The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is officially underway for 2025, and Spotify is back on the Croisette to showcase how our platform is more alive than ever. Spotify-and Spotify Beach during the festival-is where creators share, fans explore, and brands are discovered, powered by a global community that continues to grow and evolve.
Throughout the week, Spotify Beach is amplifying the creativity that lives on our platform, offering attendees a chance to experience Spotify IRL-as a cultural force and the best home for creators and fans.
With new tools and innovations, it's easier than ever for advertisers to join Spotify's ever-evolving playground and engage with audiences. All week long, attendees will see how Spotify makes creativity tangible-showcasing innovative ideas, meaningful connections, and endless possibilities for cultural impact.
To kick off the festivities, we sat down with Brian Berner, Spotify's Global Head of Advertising Sales & Partnerships, to hear about what's next for advertisers, the evolution of creativity on Spotify, and what he's most excited about at Cannes Lions this year.
Cannes Lions is all about creativity. How does Spotify continue to foster creativity for advertisers? From music videos to audiobooks to video podcasts, Spotify sits at the heart of music and culture-and we're always innovating to unlock new ways to deliver creativity on a global scale. With a worldwide community of creators, artists, musicians, and podcasters, Spotify is a platform that consistently inspires creative expression. In fact, 87% of creatives in the ad industry say Spotify allows them to be more creative than other platforms.
For advertisers, we have our Creative Lab-an in-house creative agency of storytellers, cultural investigators, marketers, art directors, strategists, copywriters, and Spotify lovers spread across the globe. This team is constantly creating, testing, and gathering data on what works on our platform to help advertisers maximize their creative potential.
Ahead of Cannes, we've also just unveiled two new initiatives to help brands further tap into Spotify's creative playground: the Creative Lab Hub and our inaugural Creative Council. The Creative Lab Hub is a new global destination where brands and advertisers can access Spotify Advertising's most effective tools, formats, and insights-making it easier than ever to create breakthrough campaigns.
Meanwhile, our Creative Council brings together industry-leading creatives to help shape the future of advertising and brand storytelling on Spotify. This group includes top creative leads from agencies including R/GA, BBDO, McCann, Anomaly, VML, and GUT, as well as brand leaders from Ulta, AG1, and Coca-Cola.
We're excited to see how advertisers continue to uplevel their creativity on Spotify!
Spotify is hosting several panels this year. What's the value in bringing these conversations to the stage? Our Spotify Beach daytime programming brings together some of the world's leading voices for compelling conversations that spark discovery, connection, and inspiration. From Louis Theroux and Paris Hilton discussing the art of storytelling to brands like Instacart and Luxottica sharing their strategies and results with the Spotify Ad Exchange, our sessions highlight how Spotify is closer than ever to the heartbeat of culture and driving impact for brands. These conversations showcase how we're creating impactful connections between artists, creators, fans, and brands in innovative and unique ways-both on and off the platform.
How has the evolution of Spotify's platform to include video content changed the game for advertisers? Spotify is now so much more than music and podcasts, including when it comes to advertising. Video consumption on our platform is booming, with users' spending 44% more time looking at our app compared to last year. This increased in-focus engagement unlocks more visual, multiformat opportunities for advertisers, like our latest Canvas and In-Feed ad formats.
We've found that audio and video ads together are a powerful combination for campaigns on Spotify. In fact, combining both increases purchase intent by 27% and incremental sales by 66%, compared to audio alone. As engagement on our platform continues to evolve, we're evolving right alongside it-offering brands new ways to deliver compelling, multiformat audio and visual campaigns to Spotify's global audience. We're excited about the potential of video and what it means for creators, users, and advertisers alike.
At Spotify Advance in April, Spotify Advertising announced updates like Gen AI Ads. What's the response been so far? The response to our efforts in making it easier for advertisers to buy, create, and measure results on Spotify has been incredibly strong, particularly with Gen AI Ads.
Since launching Gen AI Ads, nearly 1,500 advertisers in the U.S. and Canada have already used the tool to create and launch more than 7,000 high-quality audio ads on Spotify. Advertisers tell us they love how fast and easy it is: On average it takes just 17 minutes to go from idea to finished ad, and half of advertisers complete the process in under 9 minutes. That speed, combined with built-in scriptwriting and voiceover capabilities, is making audio advertising more accessible and flexible than ever for advertisers of all sizes.
Given the successful rollout in the U.S. and Canada, we recently expanded Gen AI Ads to the U.K.-bringing these tools to even more advertisers, now with voiceovers featuring British accents. It's our latest step in helping advertisers of all sizes tap into Spotify Advertising with ease and full creative control, all within Spotify Ads Manager.
What advertising trends do you expect to see in the coming year? In today&
Europe Stories
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
17/06/2025
Designed to maximise punch, clarity & impact
The latest arrival in the Schulz Audio range is a powerful new dynamics plug-in that provides producers, engine...
16/06/2025
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is officially underway for...
16/06/2025
On Spotify, francophone content continues to cross borders at an unprecedented rate. In 2024 alone, more than 123 million listeners worldwide streamed audio con...
16/06/2025
Instrument now boasts full NKS support
Sub51 and Soundtrax have just announced the launch of an updated and improved version of their innovative sample-base...
16/06/2025
Two new compact 4HP modules introduced
ALM/Busy Circuits have just announced the launch of two new Eurorack modules, the Pip Filter and Pip LFO, both of whi...
16/06/2025
16 Jun 2025
VEON Announces USD 35 Million Share Buyback Announcement marks the third phase of USD 100 million share buyback program
Dubai, June 16, 2025: VEON...
16/06/2025
Monday 16 June 2025
Sky Arts' Access All Arts Week, a free nationwide arts ...
16/06/2025
Monday 16 June 2025
Families and children are invited to dress up, have fun and raise money to protect nature
WWF UK and Sky Kids are teaming up to launch Wea...
16/06/2025
The Rohde & Schwarz R&S M3AR radio family reaches 10,000 unit milestone, demonst...
16/06/2025
FOX Advertising Launches Enhanced Brand Storytelling Program with Strategic Inve...
16/06/2025
Run with Ray is back! RT Radio 1's The Ray D'Arcy Show hits the road th...
15/06/2025
July 2025 in Dublin, Berlin, Amsterdam & London
Photo: Thea Martre
Music Production for Women (MPW) have announced that they will be running a series of fo...
15/06/2025
Composer/producer launches free virtual instruments
Sulcata Sound is the latest venture of Jason Graves, a two-time British Academy Award-winnning composer,...
14/06/2025
July 2025 in Dublin, Berlin, Amsterdam & London
Photo: Thea Martre
Music Production for Women (MPW) have announced that they will be running a series of fo...
13/06/2025
Photo credit: Atsushi Nishijima
If you're a true lover of rom-coms, chances...
13/06/2025
New iPad/iPhone synth App announced
Following on from last year's release of Gradient Synth - which reached #6 on the App Store's Paid Music charts ...
13/06/2025
In fulfilment of a recommendation by the Government's Expert Advisory Commit...
13/06/2025
New FSWX signal and spectrum analyzer with novel architecture overcomes limits o...
13/06/2025
Apple today announced the addition of iPad to Self Service Repair, providing iPad owners with access to repair manuals, genuine Apple parts, Apple Diagnostics t...
13/06/2025
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today previewed iOS 26, a major update that brings a beautiful new design, intelligent experiences, and improvements to the apps use...
13/06/2025
At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple unveiled Apple Games, an all-new destination designed to help players jump back into the games they...
12/06/2025
In 2018, Spotify launched Heart & Soul, a mental health initiative developed to ...
12/06/2025
Technology now widely available to creators
Sony have announced that they are expanding access to their 360 Virtual Mixing Environment technology, which is ...
12/06/2025
Combines distortion, transient shaping & more
The latest plug-in to join Arturia's line-up has been designed to provide a quick and intuitive way to cra...
12/06/2025
Improved specs & redesigned mount
DPA have just announced the upcoming launch of the 4099 CORE , a new and improved version of their renowned instrument mic...
12/06/2025
New eight-fader control surface announced
SKnote have just announced the launch of the Etna-C, a new DAW control surface and MIDI controller that's been...
12/06/2025
Thursday 12 June 2025
Sky Sports has revealed its on-screen line-up for the Qat...
12/06/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Thales has secured the top spot in the 2025 rank...
12/06/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Thales strengthens its European leadership in re...
11/06/2025
When a music fan creates a playlist on Spotify, it's not just for listening-...
11/06/2025
Hur s krar vi Europas konkurrenskraft i en tid av snabb teknikutveckling? Och hur rustar vi samh llet f r framtidens kompetensbehov inom AI, tech och kultur? Un...
11/06/2025
Spotify and ENHYPEN are inviting fans to step inside the world of DESIRE : UNLEA...
11/06/2025
Innovative virtual instrument reimagines the drum kit
Majetone have recently announced the launch of a new virtual instrument that offers a new take on drum...
11/06/2025
Latest Dante-equipped Apollo units available worldwide
Universal Audio have announced that the latest two Dante-equipped additions to their Apollo line-up a...
11/06/2025
500-series EQ inspired by the TAB W95
Iceland-based audio experts Atomic Analog have announced that the Tonograf, a 500-series module that draws inspiration...
11/06/2025
Singer-songwriter competition open for entries
Casio Music UK have announced that their Casio Sessions competition has returned for 2025, and is now open to...
11/06/2025
Wednesday 11 June 2025
Production begins on the 11th series of flagship Sky Art...
11/06/2025
Milestone: 2,600 Dental Practices in Westphalia-Lippe Connected to Future-Proof ...
11/06/2025
Ipsos iris is the UKOM endorsed service measuring the online behaviour of audiences.
Our independent verification provided Ipsos iris with documented assurance...
11/06/2025
RT Commercial has today announced Mercedes-Benz Ireland as the car partner of The Traitors Ireland, coming to RT One and RT Player in the Autumn.
Mercedes-B...
11/06/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
In response to the increasing frequency and inte...
11/06/2025
SC-BINARY 225: highly flexible AES/EBU & DMX cable posted: 11/06/2025
SC-BINARY 225: highly flexible AES/EBU & DMX cable with 2 x 0.25 mm and soft HTPE j...
10/06/2025
A new generation of artists is redefining Morocco's pop music scene, blending their deep-rooted heritage with contemporary influences to create sounds that ...
10/06/2025
Since Audiobooks in Premium launched on Spotify in 2023, we've seen strong g...
10/06/2025
New version features built-in 16-band vocoder
Arturia have announced the launch of the MiniFreak Vocoder Edition, a new special-edition version of their pop...
10/06/2025
Launched alongside Beatmaker CHROMED instrument
With the launch of Beatmaker 3, virtual instrument experts UJAM have combined all of their Beatmaker titles ...
10/06/2025
Sample Peak, RMS, K-12, K-14 and K-20 metering
Evergreen Audio have announced the release of Mini Meter, a new free, lightweight metering plug-in designed t...
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is officially underway for 2025, and Spotify is back on the Croisette to showcase how our platform is more alive than ever. Spotify-and Spotify Beach during the festival-is where creators share, fans explore, and brands are discovered, powered by a global community that continues to grow and evolve.
