Givsly at Cannes Lions 2026
Values, Conversation, and a Third Year on the Palais Terrace
This June, Givsly returned to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity with a week built around one idea: the industry does its best work when it leads with values. From four days of meetings and candid roundtables at the Givsly Hub to a sold-out evening of song at Karaoke for Causes, every moment was designed to bring people together in a way that felt meaningful, not transactional.
The Givsly Hub: Our Home on the Croisette
From Monday, June 22 through Thursday, June 25, the Givsly Hub welcomed partners, brands, and agencies. This year we expanded across two apartments, giving guests more room to meet, reset, and take in the view of the bay.
The Hub offered private indoor and outdoor meeting rooms, shared common areas, and a dedicated roundtable space. Guests could grab breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack between conversations, with drinks on hand all day. Simple, comfortable, and a welcome break from the pace of the festival.
Roundtables: Honest Conversations About Values
The values gap: what you say vs. what buyers actually reward
sponsored BY
Explored the distance between what brands say they stand for and what consumers actually experience.
participants
Andrea Timmerman
Global Chief Client Officer
Assembly
Elaine Lam
VP Marketing Technology
Sephora
Jonathan Frohlinger
CEO
Big Happy
Katie Patton
Head of Growth
Oberland
Suruchi Shukla
Senior Vice President Marketing
Minted
Can you scale authenticity? AI, creativity, and the soul of a brand
sponsored BY
Explored the distance between what brands say they stand for and what consumers actually experience.
participants
Aruna Natarajan
Chief Client Officer
Assembly
Claire Molyneux
Transformation Practice Lead, Global Marketing
Publicis Groupe
Charlie Wright
Chief Strategy Officer, Global Clients
Publicis Groupe
Carla Dodds
Former CMO
The Aaron's Company, Inc
Camm Rowland
Chief Creative Officer
Chief AI Officer
Kepler
Marissa Jarratt
Former CMO and Chief Sustainability Officer
7 Eleven
Ryan Anderson
CMO
El Car Wash
Selling in a skeptical market: trust as the new media channel
sponsored BY
Explored the distance between what brands say they stand for and what consumers actually experience.
participants
Bev Jackson
VP Brand & Product Marketing
Zillow
Joanna Merrill
North America Agency Partnerships
InMobi
Michelle Morgan
Partner, Director, Strategy
WPP Unite
Melissa Gordon-Ring
Global President
Omnicom Media Health
Michael Nevsk
Director Global Insights
VISA
Suruchi Shukla
Senior Vice President Marketing
Minted
Sudhanshu Saxena
VP, Client Development - Global
InMobi
At the heart of the Hub were three intimate roundtables, each bringing together senior marketers and agency leaders for an open, off-stage discussion.
The Values Gap, sponsored by Big Happy, explored the distance between what brands say they stand for and what consumers actually experience. Participants included Suruchi Shukla (Minted), Andrea Timmerman (Assembly), Elaine Lam (Sephora), and Katie Patton (Oberland).
Can You Scale Authenticity?, sponsored by Basis, asked whether genuine connection can survive at scale. The conversation brought together Marissa Jarratt (former 7-Eleven), Ryan Anderson (El Car Wash), Aruna Natarajan (Assembly), Claire Molyneux and Charlie Wright (Publicis Groupe), Carla Dodds (former The Aaron's Company), Camm Rowland (Kepler), and Lanita Isler (EchoStar).
Selling in a Skeptical Market, sponsored by Glance by InMobi, tackled how brands earn trust with audiences who have learned to question everything. Participants included Suruchi Shukla (Minted), Melissa Gordon-Ring (Omnicom Media Health), Michael Nevsk (Visa), Beverly Jackson (Zillow), and Michelle Morgan (WPP Unite).
Thank you to every participant for bringing candor and curiosity to the table.
Karaoke for Causes: Year Three
On Tuesday, June 23, the energy shifted from boardroom to stage as Karaoke for Causes returned to the Palais Terrace for its third year.
Industry executives stepped up to the mic, each performing on behalf of a nonprofit of their choosing, with a sponsor backing every performance. Together, we raised $57,500 for nonprofits.
Industry executives stepped up to the mic, each performing on behalf of a nonprofit of their choosing, with a sponsor backing every performance. Together, we raised $57,500 for nonprofits.
Here's who took the stage and who they sang for:
- Melissa Gordon-Ring and Jill Kregel (Omnicom Media Health) sang "Bye, Bye, Bye" by NSYNC for the Michael J. Fox Foundation, supported by LG Ad Solutions
- Will Ferguson (Razorfish) and Jodie Stranger (Publicis Groupe) sang "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield for Folds of Honor, supported by IAS
- Molly Schultz (Omnicom Media) and Mike Barrett (Supergood) sang "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" by The Righteous Brothers for The Brief Project, supported by OpenX
- Drew Watson (Mediahub Worldwide) sang "Little Red Corvette" by Prince for Brady, supported by StackAdapt
- Lisa Giacosa (Spark Foundry) sang "Sky Full of Stars" by Coldplay for UNICEF, supported by Innovid
- John Dick (CivicScience) and Nate Nicely (Dentsu) sang "Walk This Way" by Run DMC and Aerosmith for Pittsburgh Hardball Academy and BOMESI, supported by CivicScience
- Jackie Lyons (Havas Media Network) sang "Man! I Feel Like a Woman" by Shania Twain for She Runs It, supported by Raptive
- Whitney Magnuson (Zoom) sang "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys for Democracy Forward, supported by LiveRamp
The crowd also got in on the action with two surprise audience performances, supported by Perion for Love From Sophia and Yieldmo for All Kids Play.
Congratulations to this year's Karaoke Champions, Molly Schultz and Mike Barrett . Thanks to Reddit, our voting sponsor, their win earned an additional $5,000 donation match for The Brief Project.
Watch the Karaoke for Causes recap
Thank You to Our Sponsors
None of this happens without the partners who show up year after year to prove that values and business belong in the same room. Thank you to our 2026 sponsors:
Acast, AccuWeather, Basis, Big Happy, CivicScience, Glance by InMobi, IAS, Innovid, LG Ad Solutions, LiveRamp, OpenX, Paramount Advertising, PayPal Ads, Perion, Precisify, Raptive, Reddit, Roblox, Spectrum Reach, StackAdapt, Teads, The Trade Desk, Vevo, and Yieldmo.
We'll see you on the Croisette next year.
