Cannes Lions, we need to talk about the Brand Experience & Activation category

The issue is right there in the name. Brand Experience & Activation is not one idea – it’s two. Yet right now, they’re being judged side by side, under a single, vague definition: “The Brand Experience & Activation Lions celebrate creative, comprehensive brand building through the next-level use of experience design, activation, immersive, retail and 360° customer engagement.”

It’s become a catch-all for everything from immersive retail to live events to social stunts – effectively saying: “everything is an experience.” The issue isn’t just volume. It’s confusion. Two fundamentally different disciplines — with different goals, timelines, and metrics — are being judged as one.

Let’s break it down.

Experience v activation

Brand experience is about building emotional connection over time. It’s how a brand earns a lasting place in people’s minds – through design, storytelling, consistency, and moments that feel deeply human. Think of it as the living manifestation of Seth Godin’s idea that “every interaction, in any form, is branding.” From product design to physical space, from sonic cues to long-form storytelling, it’s all about memory and meaning.

Brand activation, by contrast, is about creating impact in the moment. It’s what brings strategy to life in the moment – driving engagement, trial, purchase, or participation. Activations are how a brand becomes real, relevant, and meaningful.

The goals are different. The creative levers are different. The metrics are different.

So why are they judged the same way?

Change needed

In the current setup, a meticulously crafted live experience – built over months to deepen brand affinity – could be judged against a brilliant one-day sampling campaign designed to drive sales. A retail reinvention is pitted against a pop-up stunt. A brand film that lives online is stacked up next to a traveling mobile tour. They’re all labeled ‘experience.’ But they’re not the same, and they shouldn’t be scored as such.

To make matters worse, many jury rooms still skew toward content creators – smart, capable marketers who know social, digital, and film inside and out, but don’t necessarily live in the world of sports, music, retail, or field, or live production. The result: experiential work is often evaluated through the lens of storytelling and visuals, not executional nuance, live logistics, or how it actually changed behavior in the real world.

That needs to change. And it can – with three clear steps.

Firstly, split the category into two separate Lions: one for brand experience and one for brand activation. Give each a distinct brief, with judging criteria aligned to each intent. Great experience work deserves to be evaluated for the depth of its craft and emotional resonance. Great activation deserves credit for being sharp, immediate, and effective. Apples to apples.

Secondly, seat juries with makers. In other words, the people who build the kinds of experiences being judged. That means bringing in leaders from experiential, field, live events, retail, sports, and music. These are people who understand participation, not just impressions. They know how to assess not only the idea, but how it was brought to life – and whether it really worked.

Thirdly, add experience to the craft categories. Right now, the Craft Lions celebrate excellence in film, digital, radio, and more. But where is the recognition for the craftsmanship behind physical experiences? Behind building something people can see, hear, feel, and move through? Designing and executing a live brand experience is one of the most complex forms of creative production – blending architecture, storytelling, technology, and logistics. It deserves its own spotlight.

Long overdue

These aren’t radical ideas. They’re long overdue corrections. Because experience is not a subgenre of content – it’s its own creative form, with its own standards and its own impact.

The industry is ready for this. The volume of entries shows how much creative energy is flowing into experience and activation. What’s missing is structure and respect for their differences – and for the people behind the work.

Cannes is supposed to celebrate the best of our industry. But we can’t reward excellence if we’re not defining it clearly. If we want to showcase the best brand experiences and activations in the world, we have to judge them on their own terms.

Split the category. Seat the right juries. Elevate the craft.

That’s how Cannes can keep pace with where the industry – and creativity – is going.