ClickZ Meta Insider Newsletter | 🦁 What Cannes 2025 Got Right About Brand

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Lions Unleashed 🦁

What Cannes 2025 Got Right (and Missed) About Brand
✍️ By Sam Carter, CEO of Fospha

At Cannes Lions this year, one word kept surfacing: brand.

In a performance-obsessed world, brand feels harder to defend. It doesn’t show up in ROAS or fit neatly into a reporting cycle. But that doesn’t mean it’s not driving results.

As Rory Sutherland put it, “A brand is like a pension… one day you wake up and go: bloody hell, where did all this equity come from?”

He’s right. Our data at Fospha shows brands investing more than 10% in upper-funnel activity see 2x the overall marketing efficiency. But belief isn’t the issue — buy-in is.

To protect brand budgets, we need better evidence. That’s why we’ve identified early signals—like branded search and engaged visits—that connect brand activity to business outcomes.

👉 Read the full article
📊 Download the Glow Report to explore the data behind the brand debate.

Sector Spotlight 🎥

GENERATIVE AI TOOLS

Meta Expands Advantage with Generative AI Tools for Creative Ad Personalization

Meta's Advantage platform now features generative AI tools that streamline ad creation for marketers by offering brand-consistent personalization and automated video content. These enhancements, which include AI-powered business interaction tools, aim to increase ad efficiency and effectiveness, benefiting advertisers and agencies. Industry professionals recognize these tools' potential to improve creative efficiency and return on investment.

MONETIZATION STRATEGY

WhatsApp To Launch Ads And Paid Subscriptions To Boost Revenue

Meta is monetizing WhatsApp with the introduction of ads and paid subscriptions in the Updates tab, drawing 1.5 billion daily visits. Advertisements will be distinct from private chats, with targeting dependent on general user data. This shift aims to broaden Meta's revenue landscape, aligning with its investment in AI and maintaining secure messaging features.

AI AD INNOVATIONS

Meta Launches New AI Ad Tools Including Enhanced Video Generation Options

Meta introduces advanced AI-powered advertising tools, enhancing video and image generation options for consistent branding. These features, including interactive business AIs and dynamic CTAs, are designed to improve engagement and customization, crucial for marketers aiming to optimize campaign outcomes effectively.

SMART EYEWEAR INNOVATION

Meta And Oakley Introduce New AI-Powered Smart Glasses For Athletes

Meta and Oakley's new 'performance AI' smart glasses offer advanced camera capabilities, hands-free messaging, and real-time translation, enhancing athletes' and marketers' potential to capture, share, and analyze visual content. At $499, these AI-enhanced glasses align with growing consumer demand for integrated technology solutions, making them strategically relevant in marketing and sports industries.

🏆 Announcing the ClickZ 25 of 25 Awards –
Powered by Fospha

While the world’s eyes were on Cannes last week, we’ve been spotlighting a different kind of creativity.

The ClickZ 25of25 Awards spotlights 25 standout DTC and digital-first campaigns that drove real impact this year — across five key sectors: luxury, beauty, wellness, home, and fashion.

Each winner represents smart, scaled, creatively sharp marketing — and we’re thrilled to celebrate their work.

You’ll find the full list — plus sector breakdowns and creative highlights — in our full awards report.

📥 Download the full report below

👉 Got a standout campaign or behind-the-scenes story to share? ClickZ is always looking to spotlight fresh creative — reach out to us, we’d love to hear from you.

Optimization Hub ⚙️

ECOMMERCE TRENDS

eCommerce Marketing Trends to Know of in 2025

In 2025, eCommerce marketing is driven by five crucial trends:

• personalization and enhanced customer experiences using data and AI

• the rise of mobile commerce and shoppable content

• the impact of social commerce coupled with influencer marketing

• the importance of data analytics and marketing automation

• the evolving roles of SEO and content marketing.

These trends highlight the strategic use of technology and platforms in capturing and retaining customers, emphasizing the need for tailored experiences, efficient data handling, and adaptive marketing strategies for professionals in the field.

GEOGRAPHIC INSIGHTS

Geographic Insights Help Brands Expand Into Underserved Markets With Amazon DSP

Geographic Insights and Activation (GIA) on Amazon DSP empowers marketers to efficiently tap into underpenetrated markets by leveraging Amazon's first-party data.

This tool enables advertisers to identify high-potential geographic areas, optimize campaigns, and combine online and offline sales data for improved reach and ROI. By addressing challenges of localized personalization and operational friction, GIA offers a precise means to enhance advertising effectiveness and expand customer bases.