Hello!
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This one is a doozy (seriously get your POT of coffee ready)… you’ve been warned.
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But there is a lot to unpack and I want to give you the down low on all that I learned in Cannes last week and what that means for you, your work, or your business.
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I’ll spare you ALL of the mental breakdowns I had….but I will give you a few glimpses into what was the biggest mental exercise in positive self worth-talk I’ve had to put myself through in a while.

So a reminder… last week I was in Cannes for the Lions Festival.
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​…which is basically the Oscars of advertising and creativity – where the biggest brands, agencies, media, marketing minds & creators gather to celebrate campaigns, network like crazy, party like the world is ending (pretty sure it was at one stage) and now pretend they know what they’re doing in an industry that is being imploded by AI.
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​The whole week was dystopian.

****ME ending one night on a private yacht after randomly getting invited to a CEO/CMO dinner (that in any other world I’d never get an invite too) yet because of my AI acumen … I was able to hustle my way in like an alley street cat. Which is what I felt like A LOT last week. A stray cat.
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​The rosé was FLOWING (so many Magnums), yachts were lined up with chest-puffing million-dollar parties, and the VIP dance floors rammed…(ironically Yahoo had one of the hardest parties to get into…MAKE IT MAKE SENSE. Can you even recall the last time you went to…YAHOO??).

As someone who used to be part of that fancy corporate world with the name brand (The TODAY Show, Bloomberg, etc.) I underestimated how much it would sucker punch me being around my old world but being clearly not in it.
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I had moments where I would watch teams of people happily heading into a VIP happy hour (that I didn’t have access too) and hear from friends about their jam-packed days and invite-only schedules and power lunches.

And I would have stabbing bouts of loneliness.
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The first 12 hours of me being in Cannes I sent my husband texts like this:

And by the way I hate that word…but I really did FEEL that and I’m not going to paint you a false picture of my Cannes Journey.

Poor Olly. Solo parenting. Also running his business. And now needing to be my on-call therapist.

NEVER 👏🏼A👏🏼DULL👏🏼 DAY
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“Did I make the right call by leaving corporate?” **Literally was asking myself this as I walked away from a “sorry you’re not on the list” moment one day…
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“Am I insane for being here on my own with no proper schedule?”

*I’ll spare you what my Type Triple A CMO friend said to me when I floated this but let’s just say it was was a “F*c* YES PATRICE!!!!🥴
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​“Why am I letting strangers dictate my self-worth I feel insane?”

**y’all this was literally hour 3.. I was emotionally spent before the week even got going.
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​By day 2 I was straight up tired of MYSELF……
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It was time for me to put on my Sasha Fierce.

After some tough love from a friend who is leading innovation at her agency, “Patrice, STOP it. YOU have built something UNREAL. You are at the CENTER of where everyone is trying to be. Own it. Get out there.”
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​And then an impromptu shoutout by this same person on her panel that “the best storytelling AI tool in the market is founded by a woman sitting in this audience..” I got my game face on.

All of a sudden.. I was seeing Cannes through a different lens.

The CEO/CMO dinner about the state of the media and ad industry … that “forgot” my place setting name…and might have spiraled me only a day earlier, didn’t even phase me the next day.
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I still belonged here. Even if there was no name tag to prove it so.

And without further adieu….
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Here’s What I Learned:
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​1. AI Was Everywhere… But Very Few Knew What They Were Doing With It

Every single panel had AI somewhere in the title. Every brand was putting their white flag down about their “AI-powered” this or “machine learning” that. The buzzwords were going OFF.

But I sensed BS on a lot of it.

Most of these companies were speaking from a place of “Oh crap….NEED to show off that we know what’s up****but we really don’t.”

I sat through 35 min of an AI “discussion” with Microsoft and had to leave.
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Why?
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It was people stringing fancy words together to sound smart but meant nothing.

There was zero vulnerability about “hey… this is moving so fast we aren’t that literate. We are scared. We are worried about our human cost. We are worried about creativity.”
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Zero outward thoughts about “what our value systems as a company around what we think is the RIGHT and ETHICAL thing to do around AI?”

There was not a lot of human realness in the majority of the talks I attended barring a handful.
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​**Brian’s talk below was one of my favorites and yes I did chase him down after he spoke and jammed a business card in his hand.

Sasha Fierce IN ATTENDANCE. 💅

What this means for your business: If you actually understand AI – not just the marketing speak, but how it works and what it can/can’t do – you have a massive advantage. I suggest dedicating time to really understanding and learning how it would benefit your industry and become the “go to” person. It will give you a moat of protection in corporate and it will keep you relevant if you run a business.

2. Agencies & Companies Want to Partner, Not Build​
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Most of these places aren’t native tech builders. They’d rather invest in proven products from people with actual expertise.

The big brands are still in “figure this out” mode.

Become their solution. It doesn’t matter if you’re small.

I had more licensing conversations this week than I’ve had…well…EVER.

What this means for your business: Stop thinking you need to be huge to work with big brands. They’re scrambling for solutions from people who actually know what they’re doing. Your size is your advantage – you can move fast, pivot quickly, and give them the expertise they can’t build internally.

3. The Build is Becoming Commodity (Soul Matters)

I spent time with other founders in the AI space. LOTS of really cool tools, but so what?

If you don’t have personal brand equity or human experience behind your AI tool, you won’t be sticky.

I met a major CTO who left legacy media to launch his AI platform. Cool tech, zero human soul.

Why should I choose HIS product over the other products in the space that WILL be coming? Have a point of view if you do choose to add AI or build tools for your company or business.
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Automation and efficiency is the base line. It needs to go deeper than that.

​At MyStoryPro we build intentional friction on the front end because I am not interested in building a tool to make cattle farms of content makers.

That’s DIFFERENT.

Most tools are focused on speed and volume – we’re focused on depth and authenticity.

Lean into your human POV on your tools and you will be memorable.

What this means for your business: Your story, your experience, your perspective – that’s what makes you irreplaceable. **EVEN in all of this AI noise. The tech is just the delivery system. Your humanity is the differentiator always in anything you build or create…. and don’t let any of the fear-mongering around AI make you forget that.
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​4. Golden Window for Creators with Audiences

If you’re a creator with a loyal following and proven track record…BUILD 👏 SOMETHING 👏 NOW. (a tool, a newsletter, etc)

So many brands have no clue what they’re doing yet with AI implementation.

We’re scrappy. They’re not.

We know our audiences intimately. The C-suite doesn’t.

This year Cannes renamed the “Social & Influencer Lions” to “Social & Creator Lions”, signaling creators aren’t add-ons – they are the creative. If you make content, teach online, or share your story, this is your moment to be seen as an industry peer.

The “Creators Rooftop” became an exclusive hang (I didn’t have a badge for this) but I was part of a Whatsapp group full of creators who were making deals and connections en masse and talking about it in the thread.
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My takeaway is that it’s the brands who are treating their creators not “as talent” but as full-fledged business partners that are going to remain relevant.
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And the brands who understand that creators who operate more like mini media studios and have direct access to their loyal audiences IS what it’s all about.

What this means for your business: If you are a creator who has a proven track record with your audience and solve problems for them… THIS is your AI Golden Age. Build something. Anything. See where it takes you. The window won’t stay open forever. And remember how powerful you are….even if you are niche and smaller. The industry is heading YOUR way and not just “as talent.”
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​5. Storytelling and Humanity Were the Real Conversation​
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​Ally cat Patrice got herself on a roundtable lunch discussion moderated by the NYT while I was there.

**I told you the HIGHS were HIGHS and the LOWS were LOW🥴

The topic? How do we tell more impactful stories around climate change, the environment and other “issues” that people want to tune out.

And you know what the entire table agreed on?

People don’t connect with data – they connect with humans so how can we empower people to be better storytellers.
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Google, Virgin, TikTok, Dentsu, etc…. Different POVs but we all agreed on the above point.
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Inspiration and universal human emotion (themes I teach to my own storytelling students and prompts baked into My StoryPro tool on your behalf) trumped any campaign about stats or doomsday content.

The smartest people were asking: “How do we keep the human in the story?” Not… “How do we make content to churn out FASTER?”

The hill I will die on is that after this mad rush of “let’s make AI tools to BE FASTER” (not better)…there will be a backlash to slow the F down.

To get back to creating content that actually matters.

And it’s that just the paradox of our AI age: The more automated content becomes, the more valuable your authentic storytelling gets.

What this means for your business: Your imperfect, flawed, deeply human perspective is your ONLY competitive advantage in our new AI world. Don’t let that slip away. Please keep honing that skill like your life and job depends on it ****it probably does.

And one more thing that had me thinking…

If you have ever thought about running ads to your product or service (me, this year for the 1st time ever)… Meta, Google and Amazon now have self-serve ad tools designed to help small businesses scale fast and not need an ad agency…and the results are proving to be as effective as hiring an agency (which let’s be real most of us can’t afford anyway.)
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​A former client who runs a $30M a year newsletter business off the backs of amazing ad conversions….gave me the advice over dinner that I need to spend half a day learning some of these self-serve ad tools and just start experimenting for MyStoryPro.
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Oh and IRL is making a comeback…. “The Return of the Touch” was a phrase I saw all over Cannes (could be creepy but let’s just assume not…)
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​So host that pop-up, get your meet-up strategy up and running for your online membership and send a handwritten note.

All of that was showing to be more effective than many digital marketing campaigns. ​
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​ARE YOU STILL WITH ME!??!?!

I TOLD you this was a doozy.

But did you learn something at least?

Or get a glimpse into the treacherous terrain of what it is to be inside the head of an entrepreneur. #caution.

If you didn’t learn something you will now learn that the “Murder On The DanceFloor” singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor and her DJ hubby go by “Mr and Mrs. Jones.”

It ALMOST made me want to change my last name to match my husbands… (which is Jones!)

OK we’re going to wrap this up here. ​
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One of my HIGHLIGHTS of the trip was spending quality time with my ultimate business girl crush and friend Bonnie Wan who was responsible for getting me into Spotify where I got to see “this random guy play from a movie called “Sinners” I had never heard of “ and was immediately chastised in my DMs.

**YES I live a BIT under a rock now in Portugal. I don’t know any movies anymore!

OK FINAL FINAL THOUGHTS (promise)​
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If this week and experience was easy, it wouldn’t have felt so satisfying.

The friction of being the outsider looking in. The discomfort of not having the VIP wristbands. Of getting rejected.

The fact I had to show up as ME instead of ME behind a corporate logo. The looks of confusion when I would say “My StoryPro co-founder.”
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But I feel really proud of myself. I would absolutely do it differently next time (and I will.) I will absolutely be talking next year (you heard it here first.)​
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I walked away with a deep conviction in what I have built…and the stance I continue to take around storytelling, emotional resonance and FRICTION in AI and how that is the right move for society.
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I believe in struggle – especially when it comes to AI and storytelling. The easy path creates cattle farms of content and a world we really don’t want.
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The hard path creates something worth remembering. You also get much better stories to tell at Happy Hour!

Building what I built and now scaling is not easy.

The path less traveled is lonely sometimes. I really felt it last week and had doubts.

But this is my path.

And the friction I experience as someone trying to build “stuff” with meaning is also me walking the walk.
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There are exciting times ahead for my tool and business and I hope there was one small spark of inspiration or “why not me” after reading this ACTUAL novel.
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And lastly, don’t let others (especially strangers) dictate your worth or path.

I was in that space and it’s such a powerless place. And it’s not even real anyway.
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And remember how powerful you are….even if you are niche and smaller. The industry is heading YOUR way and not just “as talent.” You now have more leverage than ever.

Talk soon,

XO
Patrice
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P.S. Want to see how I’m applying these Cannes insights to help entrepreneurs tell stories that actually convert? Check out what we’re building at MyStoryPro. Be part of a community that values authentic storytelling over “faster, quicker, more, forgettable.”