Welcome to Unicorn Social: Your bi-weekly, no bullshit guide to Social Media tips that make you think different.
Today’s edition is all about last week. The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2026.
AKA
The Coachella of LinkedIn
The Olympics of Networking
The thing everyone in B2B was talking about
Literally the hottest place on the planet
And this was my first time ever attending Cannes Lions.
Transparently, before a few years ago, I didn’t know anything about Cannes Lions. I worked in TV then Youtube from 2011 - 2021 in Phoenix, AZ and Los Angeles. The “must-go” events for that world was [at the time] VidCon, Coachella, Stagecoach, San Diego ComicCon and Playlist Live.
When I evolved my career to Brand Marketing, I heard of Cannes Lions as the place where “CMO’s would pick up the awards for campaigns their teams worked on while partying with other C-level execs and celebs on yachts in the south of France.”
I truly say this not to throw shade, I just want to truthful about what I heard the vibes were.
This year, the conversations leading up to the event were different than that. More brands were focused on creators and vice versa.
While there, the theme that most loud and clear was: Creators are taking over.
Apparently, last year there were 250 creators in attendance and this year, it was over 500. I was one of them!
Overall, 13,000 attendees from 90 countries flooded the Croisette.
How I got there? About a month ago, after having my delulu summer plans fall through (iykyk), I decided to take inspo from one of the best B2B creators out there, author of Content to Commas and friend, Brandon Smithwrick and self-fund my trip to Cannes.
My goals?
Chase some “brain chemistry” changing moments
Expand my network
Deepen my connection with my peers and friends
Book a speaking opp
See what this is all about.
Would be nice: Get sponsored!
I’m happy to say, I accomplished 5 out of the 6 of those goals. (I did not book a speaking opp.)
The Lay of the Land
Map courtesy of AdWeek, Doordash and illustrator Jordan Sondler (Neon green notes and arrows added by me.)
I’m gonna be honest, I totally underestimated how large of an area Cannes Lions and all the activations took over. A 1 mile radius doesn’t seem that large, but when you add in the cars, people, brand activations, heat and traffic - it’s massive.
These were the 4 areas of importance:
1. The Actual Festival:
This is where the actual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is held. The building is massive. The AC is top notch. I didn’t even explore 80% of it.
At the festival, there were the Awards, Panels, and the Basement Showcase
The Awards:
TBH, in my convos, I didn’t hear much about the awards shows and ceremonies this year. Each night, you can see the awards show broadcasted on the main building outside.
Panels:
There’s panels and keynotes given in different spots around the Palais (aka the convention center.) This year, there was an “ Adobe Creator Beach” behind the building on the beach where there was a breakfast Creator kick-off and several panels hosted there (Many of which hosted by Creator Economy NYC founder and friend, Brett Dashevsky!)
My one note about the Creator Beach is that yes, it was really hot. It would’ve been nice to host some of the Creator programming indoors vs all outdoors to break up how long we were out in the heat. Networking and creating content and looking cute while battling heat exhaustion isn’t always easy! (But honestly, no one smelled bad so shoutout to us!)
Basement Showcase:
The Basement Showcase is where all the Cannes Lions nominees were able to show off their work. Truly underrated IMO. I loved walking up and down the case studies of work that I didn’t even hear of and truly respected.
In the Social and Creator sections, a few themes really stood out to me.
The best campaigns:
Met consumers where they were at, using the comments as a brief. Subreddits, a small Facebook group of 5, a creator’s own feed (Shoutout Lil Romeo and Dr. Pepper) were the spaces the best campaigns played in. And you might’ve not even heard about it in your corner of the internet.
Put human creativity at the forefront, supported by resources. Like I said in My Social Media Predictions in January: 2026 will reward Anti-AI, Anti-Brain Rot, Anti-Rage Creative. The takeaway? Want an award winning campaign? Don’t use AI. (Shocker)
2. Branded Beach
From the convention center to Hotel Martinez (the very east side of the beach), I counted about 22 brands alongside the beach front. To name a few: Amazon, Canva, Google, Female Quotient, Sports Beach, Microsoft, Brand Innovators, Spotify, Google/Youtube and Yahoo (one of my sponsors!)
I DIY’d my nails to match the vibe of Yahoo Explorers Society beach activation
Each of the brands took over a section of the beach. Each space is used as a partial meeting space, partial activation space to host panels and talks and dinners galore. Open and closing times of each space with private events VS open events felt like a mystery tbh.
If you saw crazy party vids on social, these spaces are where Tiesto was performing with Yahoo, Raye and John Summit with Spotify, Zara Larson with Youtube.
These night performances felt both exclusive and non-exclusive with festival attendees able to get in with the right connections or right place in line.
“Cannes is weirdly exclusive and non-exclusive…”
3. Hotel Row
Right across the street from the .6 miles of Branded Beach is a row of hotels and additional brand activations. This is where Netflix hosted an Ali Wong show. Where there was also a LinkedIn Lounge, Edelman House and TikTok activation right in front of the Carleton and the Later Lounge right around the corner (S/O Later as another sponsor of mine at Cannes!)
Transparently, I had passes to some of these and others I wasn’t even aware existed.
4. Off-Campus
There’s several brand activations and events off-campus during the day and nights. Some are exclusive invite-only and some are open to all attendees. Some are worth it and some are really not.
I heard great things about Collins House (wasn’t able to swing by) and was able to stop by the Darkroom for 1 second. On Monday, I lost 3+ hours visiting the Ciroq Athletic Club. Transparently this was a let down and a huge time suck. I visited the activation twice and overall, it was simply not worth how difficult and timely it was to get there.
FYI:
Restaurants and Malls: Cannes can feel like Beverly Hills in a beach area, so there are some restaurants and pubs around the area. Some only allow you in if everyone eats, FYI. If you aren’t invited to some private dinner and party on any of the nights, go grab a drink at one of the bars in the area! They were packed but the vibes seemed fun!
Train Station: If you can’t stay in the immediate Cannes area, there is a train station a 15-20 min walk from the center. I heard that this is a great option to avoid traffic.
Yacht Row: A row full of yachts. I got onto the DV yacht party where we took off our shoes and wore DV branded socks. It was fun for a quick drink. The DJ was good.
Ok now the wins, mistakes and tips:
Wins:
Triple check your accommodations have AC (and Wifi): In Europe, AC is not a given. Also, double check if your space has Wifi too, and hope it works! Our Airbnb? The Wifi didn’t work ALL WEEK.
Come with friends: Networking, getting around, capturing content, aligning on our Cannes goals, and splitting a place to stay was easier, more enjoyable and better with friends VS coming alone.
Day-to-Night outfits: Some days, you won’t have a minute to freshen up so be prepped to have outfits that are comfy and can transition.
Shoe choices: You may walk 12k steps a day at minimum. Wear comfy, broken-in shoes. Bring bandaids.
Wear a conversation starter if that’s your jam: I love being a maximalist and with the weather, I chose to accessorize my hair with a real iPod shuffle from eBay, Apple earphones and techy clips. These attracted the types of people that I vibe with and made me stand out. Honestly, I slayed every outfit this week.
“Yes that is an iPod shuffle in my hair.”
Bring a portable charger: Your phone will struggle and will die without it.
Bring a handheld, battery operated fan: I brought a traditional foldout fan and it wasn’t enough. My friend Ademola Adelakun and Christina had these fans and OMG it was wonderful.
Keep hydrated and bring electrolytes: When you are handed water, drink it. Unfortunately, I saw 2 people being cared for by medics from heat exhaustion.
When you see food, eat: There was virtually NO FOOD around and events that did have food, had tiny bites. Eat when you can!
Bring breakfast: Every morning I had a protein shake at my bnb before heading out. Prep to have something to eat before you go out.
Schedule lightly and ahead: The reality is, maybe you can do 2-3 things in the day, and 1-2 at night. Plan accordingly bc you will fall behind schedule. Shout out to Vin Matano for his full list of events and what to sign up for that became my cheat sheet for everything!
Pick up your badge before Monday: I arrived Sunday night, so we headed to the Registration building right next to the Palais (convention center) to pick up our badges. Be sure you have your barcode!
Stay close to the main area: We stayed about 2 miles away, at an Airbnb and it was tough to get a ride sometimes and traffic made a 15-20 min ride into a 30-40 min endeavor. I’ve heard staying near Cannes means you’re hearing parties til 3am (tho that’s when I went to bed most days anyway) or staying along the train route was solid too.
Private dinners and events are where the best connects happen. It is what it is, and makes sense. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find great connections outside of those either!
Mistakes:
Never not have your badge: Just don’t ever be without your badge. Trust me.
Uber: Imagine 13,000 people in one place and how many need an Uber. Calling an Uber wasn’t impossible but it almost was. I spent 3+ hours trying to call one on Friday (my slow day to get closer to the airport) and I ended up taking public transport. Plan accordingly because Uber isn’t going to be always reliable. Apparently, BOLT is another car service app in France too. I learned about it on Friday night. :D
Don’t be hard on yourself and others: Over the week, I probably met around 100 new people. That’s a lot of new faces and new names. I took notes, but maybe you’ve met someone twice. Give yourself and others grace.
Wish I attended more Creator events and panels: Even though I scheduled accordingly, it was impossible to attend the few things I wanted (because of transport time, places, capturing content, etc) so next year, I’d like to attend more Creator events and panels. And I want to be speaking at one or more of those events!
If you’re a creator or entrepreneur or brand wanting to go to Cannes:
Be real about your purpose for going there. DO NOT go to Cannes to fulfill some sense of FOMO. You will be disappointed. Why?
Because even if you go, you will have FOMO.
There are over 150 hours of programming with 500 speakers. You cannot attend even 10% of that.
Book the trip if you can afford it. If there’s a part of you that wants to go to Cannes to grow your network, explore or find yourself in rooms with other talent: Do it.
I would not recommend spending $5k-$10k to go to Cannes if that’s your last $5k-$10k. It is an investment and you may not get into the green at or immediately after Cannes.
Be realistic about your goals! And you should have multiple!
I believe you get out what you put in.
Cannes is like Spring Break with a business jacket on.
There are a million ways to do Spring Break.
There’s a million ways to have fun and get value from it.
There’s also a million ways to not have a great time.
The true value of Cannes for brands, creators, celebs and alike is really the closeness in proximity and how everyone is actually there to deepen connections and shake hands.
Final thoughts:
It was a really intense and fun week. It’s like cramming 6 months worth of networking, learning and socializing in about 3-4 days. I’m really glad I went.
At the same time, it also was exhausting, challenging and a real life version of scrolling on Social Media and comparing your own journey with where everyone else is.
Last week, I kept thinking "Comparison is the thief of joy.” But the reality is, hearing about other people’s journeys doesn’t make anyone else’s journey less valid or successful. Cannes is a place where it feels exclusive and also non-exclusive at the same time, so it’s hard not to feel down on yourself.
Status is very valuable at Cannes, and there were moments where I didn’t feel enough. But I know this feeling wasn’t singular to me, and want to say: It’s ok and normal.
On the other hand, there were rooms and parties and events where I was enough. Because I am enough. And I do belong. And I was meant to be there. Because I worked hard to get there.
I loved connecting with my fellow Yahoo sponsored creators, Jade, Emily and Damaryan at the Feed Me dinner. I met with Chris Cunningham from ClickUp who was equally friendly and humble at a tennis event put on by Anna Crowe of Crowe Media. I met Jared Kleinstein, founder of Gondola who had multiple real life friends in common with me. I never stopped running into fellow NYC creators Colin Rocker, Brandon Smithwrick and Brett Dashevsky. I immediately clicked with Olivia Owens at the Billion Followers Summit happy hour, it was love at first sight. I spoke directly with the Head of Product at Later, Nicki Seaborn, to share my thoughts on the platform.
I don’t know where these connections and convos IRL will lead to, but ultimately, it felt like LinkedIn IRL and I liked that. I vibed with those who were kind, curious, and smart as hell. To me, that’s really valuable.
The moment that made Cannes for me was the Signals party thrown by JT Barnett, Stan and Alaina Booth. JT and one of the founders of Stanley, John Hu, were making a toast to the creators in the room and I looked down and saw my friends that I admire most in the crowd. We were all here from New York and Boston together in France at a house party. And I also was here with them.
At the same party, my photo was on the wall with so many of my peers that I respect. (Only 1 foot away from Rachel Karten, who I got to catch up with at the Yahoo X Emily Sundberg Feed Me dinner a few nights prior).
Core memory.
After a week of feeling highs and lows, where one minute I’m being ignored in a circle of strangers and the next minute being recognized from LinkedIn, that picture and party brought me back to the reality: I’m always always exactly where I need to be.
And the good and the bad, is all a part of the journey.
I would attend Cannes again. Closer to the main area, better prepped, hopefully with less of a heat wave.
My dream for next year?
I’d love to host or join a Brand Collab House with fellow creators and friends. I want to create and collab on content all week since we’re all there together! (And with Wifi!!)
I’d love to get on a stage.
Stay closer to the event.
Continue to work with brands (and the people behind them) that I believe in and that continue to embrace my authenticity.
Lastly, I’m so thankful for my 3 sponsors and the entire teams behind them for their collaboration and support! It’s truly social when each of them encouraged me to be my fullest authentic self. (Something I didn’t hear a lot when I worked in corporate tbh.)
💜 Yahoo
🩷 Later
Next edition of Unicorn Social: The universal framework that will help anyone come up with great ideas that are not only good, but POSSIBLE.
See ya on the Internet…