Cannes LIONS

June 22, 2026 7:30pm – Midnight

Digital Fight Club returns to Cannes LIONS after a blowout performance at POSSIBLE 2026 where the highlight was a come from behind upset win by Terence Kawaja over Michael Kassan. 300 VIP invite only guests. 4 premium fights between agency and ad tech CEOs. 3 big name CMO referees. All the mayhem you would expect.

Join us at the Empower Cafe (next to Amazon Port) with our partner Propeller Group for the best content of the entire festival.

Tired of hearing the same ‘ol same ‘ol at marketing conferences? Tired of being kissed up to or not being able to speak your mind in a proposal?

So are we.

Mayhem, indeed!

 

The Fight Format

Each fight lasts about 12-13 minutes

  • Opening Arguments: 45 secs each
  • Rebuttal Rounds: 15 secs each (6-8 rounds)
  • Refs Call Fouls (Buzzer) Anytime: 15 sec responses each

Not sure what a Digital Fight Club is?
Check out the Trailer.

Produced by:

 

 

Fight 1

Brand Identity & Chasing Culture

Rhonda Hiatt

Rhonda Hiatt
CEO, M+C Saatchi
  • Interbrand vet
  • Longtime Saatchi vet
  • Raider

Crystal Foote

Crystal Foote
Founder, Digital Culture Group
  • Ad tech vet
  • Former media director
  • Red Storm

Fight 2

Brand vs Performance & Budget Allocation

Kamran Asghar

Kamran Asghar
Founder & CEO , Crossmedia
  • 25 year founder of Cross media
  • Oglivy media planner
  • The Tribe

Paul Frampton-Calero

Paul Frampton-Calero
CEO, Goodway Group
  • OG media planner
  • Havas vet
  • Team Southampton

Fight 3:

AI: Partner or Brand Killer?

Adam Epstein

Adam Epstein
CEO, AdMarketplace
  • Ad tech founder
  • Recovering lawyer
  • Lion

Stu Solomon

Stu Solomon
CEO, HUMAN
  • Brigadier General
  • Cyber & Ad tech guy
  • Zoomie

Fight 4

Media Fragmentation: Creative vs Data

TBD

Francesco Guglielmino

Francesco Guglielmino
CEO, Cubeiq
  • Mobile data vet
  • Telecom vet
  • Milano!

Emma Armstrong

Emma Armstrong
CEO, BBDO
  • Agency vet
  • Former adventure guide
  • Cambridge Blues

Referees

CMO, Amazon Devices & Services

  • Ring vet
  • Sonos vet
  • Rock Chalk!

CMO, Tinder

  • OK Cupid vet
  • Recovering agency vet
  • Ram

CMO, OnePay

  • Visa vet
  • Former quant
  • Sun Devil