The British Interactive Media Association

I am really pleased to announce that I have joined BIMA, the British Interactive Media Association. BIMA is the voice of tech and creativity and I’m looking forward to being a part of the association.

David Droga's Legacy and Creative Effectiveness at Cannes Lions

David Droga, known as the "Prince of Cannes", has had a profound impact on the advertising industry through his work that has been reflected in extraordinary achievements at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Over the years, he and his agencies have won more than 180 Cannes Lions, including five Grand Prix and 14 Titanium Lions, making him the most awarded creative at the Festival.

The recent announcement of David Droga's retirement is a significant moment for the industry and a reminder of the importance of creativity. More About Advertising, has shared some of the advice Droga has given over the years that continues to be relevant for professionals in the industry.

"Most advertising, most marketing, most journalism, most music, most architecture-it's pedestrian and garbage anyway. And it's written by something worse-scarier than Al. It's written by compromise and research."

- David Droga

This declaration underscores the necessity of transcending the ordinary and pursuing creative efficacy in all our pursuits.

It's a compelling directive for the industry to shun the allure of the mediocre and instead invest the requisite time and resources into crafting genuinely impactful work.

Post Cannes Lions 2025, it's more important than ever to champion creative effectiveness and the value of creativity in driving business results. By doing so, we can ensure our work cuts through and continues to have a lasting impact on culture.

---

Published on June 26, 2025, at anthonykennedy.com

Cannes Lions 2025: Hegarty Warns “Giants Can’t Dance” Without Cultural Courage

Sir John Hegarty and me at Cannes Lions 2025

At Cannes Lions 2025, Sir John Hegarty returned to the Croisette with a provocation that cut through the AI noise with characteristic clarity: size is no longer a competitive advantage—creativity is. Addressing a packed audience, the BBH co-founder made the case that legacy institutions are structurally ill-equipped to thrive in the AI era unless they undergo radical cultural reinvention.

“It’s not the big that beat the small or the small that beat the big. It’s the bold that beat the bureaucratic.”

This central thesis—delivered with Hegarty’s signature wit and steel—has clear implications for CMOs and agency leaders. As WARC has previously reported, organisational agility and creative bravery are outperforming traditional scale economics (a). Hegarty’s framework clarifies why bureaucracy and process, once the hallmark of durable enterprise, are now liabilities in a landscape shaped by speed, signal, and strategic improvisation.

The Collapse of the Creative Pyramid

Hegarty contended that the traditional triangle of leadership—where decision-making is concentrated at the top—is outdated. Instead, he offered the metaphor of the inverted triangle, where leadership serves from below, unlocking the distributed creativity of the organisation.

In the age of AI, everyone becomes a creative director. That shift necessitates more than upskilling—it demands a wholesale rethinking of structure, culture, and philosophy.

AI as Collaborator, Not Tool

Rejecting the reductive view of AI as a “tool,” Hegarty framed it as a collaborator. This nuance matters: AI can preserve and evolve founding philosophies, keeping a brand’s original vision relevant long after its originator is gone.

“Maybe one of the functions of AI is that the founder never dies.”

This reframing invites serious consideration from brand stewards. If AI can embody the sensibility and philosophy of a company’s origins—Chanel, Ford, Apple—then strategic brand leadership must shift from protecting the past to actively operationalising it in real-time.

Rebuilding from First Principles

For Hegarty, the path forward for large enterprises lies in rediscovering and reactivating their original philosophy. This rebuilding from first principles is not a nostalgic exercise. It is strategic regeneration. As he put it:

“Go back to what built you.”

This approach aligns with a trend WARC has observed in post-pandemic brand strategy: a return to essential values, often codified in founding principles, used as a compass for navigating transformation (b).

Hegarty cited Patagonia, Oatly, and Apple as examples of brands whose philosophies were not marketing lines but business doctrines—creatively interpreted through product, communications, and culture.

The Strategic Imperative for Brands

Hegarty’s presentation was a call to action, particularly for global brands under pressure to remain culturally relevant in a fragmented, AI-powered landscape. His advice:

• Rethink structure: Flip hierarchies to empower bottom-up creativity.

• Rediscover your philosophy: Make it central to innovation and brand behaviour.

• Use AI to scale culture, not just content.

• Stop aiming to be the biggest. Start aiming to be the boldest.

Final Thought

Sir John Hegarty may be a familiar voice at Cannes, but his message this year felt newly urgent. For organisations struggling to keep pace, his challenge was simple: either dance or die. And in the AI era, the pace is only accelerating.

I have recently completed the Creativity for Growth Course. It was a brilliant opportunity for insight and learning from an industry legend.

Sources:

(a) Building Belief: What It Takes to Instill a Culture of Creative Effectiveness

(b) WARC Asian Strategy Report: Staying relevant amidst changing tides

Also published to Medium.

---

Published on June 25, 2025, at anthonykennedy.com

The first click matters: My take on YouTube marketing strategies

Recently I had the opportunity to contribute to a Forbes Expert Panel on strategies for marketing on YouTube. The article entitled ["20 Key Strategies For YouTube Marketing"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2023/08/22/20-key-strategies-for-youtube-marketing/ is an expert roundup that features strategies for effectively leveraging YouTube's massive platform, which boasts over 2.7 billion logged-in monthly users.

I talked about the importance of making that first click count. Specifically, my input focused on the necessity of having impactful video titles and keyframes, as well as the need for constant monitoring and measuring of your content's performance.

Why the first click matters

In today's saturated online environment, the first impression is often the deciding factor for viewer engagement. If you can’t catch a viewer's eye with your video title and keyframe (the preview image of the video), they're likely to scroll right past your content. This is where impactful titles and eye-catching keyframes come in. Make your titles clear but compelling. Make your keyframes intriguing but relevant. You want to ignite curiosity while also assuring the viewer that the content they're about to see is worth their time.

Test, measure, and adapt

But drawing the viewer in is just the first step; maintaining their engagement is equally crucial. That’s why it’s so important to consistently monitor how your content is performing. This enables you to understand viewer behavior, assess video performance, and adapt your content strategy accordingly.

Time blocks for monitoring

When I talk about monitoring, it’s not just a one-time activity immediately after posting the video. The performance should be checked in predefined blocks of time which could be minutes, hours, or even days, based on the expected traffic and engagement patterns. This ongoing monitoring allows for real-time adjustments that can make all the difference in the world.

Wrapping up

Marketing on YouTube is a dynamic endeavor. It’s a combination of art and science, creativity and analytics. My contribution to the Forbes article reflects this duality. I highly recommend reading the full article as it not only shares my insights but also the wisdom of 19 other experts in the field.

You can read the full Forbes article here.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss YouTube marketing strategies further, feel free to reach out to me directly.

Exploring the Impact of Generative AI on Marketing Creativity

With the rise of generative AI, the marketing industry is at a turning point, where AI has the potential to speed up creativity, provide new inspiration, and generate unique ideas. However, the industry must also be aware of the limitations and risks associated with using generative AI. My latest article on Forbes, "Is Marketing Creativity at Risk? Ask Generative AI," discusses the benefits and pitfalls of AI for marketers, offering insights into how to leverage AI tools effectively while mitigating risks.

Create. Share. Activate. Empower - The Adobe 2020 Creative Residency and Community Fund

It’s May, so it must be time to meet the new Creative Residents for the 2020 Adobe Creative Residency programme. This year, Adobe has welcomed two new residents, Christina Poku, a London, UK based photographer.

She’s using photography, GIFs and set design to make staged scenes that explore how technology can create growth, build community and change barriers to access.

The second creative resident for 2020 is Maddy Beard, a UI/UX interaction design based in Denver, Colorado.

Maddy is exploring the use of interaction design to promote mindfulness in daily life. She’s partnering with brands to design experiences that help people use tech as a tool rather than a crutch.

Both of these designers have some impressive work in their portfolio (Christina and Maddy). Combining this with their goals to build community, reducing barriers to access, and to use technology experience as a tool suggests there will be some exciting work from our Creative Residents for 2020.

In addition to the standard program, Adobe has created a new $1 million Community Fund to support creative communities.

This year, in response to the extensive need in the creative community for monetary support and career guidance, we’ve decided to expand the programme. In addition to the new Creative Residents this year, we’re excited to announce a $1 million Creative Residency Community Fund.

Adobe will be using the Community Fund to fund creative projects and to commission work for Adobe projects. You can make an application to the Community Fund online.

I think it is great that Adobe is doing something new to support members of the creative and design industry during these unprecedented times. You can check out the 2019 Creative Residents here.

Working remotely using Teams and Office 365

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Like many others, I am now working for home as part of efforts to keep our colleagues and our teams healthy and manage COVID-19 infection rates. As a regular remote worker and user of Microsoft Office 365, this transition has been seamless for me.[/vc_column_text][us_image image="7294" size="us_600_400_crop" align="center" meta="1"][ultimate_spacer height="32"][vc_column_text]Using core elements of Office 365 such as Exchange and SharePoint to power Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, OneNote, and Planner means we have been able to continue without missing a beat. My telephone extension is also a Teams number, so I can still make and receive telephone calls as usual (with the benefit of emailed voicemail transcript and MP3 file).[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]For those who are new to remote work, the Microsoft blog has had several posts to help with this transition.

• Staying productive while working remotely with Microsoft Teams
• Working remotely during challenging times
• The top 9 ways Microsoft IT is enabling remote work for its employees

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]IT leadership and Microsoft deserve kudos for building a sustainable solution for businesses and teams of all sizes. I can work from anywhere with access to the tools and resources I need to deliver[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The two most important pages for creators to read

If you are a designer, creator, artist, or maker, these two pages of highlights from the Adobe 99U event are the most important thing for you to do right now. Better than trying to find a new book to read, better than the news, or other blog posts.I’m sure that the content in these two pages will spark an interest, idea, or question that will lead you somewhere good in your life and career.

• Event highlights part one
• Event highlights part two

Go and have a read now, and take notes.I'll be here when you're done.

Our world is

Our world is random and messy. Collecting data does not make it more perfect or more controllable.

Giorgia Lupi, Partner & Design Director, Accurat

Image by H Heylin

Introducing the 2019 Adobe Creative Residents

Adobe have recently announced the designers who will take part in the 2019 Creative Residency. 

The designer and project that I'm most interested in following is that of Patricia Reiners. Patricia is a Berlin-based UX/UI designer exploring the city of the future and how new technologies like AI, voice control, and augmented reality will change our interfaces and design decisions. 

Post-residency, she’d like to work with companies that share her passions for problem-solving and using new technologies to benefit society. You can see some of Patricia’s past work here.