CANNES, FRANCE – While judging Innovation Lions at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Publicis Groupe Chief Solutions Officer, APAC Sapna Nemani observed two pivotal shifts relating to purpose and AI.
For her, the best entries stood out when their purpose addressed a real problem and delivered commercial impact. She also noted that while AI was used in some campaigns, it didn’t take center stage.
Read more about Sapna’s reflection judging the Innovation Lions this year:
Purpose addressing real problems
“The best work stood out when purpose solves a real problem and has a commercial pay out. It’s not the time anymore of purpose for the sake of it. Doing good must be good for business,” Sapna said.
She also noted that the scale of impact of some of the work was remarkable, as she added, “Even at an early stage, the potential scalability was impressive to see how it can make a change to society and be good for business.”
AI not taking the spotlight at this year’s Cannes Lions
Although there were entries who used artificial intelligence, for Sapna, creativity still stood out.
“AI was not the hero of Cannes Lions 2025, creativity was. The use of AI was ubiquitous, but not front and center. There is definitely more maturity in this space as is visible in the work. The hype seems to be subsiding with the technology in the background and in service of the solution,” Sapna reflected.
She also gave an advance on solving big problems without heavily relying on technology, but rather using creativity, “My advice? Solve big problems, do it with creativity, and with technology being endemic to the solution.”
About the writer
As Chief Solutions Officer, APAC at Publicis Groupe, Sapna Nemani plays a vital role in helping clients unlock innovation to win in the platform world. With a wealth of experience across the APAC region, Sapna has held diverse roles within the group, including a significant stint as Chief Intelligence Officer for Publicis Groupe, China. There, she was instrumental in developing tailored solutions within China’s fast-paced digital marketing scene.
Sapna’s background is a rare mix of media and creative agency experience, now supercharged with her focus on data and technology. This allows her to connect the dots across identity, media, creativity, production, and technology in a really effective way.
Clients trust Sapna because she’s laser-focused on tackling their business problems. She also makes a positive impact on the industry as a Regional Board Member for IAB Southeast Asia and India and is heavily involved in Publicis Groupe’s APAC AI efforts to drive client transformation.
From reframing problems to shaping possibilities, Sapna Nemani is always pushing the bar to create winning solutions at the speed of APAC.
