Join DEPT® at Cannes Lions 2026
Just off the Croisette, away from the noise, a space designed to slow things down.
A return to the trees, where the focus shifts back to the craft and the conversations behind it.
The Secret Garden is back this year.
Last year, in the middle of everything Cannes tends to be, the Garden became one of those places people kept finding their way back to.
Just off the Croisette, under the trees, it had a different kind of energy. There was shade, a bit of a breeze, friendly faces, and the sense that you could sit down for a moment without immediately checking the time. People dropped in between meetings and, more often than not, stayed longer than planned.
Across the day, it was filled with senior leaders from brands, tech, and the creator world. Conversations moved easily between AI, innovation, and what’s actually changing in the work. Smart, open, and refreshingly unforced.
It filled up quickly too. And yes, we had to say no more than we would have liked.
So this year, we’re keeping it much the same, just a little more considered. Still invite-only. Still intentionally limited. The same setting, with a bit more space to settle in and the same kind of people you’d hope to run into. A place to step out of the noise, find some shade, and get into conversations that are actually worth your time.
If you make it in, you’ll see what we mean.
What to expect in the Secret Garden
- Real conversations from industry and brand leaders. No panels for the sake of panels. Just honest takes on turning AI into real growth, redefining how teams work, and the next generation of creative thinking.
- Work you can step into. Interactive and immersive tech experiences that bring ideas to life and show how it’s actually being done.
- A space that works. Built for real meetings, real connections, and time well spent away from the noise. Grab a coffee, wander through the garden, step into the studio, or find a quiet corner to keep a conversation going.
- A curated selection of goodies and Cannes must-haves at the DEPT® Souvenir shop, open from June 23-25, 12:00 – 13:00.
It’s happening again
The Garden’s coming back, and so are the conversations you didn’t plan but were glad you had. We’ll share the rest soon.
MEET THE TEAM
THE PROGRAM
PIONEERING CASES
Join DEPT® at Cannes Lions 2026 – Secret Garden
Just off the Croisette, away from the noise, a space designed to slow things down.
A return to the trees, where the focus shifts back to the craft and the conversations behind it.
The Secret Garden is back this year.
Last year, in the middle of everything Cannes tends to be, the Garden became one of those places people kept finding their way back to.
Just off the Croisette, under the trees, it had a different kind of energy. There was shade, a bit of a breeze, friendly faces, and the sense that you could sit down for a moment without immediately checking the time. People dropped in between meetings and, more often than not, stayed longer than planned.
Across the day, it was filled with senior leaders from brands, tech, and the creator world. Conversations moved easily between AI, innovation, and what’s actually changing in the work. Smart, open, and refreshingly unforced.
So this year, we’re keeping it much the same, just a little more considered. Still invite-only. Still intentionally limited. The same setting, with a bit more space to settle in and the same kind of people you’d hope to run into. A place to step out of the noise, find some shade, and get into conversations that are actually worth your time.
It’s only fitting that you’re there too.
Sign up to skip the waitlist and get access to a space designed for real conversation.
What to expect in the Secret Garden
- Real conversations from industry and brand leaders. No panels for the sake of panels. Just honest takes on turning AI into real growth, redefining how teams work, and the next generation of creative thinking.
- Work you can step into. Interactive and immersive tech experiences that bring ideas to life and show how it’s actually being done.
- A space that works. Built for real meetings, real connections, and time well spent away from the noise. Grab a coffee, wander through the garden, step into the studio, or find a quiet corner to keep a conversation going.
- Something to take with you. A special gift from the curated selection of goodies at the DEPT® Souvenir shop.
It’s happening again
The Garden’s coming back, and so are the conversations you didn’t plan but were glad you had. We’ll share the rest soon.
MEET THE TEAM
THE PROGRAM
PIONEERING CASES
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DEPT® Future Club: Adobe Summit Happy Hour
Join us for a DEPT® Future Club exclusive happy hour during Adobe Summit, bringing together leaders who are rethinking how growth actually happens today. Register now to save your spot.
WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE EVENT
Join us for an evening with DEPT® Future Club where innovation meets relaxation. Future Club is an invitation-only community for senior marketing and technology leaders designed around meaningful conversation, shared experience, and staying ahead in a fast-moving industry.
This happy hour brings together like-minded leaders across marketing, technology, and innovation to connect around that shared mindset, all in the lively setting of Flight Club.
Enjoy craft cocktails, elevated bites, and darts as you unwind, spark new connections, and end the day with a little friendly competition.
Meet the team
Join us at eTail Palm Springs
DEPT® is headed to eTail from February 23-26 to explore the future of retail and e-commerce – AI-driven personalization, omnichannel strategies, and innovative customer experiences.
Fill out the form to connect with our team during the event and request an invite.
What to expect at the Event
Pickleball Paradise
Together with Yotpo and Shopify, we’re hosting an off-site hang with pickleball, drinks and great people on February 23 from 2:00 – 4:00pm.
No pressure, no panels – just sunshine and real convos. Come play, network, or chill courtside. Spots are limited.
VIP Dinner
After a busy day at the show, we know you’ll be ready to kick back and relax. We’re teaming up with our friends at Global-e and Shopify to host an exclusive dinner on February 23.
Retail is evolving faster than ever. Success demands bold thinking, smarter data, and seamless customer experiences. This dinner is your opportunity to engage with leaders shaping the next generation of retail. Spots are limited.
Meet the team
Join DEPT® at Adobe Accelerate
From hyper personalized journeys to scaled content supply chains, DEPT® activates the full Adobe Experience with speed, precision, and proven AI-powered accelerators.
Let’s unlock your customer’s growth together.
Meet us at Adobe Accelerate to learn more.
What to expect
After Hours Wind-Down
Tuesday, 12/9: Siro Urban at Marriott World Center @ 8:30-10pm
Join DEPT® for an intimate nightcap at Siro Urban Kitchen, where great drinks meet great conversation. It’s the perfect way to unwind after Adobe Accelerate dinner while connecting with our team. Drop in anytime.
Meet and Recharge
Wednesday, 12/10: San Francisco Ballroom at Marriott World Center @ 12:30-2pm
Enjoy a curated selection of nitro coffee, cold brew, smoothies, and energy drinks as you slow down, refuel, and dive into conversations about growth, innovation, and what’s next.
Drive Into Invention
Wednesday, 12/10: Bays 210, 211, 310, 311 at Topgolf @ 7-10pm
Close out Adobe Accelerate with DEPT® at Topgolf, where you’re invited to any of our second- or third-floor bays for an elevated blend of play, connection, and innovation. Explore how DEPT® activates the full Adobe Experience with speed, precision, and proven AI-powered accelerators.
MEET THE TEAM
Inventing Growth: CES 2026 Dinner
The future of growth isn’t built by chance. It’s invented. Join DEPT®, Microsoft Advertising and Ad Council at CES 2026 for a private dinner with visionary leaders shaping what’s next in marketing, technology, and AI.
This event is at capacity, please join the waitlist!
What to expect at the event
Growth is being redefined. The old playbooks no longer apply.
AI, data, and creativity are collapsing into one connected system that shapes every customer experience and drives measurable impact.
During this private dinner at America’s first and only Michelin-starred Korean Steakhouse, we’ll gather leaders across marketing, technology, and innovation to discuss what it takes to grow faster than the market. And how to build the systems, partnerships, and ideas that make it possible.
Hosted by DEPT®, Microsoft Advertising and Ad Council, this invite-only evening is a chance to step away from the noise of CES and engage in conversation that shapes what comes next.
Cohosted by:
Game Plan for Growth: An Exclusive Night with DEPT®
Join DEPT® and Optimizely for an exclusive evening where strategy meets sport. As the Clippers take on the Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, enjoy a night of connection, conversation, and inspiration inside a luxury private suite.
This event brings together forward-thinking leaders across the digital, tech, and creative industries to share ideas, spark collaborations, and discuss what’s next for growth, all while enjoying all-inclusive food and beverage in an unforgettable courtside atmosphere.
Spots are extremely limited. Register now to reserve your place in the suite.
MEET THE TEAM
DEPT® Trends 2026: The Age of Acceleration
Registration has now closed for this event, but you can join the livestream here. PW: #madebydept.
See you there!
If 2025 was the year of adaptation, 2026 is the year everything hits fast-forward.
AI’s gone from headline to hard drive, quietly running things while we pretend we’re still in control. Culture moves at the speed of a scroll. Consumers expect it all: relevance; purpose; speed; and a conscience.
The world isn’t waiting. So why should growth?
This year at DEPT® Trends, we’re digging into what happens when acceleration becomes the default setting.
We’ve pulled together some of the sharpest thinkers across DEPT® (the people working every day with the world’s fastest-moving brands) to share what they’re seeing, building, and breaking in real time:
- How AI is changing how decisions get made
- How media is mutating faster than we can measure it
- How creators are building worlds while brands are still writing briefs
- How loyalty is being redefined by value, not vanity
- How growth itself is being reinvented
Because in a world this fast, business growth isn’t something you chase; it’s something you invent.
That’s growth invention: creativity, technology, and data conspiring to build what’s next before anyone else does.
So join us for some sharp takes, honest debate, and a (virtual) room full of people who like to move a little faster.
Whether you’re a brand leader, marketer, technologist, or creative, this event will help you define what you need to do now and next to unlock customer growth, faster.
THE PROGRAM
17:00 CET
Speakers
Keynote
TOURING THE 2025 ZEITGEIST
Customers are now moving at a speed faster than companies can react. Join us for a rapid-fire rewind of the breakthroughs, shifts, and surprises that shaped marketing, tech, and culture in 2025, before we hit fast-forward to what’s next.
17:10 CET
Speakers
Keynote
REBOOTING COMMERCE: LESS HYPE, MORE HUMAN
The idea of a “shopperless” or “zero-click” future may be overstated. While agent-to-agent commerce is technically possible, it overlooks a fundamental truth: people like personality, and they like to shop. The retail resurgence shows that shopping is emotional, experiential, and rooted in identity. And the next era of commerce won’t be defined by automation, but by preference for brands that people actively seek out and choose again and again.
17:20 CET
Speakers
Keynote
IS AI INVENTING GROWTH OR EMPOWERING IT?
AI has quietly moved from breakthrough to background – powering decisions, negotiations, and experiences across every touchpoint. The question now isn’t whether you’re using AI, but whether it’s actually scaling growth. We’ll unpack what it really takes to embed AI and data into the core of your business. Not as hype; but as a system for velocity. From personalisation to prediction to creative automation, the brands winning today are those treating AI as infrastructure, not innovation theatre. Because AI isn’t the future of growth… it’s already the fabric of it.
17:30 CET
Speakers
Keynote
ACTIVATING THE NEW ERA OF MEDIA
Platforms have multiplied, retail media has boomed, attention has splintered, and algorithms decide what gets seen; mutating the media landscape faster than it can be measured. Connecting with audiences when there is a sea of options at our disposal, might now be a matter of teaching the machines to choose you. Sam has the answers.
17:40 CET
Speakers
Keynote
INFLUENCE, UNBUNDLED
Consumers aren’t just tuning out ads, they’re bored of influencer content that feels like one. The brands winning now, get it: influence isn’t about selling, it’s about belonging. Partnering with influencers to make content that’s unfiltered, unexpected, and real… The stuff people actually stop their scroll for. This session unpacks how to win in today’s creator economy, where authenticity beats polish and influence is culture, not media.
17:50 CET
Speakers
Keynote
STOP CAMPAIGNING, START CONNECTING: THE NEW RELATIONSHIP ENGINE
In an era of fragile loyalty, points and perks no longer build lasting relationships. Loyalty is an outcome, and CRM is your relationship growth engine. Focus must shift from managing campaigns to building trust (and driving revenues) through orchestrated customer journeys; where your systems anticipate needs, and deliver the right experience before the customer even asks.
MEET THE SPEAKERS
Pioneering Cases
DEPT® x Adobe: Unlocking GenStudio for Performance Marketing
Explore the power of Adobe GenStudio for Performance Marketing through a guided, hands-on experience that showcases how generative AI can accelerate content creation, personalization, and performance optimization across channels.
Registrations for this event are now closed.
What to expect at the
Event
Join DEPT® and Adobe for an exclusive workshop designed for performance marketers and digital innovators ready to explore how GenAI can transform creative velocity, personalization, and campaign performance.
This is a hands-on keyboard experience with Adobe GenStudio that will show you how to create, iterate, and optimize content across channels faster and smarter than ever before.
Attendees will learn how to:
- Master prompt fluency to drive brand-safe, high-impact creative
- Blend AI with human creativity for control and scale
- Use real-time performance insights to guide campaign decisions
- Activate cross-channel content—from paid social to email to web banners—all from one intelligent workflow
Following the program, please join us for an exclusive happy hour at 4:00pm.
Please note, spots are limited.
The program
Meet the speakers
