Cannes loves a peek into the future, but this year’s Terrace Stage session — guided by moderator Kate Hardcastle MBE — delivered something more practical: a future you can actually act on back at your desk.
Annika Bizon, VP of Product and Marketing for Mobile Experience at Samsung UK & Ireland, opened with a glimpse into a world where everyday choices — from sleep to social time — are health decisions, quietly steered by smarter wearables and AI. Then Anne-Margot Rodde, Creative Director and CEO at Creators Corp., took the crowd inside gaming worlds like Roblox and Fortnite, explaining how they’re fast becoming living, co-created brand playgrounds.
Closing out the session, Tom Morton, Founder and Chief Strategist at Narratory Capital, pulled no punches: Big Tech is spending bigger than ever, but public trust is wearing thin. Over the next 18 months, Morton argued, brands that build — not just posture — will stay relevant.
Here’s what Tom laid out, distilled into five sharp, no-nonsense takeaways:
Big Tech’s Trust Problem
The six biggest tech companies have cranked up capital spending by 60%, pouring billions into moonshots like autonomous vehicles, quantum computing and generative AI. But the more powerful the tech, the more fragile the trust — especially in the US, UK and France. Morton flagged this as the core tension every brand must navigate now.
The ‘Force’ Playbook
Some big names — think Marc Andreessen — are tired of feel-good corporate “purpose.” Their mantra? Bulldoze ahead and skip the moral niceties. Tom’s take: thrilling in theory, reckless in practice. Brands that push people aside eventually push them away.
Mission as the Real Moat
What works instead? Brands with true, sweat-and-steel missions. Morton cited DeepMind folding proteins to unlock medical breakthroughs and Virgin Galactic building reusable spacecraft to democratize space travel. This is mission as muscle, not marketing fluff.
A Mission Is a Contract
A mission isn’t a pep talk — it’s a daily compass. Morton highlighted how DeepMind’s London HQ and OpenAI’s big hardware bet show what discipline looks like when the hype cycle spins out. Builders stick to it.
Prediction: Builders Win, Borrowers Fade
Morton’s final forecast is blunt: over the next 18 months, the brands tackling complex, unglamorous, real-world problems will win. Those borrowing causes and coasting on slogans will lose ground fast when trust wobbles.
Bottom line: At Cannes, Tom Morton made it clear: empty purpose is done. Brands that do the real work will build the future — and earn the trust that comes with it.
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Doug Zanger is the founder and editor-in-chief of Indie Agency News. He is also the founder of the Creative Bohemian consultancy, lives in the Pacific Northwest and is insufferable about it.
