Good morning. The Publish Team is jetsetting this week, with Colin and Samir wrapping up Cannes Lions in the south of France and the two of us in Anaheim for VidCon.
With a ton of insights from both events on both sides of the world, we’re excited to share some of our learnings over the next two editions. First stop…France, where Colin and Samir are giving us a tour de takeaways from the top brass in media, entertainment, and advertising.
Cannes Lions 2025: What You Need To Know
Colin and Samir (left) speak onstage at Cannes Lions / Courtesy of Cannes Lions
Here are the biggest learnings from the Cannes Lions advertising festival, in Colin and Samir’s words →
We just got back from Cannes, France, where the global ad industry gathers each June to decide where $1 trillion in ad spend will go. Historically, it's been a place for brand execs, ad agencies, and media buyers to celebrate and plan for the future of advertising.
But this year, creators were front and center.
Quick back story:
Cannes Lions began in 1954 to honor great commercials—think the Oscars, but for ads. For decades, it was all about TV, who made the ads, who bought the airtime, and who sold it.
In the early 2010s, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat began setting up shop on the beach in Cannes to woo advertisers with their creators.
Fast forward to 2025, and creators aren’t just on the fringes—we’re on stage, in pitch meetings, and at the tables where deals get made.
Here are three big lessons from this year’s Cannes Lions:
1. Measurement is broken. There’s no universal language to value creators. Nielsen ratings made TV easy to buy: one point equals about 1.2 million households.
But what’s the Nielsen equivalent for YouTubers? How does a 30-minute Dude Perfect Overtime episode with 13 million views compare to ESPN’s SportsCenter? Without a shared framework for measuring impact and reach, it’s harder for brands to confidently shift big budgets to creators.
2. Big financial swings are coming to YouTube. Studios, holding companies, and creators are starting to fund high-budget productions, sometimes spending $100K or even $1 million per episode, before they know how they’ll make the money back.
The thinking: If you can build IP, monetization will follow. And there are reasons to believe this strategy can work. Hazbin Hotel, which started out on YouTube, is now one of Amazon’s biggest animated shows. Based on how many major-budget conversations we heard at Cannes, we think YouTube could look a lot more like Netflix this time next year.
3. Attention economy → connection economy. Not all views are created equally. Brands are waking up to the fact that attention is a commodity, but connection is a premium. A creator who can fill a room is worth more than one who can game the algorithm.
Zoom out: Global ad spend crossed $1 trillion last year, and roughly 70% of that went to digital. Social media alone commands $250 billion and YouTube is right at the center of that shift—on connected TVs, in agency pitches, and now on the beach in Cannes.
We’re no longer “new media.” We’re just media.
— Colin & Samir
Cannes Creator Industry News Roundup
(Left to right) Co-host Evan Shapiro, Amelia Dimoldenberg, co-host Marion Ranchet, SVP of BBC Studios Digital Brands Jasmine Dawson, and actor Kiell Smith-Bynoe join for a live recording of podcast "The Media Odyssey" at Cannes Lions / Evan Shapiro
YouTube announced Open Call, a new tool aimed at streamlining the brand partnership process by more efficiently connecting brands and creators. Brands enrolled in the program can request partnerships through a brief on the platform, and relevant creators can respond.
TikTok unveiled new generative AI tools, including image to video, text to video, and—most notably—Showcase Products, a new feature for marketers who want to utilize AI in their ad placement process.
And a sampling of some of the top creators and brands that flocked to Cannes over the last week:
Amelia Dimoldenberg was on a panel with the BBC, and Yes Theory spoke on a panel sponsored by Epidemic Sound. Other sponsors of creator-fronted events included Passes, LTK, Adobe, and Billion Dollar Boy.
At the beach, platforms hosted creators like Jake Shane (who teamed up with Spotify), Haleyybaylee (with YouTube), Kai Cenat (with Amazon), and Brian Edelman (with Meta).
🔥 Press Worthy
Tubi adds 500+ episodes of creator-centric content to its platform, including shows from Mythical and Watcher Entertainment.
Brittany Broski is set to headline the Aux Stage at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August.
Spotter Studio hosted an exclusive event where top YouTubers got real about finding success. Watch the video.*
Food creator Salt Hank’s brick and mortar restaurant opens today in New York City.
Adobe launches a new iPhone camera app called Project Indigo.
Nick DiGiovanni is now streaming his content on Prime Video.
Vinnie Hacker signs with WME.
Patreon is increasing its prices for new creators.
*This is sponsored advertising content.
📚 Thank You For Pressing Publish
The content we’re looking forward to reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.
Read: Digital journalist Taylor Lorenz reports on a virtual anti-ICE protest taking place on Roblox—started by a 17-year-old who wasn’t allowed to participate in IRL protests.
Watch: STEM creator Engineezy builds a real-life playable version of dead mobile app Flappy Bird, with the mission of finally beating his best friend at a video game.
Listen: The latest stop on Miley Cyrus’ press tour to promote her new album? Her own mom and sister’s podcast, Sorry We’re Cyrus, where they discuss Miley’s Bangerz era and sleeping in her basement.
