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Arthur Sadoun has urged agencies and other advertising companies to take a “different” and more business-focused approach at next month’s Cannes Lions because the industry is facing the “most challenging environment” since the pandemic.

Industry leaders should not focus only on “AI theory” and “celebrating creativity for its own sake” at their biggest annual gathering and must offer “immediate”, practical business solutions for clients that they can use as soon as they leave Cannes, Sadoun, the chief executive of Publicis Groupe, said.

The world’s most valuable agency group is sending about 400 staff to Cannes – “a bit less” than last year – and plans “closed-door” sessions for clients from about 9am to 6pm every day of the five-day festival. That is a reprise of Sadoun’s strategy last year, when his team ran about 40 sessions for 70 client companies, which he has said helped Publicis to win significant new business.

Sadoun predicted there will be “different tone” at this year’s festival, which runs from 16 to 20 June, as businesses are grappling with major uncertainties, including US president Donald Trump’s tariffs policy and the growing impact of artificial intelligence.

There has been “non-stop negative newsflow” recently, with almost daily reports about major restructures and “lay-offs” in the agency sector, Sadoun said, in a tacit nod to how some of Publicis’ main rivals, including WPP and Interpublic, have been making cuts.

He maintained that average organic revenue growth across the “big four” agency groups declined in Q1 2025 for the first time since the pandemic – although Publicis bucked the trend with nearly 5% growth – and he recalled how there was no Lions festival in 2020 during the last downturn, when much of the world was in lockdown.

Given the tough macro-economic “context”, Sadoun urged the industry to take a “different approach” at this year’s festival, which includes a daily programme of talks in the Palais and the Lions awards and industry parties in the evenings.

His client sessions will be branded “AI Upside” (see image, above) as they are aimed at “unlocking real – and immediate – AI upside for clients, in an economic downturn”, rather than talking about AI theory. “Publicis will put creativity at the heart of innovative, ready-to-use AI solutions capable of increasing market share and reducing costs immediately,” the company said.

Focusing on immediate, practical solutions matters, because “I think the industry has a lot to say about the value it can bring in these challenging times, instead of talking every day about a new restructuring, new lay-offs or a new cost saving,” Sadoun explained. 

The Lions are considered the premier creative awards in global advertising. However, Sadoun said only “celebrating creativity for its own sake” would be “completely wrong” in the current circumstances. 

“Just looking at creative excellence and taking some inspiration for the future is not enough. You need to make sure that you show how this creative excellence, boosted by AI and technology, can solve business problems for our clients.”

“Closed door” approach contrasts with some rivals at Cannes

Publicis has not yet finalised the number of people it is sending to the south of France in its home market and its contingent could end up being fewer than 400. Sadoun “would not be surprised” if there were some “cancellations” by his team if some clients do not attend. “We want to be where our clients are” and some clients may need agency executives to be dealing with pressing business issues, given the current environment, he suggested.

He insisted Publicis was not ignoring the main festival by focusing on closed-door sessions and he was announcing his plans a month before Cannes so that clients have time to register to attend. Only a small proportion of his team will be taking part in client events at any one time and Publicis executives will be participating in the festival, he said.

Sadoun previously caused a stir in 2017, soon after he became CEO, when he said Publicis would not enter the Lions – or any other major global awards and conferences – for 12 months to focus on building an internal AI platform, Marcel. He also upset some rivals at Cannes last year by releasing a mocking video, which featured Sadoun and all of his main competitors, telling the industry to “take the BS out of AI”, even as Publicis was talking up its own AI capabilities.

Sadoun went on to credit Publicis’ client sessions at the festival for its subsequent strong new-business record, which included the Coca-Cola US media win in March, although he did not name any client. “The reason why we have been so successful with an important number of those brands is because we started to engage with them during our closed-door sessions in Cannes, where they have seen we are using our data, our technology and our AI in the service of their business,” he said at Q1 results in April.

Publicis’ decision to hire space for its closed-door events in the Gray D’Albion hotel, which is located a short distance behind the main beachfront, the Croisette, contrasts with some rivals, which rent prime beaches to run public events and host parties for delegates, although they typically arrange some private client sessions as well.

Publicis also plans to host an internal, six-hour meeting for all of its staff in Cannes on the Sunday before the festival starts, to discuss its strategic offer to clients and to showcase the 30 best pieces of creative work that the group has produced in the last year.

Britain’s Informa now runs Cannes Lions having bought parent company Ascential last year. More than 13,000 delegates attended Cannes Lions in 2024, with delegate and sponsorship revenues both up more than 20%. Award entries were roughly flat at 27,000.

This article originally appeared on Campaign UK.