GWI · Cannes Lions 2026 · 22–25 June

Less artificial.
More intelligence.

Four days on the water at Cannes. Panels, podcasts, and waterside chats: all built around the human insights that make AI trustworthy and your commercial decisions smarter.

The week at a glance
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Monday 22

My AI is better than yours

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Tuesday 23

The inner circle

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Wednesday 24

Does Gen Z really exist?

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Thursday 25

Less artificial.
More intelligence.

Daily programme

What's on

Each day has a distinct theme and speaker programme. Browse the full schedule below, then register your interest.

JUNE

22

The Why gap

Monday
16:00
Panel: My AI is better than yours

Every vendor claims their AI is smarter. We ask the harder question: smarter on what data? This panel discusses why the quality, recency and humanity of the underlying data is what separates AI that performs from AI that assumes.

Birthe Emmerich-1
Host
Birthe Emmerich, CMO at GWI
17:30
Data & drinks

GWI Yacht welcome reception.

JUNE

23

The inner circle

Tuesday
10:30
Brunch roundtable: When did you last change your mind because of data?

An invite-only brunch exploring how good data actually changes decisions, and how often AI-generated insight reinforces assumptions rather than challenging them. A single, focused question drives the conversation: when did real evidence last make you think differently?

Birthe Emmerich-1
Host
Birthe Emmerich, CMO at GWI
22:00
England World Cup watch party

90 minutes of human behaviour.

JUNE

24

Does Gen Z really exist?

Wednesday
10:30
Roundtable: Beyond the label

An intimate, invite-only brunch. Generations are a shortcut. A convenient label that flattens everything underneath it. What does it actually mean to understand an audience?

Jason Mander_Web 1
Host
Jason Mander
15:00
Panel: Does Gen Z really exist?

The generational marketing industry is worth billions. GWI's data asks the harder question: does the label hold up? Emotional state, life stage and context predict behaviour better than birth year.

JUNE

25

Feed your agents better

Thursday
10:00
Panel: Less artificial. More intelligence.

This panel brings the Less artificial. More intelligence. report to life — with the global business leaders who've lived it sharing what changed when human insights replaced assumption in an AI-first world.

13:00
CEO Lunch roundtable: Insights belongs at the top table

Using agentic infrastructure to put Human Insights at the core of how companies operate.

Tom Smith_Web 1
Host
Tom Smith
17:00
Less artificial. More Aperol.

Four days of insights. One conclusion. Aperol.

Join us on board

Reserve a slot
on the GWI yacht

Interested in meeting with our team? Drop your details below
and we'll be in touch within 24 hours.

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Location

The GWI yacht

While the rest of Cannes is inside, we're on the water. A 26m private yacht, with a sun deck for open conversations and intimate areas for the ones that need privacy.

Four days away from the noise, with enough space to say what you mean, and enough of the right people around you to make it count.

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Yacht Row
Cannes Marina, located directly behind the Palais des Festivals.

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Live & Recording on board
Be on our shows
On the DotCast

GWI's podcast is recording live on board across all four days and we want you on it.
A relaxed conversation about data, AI, and the future of marketing. No script needed, just turn up with a point of view.

Talk Data to Me

GWI sits down with leaders from brands and agencies for an honest, on-camera conversation about where you think marketing is heading. No script or prepared answers needed. Just a good conversation we want to have with you.

Register your interest

Each session, roundtable, and conversation on board has limited places. Tell us what you're interested in and someone from our team will be in touch within 24 hours.

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