SHADOW

Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity may be a wrap, but the energy, ideas, and inspiration are still pulsing. We asked a few of our clients, collaborators and industry friends: What stuck with you? What sparked something new? What are you bringing back? Swipe through for the insights we’re still thinking about. Brad Zeifman Lisette Sand-Freedman Michelle Sokoloff Brian Vaughan Sara Lieberman Rachel D’Amico Erica Larsen Jamie D'Attoma Matthew Owens Danielle (Marmel) Zausner Shay Phillips Patrick O'Keefe Melissa Guy Ashley Schapiro Brittany Balbo

That’s a wrap on the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity! The SHADOW team is back in New York buzzing with inspiration, full of gratitude, and fired up for what’s next after a week spent among the most visionary minds in the industry, including our clients. A few of our favorite moments: Watching our amazing clients take the stage, including Kory Marchisotto (her mainstage panel with Reese Witherspoon was a festival highlight!), Patrick O'Keefe, Laurie Lam, Ashley Rosebrook, and Elka Chopra of E.L.F. BEAUTY; Ashley Schapiro and Craig Brommers of American Eagle Outfitters Inc.; Soyoung Kang of eos Products; and Jasmine Anderson Taylor of Instacart Cheering on SHADOW’s very own Liza Bychkov-Suloti and E.L.F. BEAUTY’s Patrick O'Keefe at the Brand Innovators Marketing Summit for their panel on creating surround-sound moments, moderated by the incredible Zarina L Stanford from Bazaarvoice. Celebrating E.L.F. BEAUTY’s Silver Lions win for the bold and unforgettable “So Many Dicks” campaign 🏆 Honoring the tradition of “walking the work” to explore this year’s most inspiring campaigns and soak up the creative energy that fuels why we come to Cannes in the first place It’s difficult to just name a few, but some of our takeaways include: The conversation around AI has shifted from possibility to practicality, moving beyond novelty to becoming essential creative infrastructure. Award-winning campaigns showed that AI doesn’t replace creativity - it augments it when guided by strong human insights and fueled by emotional storytelling. In an overstimulated market, the most effective brand storytelling is short-form in execution but long-term in vision. Consumers are drawn to consistent, culturally attuned narratives that evolve and flex across formats, from TikTok to immersive brand worlds, delivering relevance and emotional payoff beyond fleeting trends. The most impactful work doesn’t just use data—it makes it visible and meaningful, turning insight into action and connection. It’s the connective tissue powering everything from creative feedback loops to IRL experiences to product co-creation with talent and consumers. And while it’s something we’ve long believed at SHADOW, it’s exciting to see the broader industry embrace creators not as media channels, but as co-strategists and creative collaborators. The strongest campaigns came from giving creators a seat at the table—allowing them to shape storytelling, not just amplify it. The brands winning in this space are investing in community-first content and long-term creator partnerships, not just momentary trends. The most effective brands in Cannes weren’t just leveraging technology, talent and data —they were orchestrating them to create culturally relevant, measurable impact. Brad Zeifman Lisette Sand-Freedman Michelle Sokoloff Brian Vaughan Sara Lieberman Rachel D’Amico Erica Larsen Jamie D'Attoma Matthew Owens Danielle (Marmel) Zausner Shay Phillips

From moments to movements — straight from the stage in Cannes: SHADOW’s own Liza Bychkov-Suloti took the Brand Innovators Marketing Summit stage at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity alongside Patrick O'Keefe of E.L.F. BEAUTY to break down what it really takes to create surround sound brand storytelling. Together, they pulled back the curtain on how bold creative orchestration, sharp instincts, and a fearless approach to disruption can turn brand stories into full-on cultural forces. Thank you to Bazaarvoice’s Zarina L Stanford for moderating, and Brand Innovators for hosting us!  #BISummit #CannesLions

Cannes Lions is less than a week away, and we’re counting down the days! If you’ll be there, don’t miss SHADOW’s own Liza Bychkov-Suloti and longtime E.L.F. BEAUTY partner Patrick O'Keefe live on stage at the Brand Innovators Marketing Leadership #BISummit. What does it take to turn a campaign into a cultural moment? Find out on Tuesday, June 17 at 2:30pm local time at Rado Plage, as Liza and Patrick—Chief Integrated Marketing Officer at e.l.f. Beauty—break down the bold, buzzworthy work driving e.l.f.’s cultural dominance. From Judge Beauty to Women in Sports, get an inside look at how e.l.f. is rewriting the media playbook with surround-sound storytelling, headline-grabbing creativity, and disruptive moves that keep the brand at the center of the conversation (and Cannes Lions shortlists). See you at Cannes Lions? Register for the session here:https://lnkd.in/ekRurXb2 Brad Zeifman Lisette Sand-Freedman Michelle Sokoloff Brian Vaughan Sara Lieberman Rachel D’Amico Erica Larsen Jamie D'Attoma Matthew Owens Danielle (Marmel) Zausner Shay Phillips

Calling all emerging BIPOC-owned brands – we want to help you cut through the noise and take your business to the next level. We’re bringing back our Pro Bono program, offering one quarter of retainer-free influencer marketing services for a BIPOC-owned brand ready to scale their impact. If you're building something bold and breakthrough, we want to work with you. Don’t miss your chance to apply before June 13th: https://lnkd.in/eaaA3RJQ. Know a brand that should be in the spotlight? Tag them in the comments. Let’s elevate the next wave of change-makers together. Brad Zeifman, Lisette Sand-Freedman, Liza Bychkov-Suloti, Brian Vaughan, Erica Larsen, Michelle Sokoloff, Sara Lieberman, Rachel D’Amico, Jamie D'Attoma, Shay Phillips, Matthew Owens, Danielle (Marmel) Zausner

ICYMI: All season long, SHADOW has been bringing our clients’ products, services, and stories to life with unforgettable experiences for consumers, media, influencers, and celebrities coast to coast: Jamie D'Attoma, SHADOW’s Executive Vice President and Partner (and all-around events expert) shares, ”Our spring events showcased how thoughtful creativity and cultural alignment can drive meaningful engagement. The key is meeting consumers where they are and offering an experience that authentically speaks to both the brand and the audience.” We brokered an iconic collab between Dove and Charli XCX's BRAT Tour, casting the hottest talent, delivering 365 Party Girl Kits to media + influencers, and hosting the ultimate pre-show moment to keep our VIP concertgoers front row and fresh (and did we mention a surprise Coachella stunt too?) We threw a chart-topping launch event for Sony’s new ULT POWER SOUND Series with a special appearance from Post Malone. We celebrated the new eos Products FlavorLab Secret Menu with an immersive, speakeasy-style event in NYC. We hosted our favorite NYC tastemakers for a summer kick-off brunch with Aerie by AEO, Inc. at Sadelle’s, full of intentions and vision board making. To top it all off, took home an Obie Award for our work last fall on Sony Linkbuds x Olivia Rodrigo “For the Music” event. Talk about ending on a high note. Click through below for highlights:

All rise, another “Judge Beauty” verdict is in! Our viral Big Game campaign with E.L.F. BEAUTY has been named a winner in this year’s Shorty Awards! We’re honored to take home the title of “Best Multi-Platform Campaign” and to be awarded bronze in the “Beauty” category. This is our third award for “Judge Beauty” (hello, CLIO Awards and The Webby Awards), and our second year in a row earning a Shorty for our work with long-standing client e.l.f. If winning is a crime, we’re guilty as charged. Motion to celebrate: granted. Brad Zeifman, Lisette Sand-Freedman, Liza Bychkov-Suloti, Michelle Sokoloff, Jamie D'Attoma, Brian Vaughan, Erica Larsen, Rachel D’Amico, Shay Phillips, Matthew Owens, Danielle (Marmel) Zausner, Kory Marchisotto, Patrick O'Keefe, Laurie Lam, Ashley Rosebrook, Samantha Critchell

Attention is a currency. At SHADOW, we earn it by trade, and now we’re paying it forward. SHADOW’s Pro Bono program is back: offering one quarter of retainer-free influencer marketing services for a POC-owned brand that’s building something bold, beautiful, and game-changing. If you’re ready to show the world what you’ve made, apply here: https://lnkd.in/eaaA3RJQ. Deadline: June 13. We can’t wait to see what’s next. ✨ Know a brand that fits the above description? Tag them below! Brad Zeifman, Lisette Sand-Freedman, Liza Bychkov-Suloti, Brian Vaughan, Erica Larsen, Michelle Sokoloff, Sara Lieberman, Rachel D’Amico, Jamie D'Attoma, Shay Phillips, Matthew Owens, Danielle (Marmel) Zausner

SHADOW is heading back to Cannes! Brad Zeifman, Liza Bychkov-Suloti and Brian Vaughan will be at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity June 15th-19th, along with a number of our incredible clients, soaking up the creativity and conversations. We’re so excited to walk the work, get inspired and share insights. We look forward to cheering on a number of our brand executives as they share their expertise across various panels throughout the week. You can also catch Liza and our long-time E.L.F. BEAUTY client Patrick O'Keefe speaking at the Brand Innovators Marketing Leadership Summit on June 17th at 2:30 PM at Rado Plage. They’ll deep dive into how to create a surround-sound media moment to drive real cultural impact. You can register here: https://lnkd.in/ekRurXb2 – you won’t want to miss it! Heading to Cannes as well? We'd love to connect—drop a comment or send us a message!

Did you hear? SHADOW teamed up with Sony Electronics to turn up the volume of the brand’s latest innovation—the WH-1000XM6 noise-cancelling headphones—with a standout launch moment that cut through the noise, both literally and figuratively. To build anticipation, we invited select media for exclusive previews and an intimate dinner where they could experience the product firsthand. On launch day, we rolled out a synchronized, cross-platform campaign featuring a diverse mix of creators, each showing how the WH-1000XM6 elevates their everyday. The result? A high-impact launch that drove widespread awareness, sparked cultural conversation, and cemented the WH-1000XM6 as a must-have in premium audio. Don’t just take our word for it. See what CNN, Rolling Stone, Variety, and Business Insider are saying: https://lnkd.in/enJjXejq https://lnkd.in/eh92M7k5 https://lnkd.in/eYq-7BhK https://lnkd.in/eTjyMh2g Brad Zeifman, Lisette Sand-Freedman, Liza Bychkov-Suloti, Brian Vaughan, Erica Larsen, Michelle Sokoloff, Sara Lieberman, Rachel D’Amico, Jamie D'Attoma, Shay Phillips, Matthew Owens, Danielle (Marmel) Zausner