could ask one thing of clients: create the conditions for exceptional collaboration and give feedback. It’s one of the most valuable things a client can do.
What excites you most about the future?
I’m constantly inspired by the creativity, strategic thinking and craft coming from our studio team, alongside the dedication of our project and production teams. I am incredibly proud of what we achieve together.
I’m excited by how global our clients have become. They no longer want one agency in New York, another in Asia and a third in London. They need a partner who can create connected experiences across markets while adapting to local audiences. At DesignScene, that’s a big part of our focus as we grow our international footprint, including the launch of our Singapore office.
We’re also investing in new ways to bring people together. Through Secret Theatre, we’re pushing further into immersive storytelling, creating experiences where guests become part of the narrative rather than observing it. Both reflect a broader shift towards experiences that are more human, more emotional and more memorable, especially in B2B marketing! In many ways, the more technology advances, from AI to autonomous agents, the more valuable genuine human connection becomes. That’s why live experiences matter even more.
Ultimately, I think the future belongs to experiences that people remember long after the event itself.
