The Future of Work Was on Display at Cannes. Here's Why Parents Should Be Paying Attention.

I’ll be honest: I’ve never really paid attention to Cannes Lions before.

As someone who spent nearly 15 years in benefits and HR, a marketing and advertising festival half way around the world just never felt particularly relevant to my world.

But one of the unexpected things I’ve learned over the last two years of building Both&, consulting, and navigating a much more portfolio-style career is this:

Marketing is no longer just a skill for marketers. It’s a skill for everyone.

Because whether you’re building a business, consulting, looking for your next role, or returning from a career break, you’re learning how to market yourself—how to communicate your value, build relationships, share your ideas, and become known for something.

So this year, for the first time, I followed Cannes.

And the more I read, the more I kept thinking:

A lot of these conversations are actually incredibly relevant to working parents.

There were discussions about nonlinear careers, independent experts, continuous reinvention, and the growing value of human skills in an AI world. In many ways, it felt like the rest of the business world is finally catching up to things parents have been figuring out for years. And I felt like it was important to recap for all of you - so here we go.

As seen at Cannes: The launch of an entire dedicated creator track at Cannes, more than 500 creators attending the festival, and repeated conversations about the rise of creators, independent experts, and fractional partnerships with brands. Cannes itself described this as a “new era” for the creator economy.

Stat you might want to care about - the creator economy is now projected to become a $1.35 trillion market by 2033.

What was once considered a side hustle or niche career path is increasingly becoming a legitimate part of the economy.

Why this matters for parents:

One of the themes I kept seeing out of Cannes was the rise of people and businesses that don’t fit neatly into traditional boxes—creators, advisors, independent experts, communities, and fractional executives. Companies are becoming increasingly comfortable buying access to someone’s expertise without hiring them full-time.

For parents especially, that’s a really hopeful thing. Many of us aren’t looking to work less—we’re looking to work differently. I think one of the biggest future-of-work stories happening right now is that the “in-between” is becoming more legitimate.

One action to take: Write down three ways you could use your skills outside of your current employer—even if you never act on them.

As seen at Cannes: Alex Cooper, Colin & Samir, and creator-economy conversations that centered on “creator commerce”—the idea that companies increasingly want creators and experts to shape products, strategy, and communities, not just advertise them.

One quote from creator and entrepreneur Dhar Mann summed this up:

“Creators aren’t just showing up to network and learn from brands—brands want to know how creators work.”

Translation - we’re seeing the rise of individual consulting and advising.

Why this matters for parents:

One of the biggest messages coming out of Cannes was that expertise itself has become a product. People are building businesses around what they know through consulting, courses, communities, advising, and content.

If you’ve spent ten or fifteen years building experience in an industry, that knowledge doesn’t only have value inside your current company. You may have more career options than you realize because your expertise can travel with you.

One action to take: Write down the three problems that people consistently come to you for. Those may be the foundation of something bigger than your current role.

As seen at Cannes: The official Cannes session Careers Reimagined: AI and the New Rules of Creative Work, which focused on adaptability, human creativity, and the skills leaders are seeking in an AI world.

Two of my favorite quotes coming out of Cannes this year were:

“AI is no longer a magic trick, it’s the plumbing.” – Scott Galloway

And:

“People are a little more grounded. I’m hearing a lot more about what AI cannot do.” – George Popstefanov, CEO of PMG

Why this matters for parents:

As AI gets better at execution, the skills becoming more valuable are judgment, empathy, communication, prioritization, and relationship-building.

Which is interesting.... because those are many of the exact skills that caregiving strengthens every single day.

The future of work may increasingly reward the very skills many women worry motherhood took away from their careers.

One action to take: Write down one thing parenting has made you better at professionally. Start thinking of caregiving as a source of skills, not a gap in them.

As seen at Cannes: Havas’ new research released during Cannes showing that 84% of brands suffer from consumer indifference, based on research of more than 87,000 consumers and 2,400 brands, plus repeated discussions around community-building and authentic relationships in the creator economy.

Direct quote from this research:

“Being seen is not the same as being wanted.”

Why this matters for parents:

We’re living in a world of infinite information and endless content. The scarce resource is knowing who to actually trust.

The people finding opportunities and success aren’t always the ones with the biggest audience anymore—it’s the people and businesses that have built genuine relationships over time.

That’s good news for those wanting to build a business without being an “influencer”—you don’t need a big following. You just need people to know who you are and what you’re good at.

Because being visible is NOT the same thing as being trusted.

One action to take: If content feels intimidating, don’t start by posting. Start by commenting. Leave a thoughtful comment on one LinkedIn or social post every day this week. It’s one of the simplest ways to build relationships, share your perspective, and become known for something over time.

As seen at Cannes: Multiple AI and future-of-work sessions, including Careers Reimagined: AI and the New Rules of Creative Work, emphasized resilience, adaptability, and positioning yourself as a creative problem-solver in a rapidly changing world.

Discussions throughout Cannes repeatedly returned to the idea that careers are becoming more fluid and nonlinear.

One quote from Deloitte’s Cannes programming asked:

“What if the next six months could put you three years ahead?”

Why this matters for parents:

The old career model rewarded mastering one thing and doing it for decades. The new model seems to reward people who can repeatedly learn, adapt, and reinvent themselves.

That’s actually encouraging because many parents have already practiced reinvention through caregiving, career breaks, changing priorities, and navigating entirely new seasons of life.

In other words, the ability to reinvent yourself may be becoming one of the most valuable career skills you can have.

One action to take: Choose one skill you’d like to build over the next six months and spend just 20 minutes a week investing in it—through an online course, articles, a newsletter, or a community.

The most encouraging thing I took away from Cannes wasn’t a new technology or a bold prediction. It was the reminder that the future of work seems to be rewarding exactly what so many parents have already been practicing: adaptability, reinvention, relationship-building, and continuous learning.

So if you’re in a season of questioning your career, keep chipping away.

Keep learning. Keep experimenting. Keep building options for yourself.

Because careers rarely change all at once. They change one conversation, one skill, one relationship, and one small experiment at a time.

And if Cannes taught me anything last week, it’s this:

You may be more prepared for what’s next than you think.

-

Thanks for reading - what take away did you find most interesting?