Welcome to our new series, Catch Me If You Cannes! I’ll be interviewing Cannes Lions 2026 speakers before their big week approaches; let’s find out what to expect from their sessions.
In this edition, we’re catching up with Rachel Lowenstein, Culture Strategist, Creator and Keynote Speaker.
Cultural strategy & "girly pop" culture
Sofia Aira: Thanks for joining me Rachel! Can you tell our audience a little bit about yourself?
Rachel Lowenstein: Hey! I am a content creator and a cultural strategist. In my role as a cultural strategist, I work with brands like Dove, Google and Unilever to help them understand what is happening in culture. As a content creator, I take all the knowledge I have accumulated over the last 12 years of working in media and advertising to share insights, stories and perspectives about cultural shifts, particularly concerning women, girls and the general world of "girl culture". I like to call myself a hybrid of a B2B creator mixed with a bit of "girly pop" fun. My entire platform is focused on helping people understand women and girls.
SA: I love that. You have had a really fun and interesting journey to get to your Cannes speaking slot this year. Can you talk us through how that happened?
RL: Yes, so this will be my sixth time attending Cannes. I used to work at WPP for a number of years and always attended on behalf of the company. I went out on my own two years ago. Obviously, securing an official Cannes speaking slot is highly competitive. I have done it twice before, but never for a major moment with a full keynote presentation behind me.
This year, I am partnering with the Lions' non-profit division, where they focus on uplifting the next generation of advertising professionals, mostly students and young professionals. They have conducted some really interesting research about how students feel about the marketing industry today, and they hired me to translate that research into a provocative story. That is really what I do with both my social media and with brands: helping to distil a lot of data and synthesise it into a powerful narrative. I will be working with them to tell the story of what the data is saying, whilst also exploring what young talent needs to know to enter the advertising industry today.
SA: Amazing. That sounds like such an interesting session. What are you most excited to delve into when you are on stage?
RL: I am most excited to discuss a concept I call "making portals". I am not going to reveal exactly what that means just yet because I want people to be intrigued! At a high level, it is my way of thinking about career strategy and development. I will leave it there; if you want to learn how to make a portal, you will have to come to the session!
Navigating Cannes & advice for first-timers
SA: Love it, very mysterious! What are you most excited about regarding Cannes in general this year? Obviously, this is your sixth time attending, so is there anything you are particularly looking forward to? Do you have any advice for first-time attendees?
RL: I am most looking forward to attending as a content creator this year. Every other year I have gone, it has been as an agency executive or a consultant. This year, I am wearing both my consulting hat and my creator hat, but the creator role is much more heavily weighted. It is the first time I am going specifically as a creator.
We are seeing Cannes take the creator space a lot more seriously now. I think this is their third year with a dedicated creator track and creator pass. Personally, I know more creators than ever who are attending and who see the massive opportunity at the festival. The Cannes Festival has traditionally been dominated by agency executives, CMOs and esteemed experts. Creators are experts too, but our work is often dismissed as frivolous or silly. In reality, many people like me are sharing deep expertise and knowledge with the world. I am excited to see that type of expertise taken more seriously.
As for advice, I would offer three tips.
Bring a fan: It gets disgustingly hot in Cannes, and I get overstimulated by heat very quickly. I bring a fan that mists water, and I put rose water into it every year — a bit of a bougie tip there!
Know what you want out of it: Especially for creators and independents, you need a very clear perspective on your goals. You can easily get caught up doing all the things and meeting everyone, but you need a real strategy. For me, it is about meeting potential brand partners, elevating my profile as a speaker and creator, and gathering insights for my clients and audience. Get very clear on why you are there.
Leave space for serendipity: The best times I have had at Cannes happened when I left room to just play and talk to people I wouldn't normally encounter. If you pack your schedule every single second, you might miss out on meeting someone who could be incredibly interesting and lucrative for your career development.
From the corporate agency to content creation
SA: Let's talk a bit about you. You have a wealth of corporate experience. How has that corporate background helped shape you as a content creator? Did you take away any good lessons? Walk me through your journey into content creation.
RL: I tell everybody that if they want to do the type of work I am doing, they should go work in an agency for five years. Working in an agency is no joke; it is tough and involves long hours. However, you get exposed to a wide variety of people, skills and trades. You learn how people think and get exposed to every pocket of marketing very quickly. You can become a pseudo-expert in many different areas of marketing simply through proximity to the people you work with. You also build a massive network incredibly fast. The network I have right now is largely due to my time at an agency.
The reason I am successful as a creator with an audience largely composed of marketing executives, marketing leaders and business leaders, especially on LinkedIn and Instagram, is because I can translate culture into something commercially viable and interesting. Anyone can talk about creativity or culture, but the unique ability to translate that into a business strategy is a specific skill you only learn by working in the industry for a period of time.
Overcoming imposter syndrome and handling criticism
SA: Moving on to your work as a content creator: I ask this question. Many creators feel an immense amount of imposter syndrome when attending big events like Cannes. Have you ever felt this, and do you have any advice for overcoming it?
RL: I don't feel imposter syndrome anymore. I certainly did when I was younger. The reason I don't feel it now is that I have been in rooms with leaders and I can see that their skills are not fundamentally different from mine. Their ability to think and be creative does not exceed my own. In fact, in some ways, my skills exceed theirs. If you want to rid yourself of imposter syndrome, go work closely with senior leaders for a couple of years. You will quickly realise that many of them aren't actually that great at their jobs, which makes you recognise that you are just as capable — if not more so.
SA: I love that, that is a brilliant response! I have one last question for you: what is the biggest lesson you have learned from being a content creator?
RL: The biggest lesson I have learned is that you have to become okay with people misunderstanding you, and you have to be okay with people not liking you. Being a content creator is the fastest way to build your confidence, but it is definitely not for everyone. Having a million people voice opinions on what you are saying, wearing, or looking like can be incredibly grating. I actually stopped creating content for a couple of years because I was so terrified of being misunderstood; it was almost crippling. Because I mostly make video essays tackling complex subjects, I never wanted someone to take me out of context.
What I have since realised is that nine times out of ten, if someone says something in bad faith or is outright rude, it is a reflection of them, not you. Consequently, I run my comment section like a dictatorship. I block and delete people very quickly; it is not a democracy over there!
That said, I genuinely love my audience. They are highly intelligent and often share fascinating perspectives, sometimes pushing back on my ideas, which I welcome. Ultimately, learning to let things slide like water off a duck's back is a lesson from the last couple of years I wish I had learned sooner.
Where to find Rachel at Cannes 2026
SA: Brilliant. And when can we watch your session at Cannes this year?
RL: Well, I am slightly insane and actually have five sessions at Cannes this year! Two of them are invite-only: one is with UN Women and the Unstereotype Alliance, and another is a private lunch with Yahoo.
I also have two public sessions: one with Reddit and another at Cannes House, which will both focus on fan girls and culture on Wednesday afternoon. Finally, my official Cannes Lions main stage spot is on Wednesday at 5:30 pm on the Campus Stage in the Palais.
SA: Well, good luck, and I can’t wait to see you there!
Find Rachel on the official Cannes programming here.
