Cannes Unpacked: Social Success, AI and Collaboration Take Center Stage

By Deirdre McFarland, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer

I have a Case of the Mondays - in a very un-Mondays-like way. 

Yes, it’s Monday, but I’m in the audience at the Cannes Lions Brand Innovators stage, where NCS is hosting a convo with the Molson Coors marketing team. And I’m finding it’s the furthest thing from “uninspired” you can get. 

Instead, I’m very inspired. This team’s incredibly clever campaign for Coors Light generated tremendous buzz on social media in the run-up to the biggest football game of the year. It’s fascinating to hear how they combined compelling creative, a social media strategy, and targeting to deliver better advertising outcomes.

Dare I say, the conversation was “refershing.” No, that’s not a mistake - it’s a callback to the start of the Coors Light campaign, which began with an ad in Times Square and a very big typo. The kind people tend to make on the Monday after the Big Game - the result of being up too late and tired all the next day.

This was the concept behind the campaign, which featured sloths, actor Timothy Simons, and a limited edition of Coors Light “Case of the Mondays” - designed to help consumers “choose chill” on the day after the big game. The team shared how they told one cohesive story start-to-finish, with the story unfolding in real time across social media. 

Earlier this year, NCS asked brand marketers how they were thinking about advertising effectiveness, and 81% of CPG marketers told us social media is their most effective channel for driving sales. 

Social media’s fast-paced, highly visual nature offers advertisers some unique opportunities. Our research on the Five Keys to Advertising Effectiveness shows that, on social media, targeting and loyalty are responsible for a whopping 33% of incremental sales. That’s significantly higher than their 22% contribution across all media types, highlighting just how powerful a well-executed social media strategy can be.

Pair that with another finding from our research - that creative still drives nearly half of all incremental sales - and it’s easy to see the winning elements of the Molson Coors strategy.

This combination proved to be a huge success for the team. Searches for Coors Light increased significantly, sentiment was very positive, and on the night of the big game, social conversations about the brand spiked 400%. It was proof that when brands pull the right levers of the five keys to reach their goals, they can improve their advertising outcomes.

Thank you to the Molson Coors team for taking the time to share their insights. We can’t wait to see what you have planned for 2026!

Fascinating convo with the Molson Coors team! Marcelo Proneca Pascoa, VP of Marketing, Coors Family of Brands; Molly Kilduff, Managing Director, Molson Coors In-House Creative team; Dan Malmud, Chief Revenue Officer, NCS; Justine Stauffer, Sr. Director of Creative Effectiveness; and Christine Benchemam, Business Director, Oliver Agency.

AI is everywhere - and we’re here for it

Creativity is the main theme of Cannes, but not the only one. AI was the talk of the town over the last couple of years, but this year was different. It’s no longer the tech everyone wants to test, it’s the copilot in every creative and advertising effort, assisting in every step from ideation to execution.

We felt right at home in this conversation on the Croisette – and we welcome this “AI is everywhere” attitude. NCS has been leading the way for more than a decade, with AI and machine learning integrated across our solutions. 

AI has allowed us to scale measurement for clients, provide more precise measurement results and overall be more agile. Ultimately, using machine learning methodologies supports our mission of improving the effectiveness of advertising for all media. 

Collaboration and the future of advertising

The power of collaboration dominated talk at Cannes – whether it was brands announcing new creator relationships or strategic partnerships with other companies. We had our own unique angle. NCS is now part of Circana – and we couldn’t be more excited about bringing our teams together. 

Our complementary assets and partnerships mean our clients stand to gain in a huge way. They’ll have broader access to audience targeting, media measurement, in-flight optimization, and clean room solutions. We’re excited about helping our advertisers better understand their best buyers, and the loyalty drivers and opportunities they can leverage to win back or convert shoppers. And we’ll have even greater innovation potential to build the future of advertising. 

Together, we’ll multiply what matters, especially our insights, impact and data. For our clients, you can expect us to:

• Bring clearer measurement, faster insights, and stronger partnerships.
• Deliver what matters most — and set the pace for what’s next.
• Build the future together.

What a way to kick off the summer!