Our Monthly Round-up of the key marketing pieces for June includes: – six articles, a podcast, media section, the Work, & our Back to Henley chapter. Cannes dominated June 2026, the focus was on moving past AI experimentation to fundamentally redesigning marketing operating models. Leaders are prioritizing commercial impact, financial alignment, and “agentic” workflows over simple tool adoption.

Our June highlights:

1. Our top pick comes from Mckinsey with their Round up of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Whilst Cannes holds the mantle for creativity it was swamped this year by tech companies and consultancies selling their data & powerful digital ad serving technologies. In the new world – there is talent (people) and machines (that can make things superbly happen).

Here is the link: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/next-in-growth/the-real-signals-from-cannes-lions-2026

2. Secondly, we had to pick Andrew Tindall’s ‘Eleven rules of marketing piece and what actually works’, produced on Youtube for System One, (an hour and 38 minutes of research based – smart thinking) launched prior to Cannes. Let’s face it, it couldn’t be ten or twelve, it had to be eleven and there are some great learnings in here.

Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GutmqdTsnsI

3. Thirdly, there has been quite a debate on what Mark Ritson and Byron Sharp can agree on. Another session headlined in Cannes, (hidden behind a paywall) this one focused on mental availability, distinctive brand assets, resurrection of mass marketing, the nonsense of brand purpose, and consistency.  We came across this piece by Globe media group on the five marketing truths they can actually agree on.

Here is the link: https://globemediagroup.ca/cannes-lions-2026-five-marketing-truths-we-can-actually-agree-on/

4. Fourthly, we came across this piece on Forbes titled ‘20 Leadership Moves That Help Marketing Teams Drive Greater Impact’. It emphasizes that marketing should not be a siloed support function but a strategic partner to sales and product. Key takeaways include the necessity of giving communications a seat at the executive table, moving away from “campaign-first” thinking toward “culture-first” positioning, and the importance of leaders staying engaged in the work without succumbing to micromanagement.

Here is the link: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbescommunicationscouncil/2026/06/24/20-leadership-moves-that-help-marketing-teams-drive-greater-impact/

5. Fifthly, we came across this piece on Articulate. What great thought leadership needs to look like in 2026 to succeed. Thought leadership has never been more popular. Or more misunderstood. There is more content than ever before, more platforms to publish on and more tools promising to help you produce it faster. This is a good framework.

Here is the link: https://www.articulatemarketing.com/blog/thought-leadership-that-succeeds

6. Sixthly, ‘How can companies win over employees that resist AI’. As marketing teams struggle with the “AI-vs-human” divide, this article provides a leadership framework for change management. An interesting read from the Harvard Business School.

Here is the link: https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/why-employees-resist-ai-and-how-companies-can-win-them-over

Podcast: 50 out of 50 episodes with the David Wheldon WFA better Marketing pod, David reflects on conversations with the world’s top marketing minds, one lesson keeps getting louder: marketing is still a person-to-person craft, even when the world feels dominated by platforms, dashboards, and AI. https://pod.link/1538619739/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC0xOTIwODI5Mw

Media: The latest forecast from WPP media was released in June by Kate Scott-Dawkins. The report projected global ad revenue to hit $1.3 trillion in 2026. It moved the conversation beyond simple AI implementation, arguing that advertisers must now prepare to influence “non-human” participants—AI agents that act as gatekeepers and decision-makers in the consumer journey. https://www.wppmedia.com/thought-leadership/this-year-next-year/midyear-2026

Time for the Work: Well we’ve picked two pieces of creative work this month: -

The first, it’s congrats to Lucky Generals and AG Barr for continuing the brilliant Irn Bru campaign, it’s a shame that the Scotland team departed so soon. https://lbbonline.com/news/Susan-Boyle-John-McGinn-Girders-Anthem-Irn-Bru.

And second, it’s congrats to T&P and Hawkstone, for ‘Kalebs leap’ a spot that premiered before England’s Fifa match, a great reach, one certainly winning the praises of the System One.  https://system1group.com/ad-of-the-week/hawkstone-pulls-off-a-perfect-tv-debut And a bit of a favourite in this neighbourhood.

Back to Henley: It’s been Regatta week, followed by Henley festival week – hence the slight delay in this Round-up. Our fortnightly feature in the Henley Standard continues where we interview local entrepreneurs. It’s called Let’s Get Down to Business. We were delighted this month to interview Micah Judah of Pavilion Foods who have a partnership and a brilliant pop-up with Orwells on the river. https://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/home/707897/riverside-pop-up-hopes-to-be-summer-fixture.html

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Will