Live at Cannes Lions 2026: Building brands in the efficiency era | The WARC Podcast

It's day 4 in Cannes. Today, 12x Cannes Lions winner Fernando Machado joins to discuss why creativity matters more than ever in the 'efficiency era', Mastercard shares the secrets of building brands with creators, and Kantar offers a new framework to avoid greenwashing. Hosted by WARC's Alex Brownsell. The WARC Podcast in Cannes is sponsored by Circana. Download the latest insights at circana.com/warc Guests: Fernando Machado, Chief Brand Officer, Chipotle; Rica Facundo, Managing Editor – APAC, WARC; Kaveri Khullar, SVP Marketing – Asia Pacific, Mastercard; Jonathan Hall, Managing Partner - Sustainable Transformation Practice, Kantar, Alex Brownsell, Head of Content, WARC Media Overview: New research from Kantar and JKR shows only 28% of brand equity is built via paid touchpoints; direct and indirect experiences are more important for growth. CreativeX data reveals 93% of Fortune 500 digital ads have less than $10,000 media spend, highlighting a trend toward more ads with lower budgets. Fernando Machado (Chipotle) emphasizes creativity as a strategic growth engine, especially in challenging economic times, and warns against common marketing mistakes like abandoning fundamentals or chasing trends. Machado advises marketers to build on existing brand equity, master fundamentals, and take calculated creative risks to stand out. Building trust with internal stakeholders and bringing them along the creative journey is crucial for selling bold ideas. For young marketers, curiosity, passion, and drive are key traits for success. Mastercard’s Kaveri Khullar and WARC’s Rica Facundo discuss the evolving role of creators in marketing, stressing that virality is not a strategy and creators should be embedded as partners, not just amplifiers. Effective creator strategies require clear objectives, the right mix of micro and macro influencers, and integration into the broader brand ecosystem for measurable commercial impact. Kantar’s Jonathan Hall introduces a co-led creativity model where CMOs and sustainability officers jointly own brand sustainability, helping avoid greenwashing and build trust. The model uses a brand ladder framework to align sustainability with brand purpose and consumer needs, resulting in more authentic and effective marketing. Keywords: Cannes Lions 2026, marketing, Creative effectiveness case studies, Fernando Machado, Chipotle, Creativity as a growth engine, marketing on a budget, Kantar JKR brand equity research, Creator marketing strategy, Social-led marketing in Asia, Pace Principle research, Mastercard Priceless, creator campaign, Influencer marketing commercial impact, Circana insights, Sustainability and brand strategy, Co-led creativity, Kantar framework, greenwashing in advertising, WARC Cannes Lions podcast, Marketing effectiveness, brand building