Cannes Lions 2025: Redefining ROI, the evolving role of AI, and the power of data connectivity

At the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, one message came through loud and clear: commerce, content, and retail media are now inseparable. To win in this new landscape, brands must verticalize ROI—maximizing value across every retailer, every consumer, and every touchpoint. But making this leap requires a new approach to measurement and data connectivity and a redefinition of what ROI truly means, all while staying tuned into the evolving role of AI in commerce. ‍

Key launches & announcements validate the verticalization of ROI

The Big Shift: Redefining ROI with Return on Consumer

We unveiled our annual white paper, “The Big Shift,” at our Cocktails & Commerce event, setting the tone for the week with a lively discussion between Claudia Johnson (Technical Advisor to the CEO, Flywheel) and Lily Tong (Director of Measurements, Amazon Ads). This year’s paper, “Redefining ROI with Return on Consumer,” challenges brands to move beyond last-touch metrics and focus on building long-term consumer value.

With five years of closed-loop SKU-level (purchase) data and Consumer ID (behavioral insights) now accessible in Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), Amazon is setting a new standard for what’s possible in commerce measurement. Brands can finally map every step of the consumer journey - from point of market entry to long-term loyalty - on Amazon, focusing on their return on consumer. This unprecedented data access empowers brands to maximize ROI within the Amazon ecosystem, and sparks new thinking about how to apply these measurement standards across every retailer and campaign.  

As brands push for raising the measurement capabilities bar, retailers are challenged to evolve and offer similar visibility and precision, accelerating the industry-wide need to redefine ROI. Based on the following announcements and our conversations with retailers on the ground, it’s clear that retailers are racing to build their own closed-loop ecosystems—giving brands new ways to activate, measure, and optimize up the funnel.

Flywheel x Amazon Ads x Omnicom Media Group: Unlocking the long-term value of live sports

Measuring the impact of live sports advertising has taken a major step forward. In collaboration with Omnicom Media Group and Amazon Ads, Flywheel participated in a media measurement proof-of-concept to measure customer lifetime value for Thursday Night Football (TNF) campaigns. For the first time, brands can analyze the behavior and purchases of viewers exposed to TNF ads in 2023 and 2024, well beyond the standard 12-month window.

What this means for brands:

Brands now have a window into the true long-term impact of upper-funnel live sports activations, connecting brand-building efforts to repeat purchases and deeper relationships. This breakthrough paves the way for more complete, holistic measurement across the funnel—not just for TNF, but for all of Prime Video and streaming TV in the future.

Amazon Ads x Roku: Expanding reach and precision in connected TV

Amazon’s exclusive partnership with Roku provides brands with access to 80% of U.S. households—exclusively through Amazon DSP. Brands can unify audience targeting, measurement, and frequency capping across Roku OS, The Roku Channel, Prime Video, and other major streaming apps. Early results are impressive: advertisers have reached 40% more unique viewers with the same budget, while reducing repeat exposures by nearly 30%.

What this means for brands:

CTV is no longer just about mass reach. With unified data and advanced controls, brands can now target high-value audiences with precision, minimize ad fatigue, and directly connect streaming investments to measurable performance. Every ad dollar works harder, and every viewer matters more.

As these partnerships (+ the Walmart x NBCUniversal and Amazon Ads x Disney partnership announcements) show, retailers are rapidly verticalizing in the new frontier of upper funnel and streaming TV. These collaborations benefit everyone: retailers open new doors for brands to reach larger, highly engaged audiences, while publishers and STV platforms can monetize their inventory at even greater scale. At the same time, advances in data sharing and measurement are bringing a new level of precision to upper-funnel campaigns. This not only gives brands the confidence to invest across a broader mix of retailers and platforms, but also fuels a virtuous cycle where better measurement drives greater investment, and greater investment accelerates innovation for the entire ecosystem.

The evolving role of AI in commerce

AI was a defining theme at Cannes—woven into nearly every conversation about the future of creativity, commerce, and measurement. While AI is helping teams become more productive, the human element remains vital. The best results come not from replacing instinct with data, but from using rich data sets (like AMC) to inform, inspire, and accelerate creative and media activation.

There was a palpable focus on how brands can leverage AI for deeper consumer understanding, while remembering that deterministic measurement only goes so far. Humans are unpredictable, and sometimes great ideas are sparked by culture or instinct, not just analytics.

While many organizations are still adapting, consumers are moving faster—trusting AI agents to aid discovery, make decisions, and transact. Brands that embrace this shift, iterate quickly, and use GenAI to augment decision-making and content creation, will have an edge.

Data as the connective tissue of commerce

Christine Gambino, COO of Flywheel, delivered a wealth of commerce strategy insights during her panel at the IPG Mediabrands Villa rooted in the power of data connectivity.

The ability to unify and refresh enterprise data, and deploy it across all touchpoints, is what enables brands to truly break down silos and activate omni-channel strategies. Measurement needs to evolve from isolated conversion metrics to holistic, business-outcome-driven KPIs—connecting the dots between upper and lower funnel, digital and physical, brand and performance.

The real opportunity for brands lies in identifying and activating value at every stage of the funnel, within every retailer ecosystem. Yet, none of this is possible without agility: in today’s fragmented landscape of hedged gardens, brands must be able to piece together insights from disparate data sources and channels. Only by connecting these dots—retailer by retailer—can brands unlock actionable strategies that drive sustainable growth and measurable ROI across the entire commerce ecosystem.

Final thoughts

As the lines blur between media, commerce, and content, the future belongs to brands and retailers that measure what matters, verticalize ROI, and build long-term value across every channel. The playbook is changing—and the opportunity to lead is here. Cannes Lions 2025 proved that while technology and data are essential, the winning formula is still a blend of human creativity, cultural connection, and smart, data-driven activation.

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