This year’s Insights Lighthouse event at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity spotlighted the evolving role of insights in a world increasingly driven by creativity, technology, and purposeful collaboration. Over two days, global brands and agencies came together to explore how insights can do more than just inform; they can inspire, accelerate, and drive business growth.
Here are five standout themes from the event:
1. Embrace the Unexpected
The most powerful ideas often live outside the box. This theme encouraged attendees to challenge traditional thinking and lean into unconventional approaches, ones that blend human intuition with the power of data. In a rapidly changing landscape, creativity thrives when insights push boundaries rather than reinforce the status quo.
Some of the most inspiring sessions showed how unexpected insights, such as those that uncover tensions, contradictions, or emerging behaviors, can unlock entirely new creative directions. Rather than simply validating what is already known, the best insights can provoke new thinking and encourage risk-taking that leads to more differentiated and breakthrough ideas.
2. AI as a Co-Pilot, Not a Replacement
AI dominated discussions, but not as a standalone solution. Instead, it was widely recognized as a co-pilot, a tool to enhance human judgment, not override it. From surfacing patterns to democratizing data access, AI is helping accelerate the insight process. But the creative and strategic layers remain essential to making ideas meaningful and actionable.
Speakers emphasized that while AI can increase efficiency and scale, it’s the human lens that brings context, empathy, and interpretation to the table. True value comes from using AI to augment, not replace, the expertise and intuition that insight professionals bring.
3. Collaborate for a Better Future
Creativity doesn’t exist in isolation and neither do insights. The future lies in cross-functional, human-centric collaboration. Whether it’s partnerships between tech, digital, and insight teams or co-creation with customers themselves, the industry is doubling down on collaborations that are not only inclusive and cross-functional but also grounded in ethical and human-centric values.
Several sessions highlighted how breaking down internal silos is unlocking more agile and impactful ways of working. Insight teams are increasingly acting as connectors – bringing together disciplines, surfacing shared goals, and ensuring that ideas are grounded in what people actually need. Collaboration is no longer optional. It is becoming the standard for driving relevance and impact.
4. Insights Must Link Directly to Business Growth
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There was a clear shift in tone from insights as a “support function” to a core value driver. The most impactful conversations focused on how insights can influence speed, relevance, and commercial outcomes. Data is only as valuable as the decisions and results it enables, and that means proving its ROI.
There was a growing emphasis on tracking the downstream effects of insight, from shaping innovation pipelines to driving campaign performance and guiding strategic investments. Insight professionals are being challenged to connect their work more directly to business priorities and speak the language of impact. It is no longer enough to be interesting. Insights must be both actionable and accountable.
5. Prediction Over Diagnosis
Perhaps the boldest theme: the future of insights is predictive. It’s not enough to diagnose what happened, brands want partners who can confidently forecast what’s next. Being able to predict consumer behavior and business outcomes isn’t a nice-to-have anymore, it’s a strategic advantage that sets partners apart.
As these themes show, the role of insights is expanding fast, from analysis to acceleration, from observation to prediction. At Behaviorally, we’re proud to be leading the way with AI-powered, behavior-driven insights that help brands grow.
Want to hear more from Cannes?
Explore highlights from the event with Behaviorally’s Matthew Salem (SVP) in his exclusive Cannes Lions Conversation podcast series. Hear exclusive insights from clients, behind-the-scenes trends, and what’s next for insights in the creative space.
Contact us today to learn how these trends and our AI-powered solutions can help you optimize your shopper marketing strategies and drive impactful business decisions.
THE AUTHOR
Brent Snider is the Managing Director of Global Business Development for Behaviorally, driving new vertical growth within Health & Well-Being, Technology, Retail and Alcohol vertical spaces and the larger commercial expansion efforts. He previously held Global Commercial roles at leading behavioral science led research companies. Across his more than 20 years of experience in market research, Brent remains passionate about putting behavioral science into practice, more accurately predicting business outcomes for clients and increasing speed and accuracy through tech enabled platforms + AI for better business outcomes.
