ClickZ Watches | Cannes 2025 reignited the brand vs. performance debate

Lions Unleashed 🦁

What Cannes 2025 Got Right (and Missed) About Brand
✍️ By Sam Carter, CEO of Fospha

At Cannes Lions this year, one word kept surfacing: brand.

In a performance-obsessed world, brand feels harder to defend. It doesn’t show up in ROAS or fit neatly into a reporting cycle. But that doesn’t mean it’s not driving results.

As Rory Sutherland put it, “A brand is like a pension… one day you wake up and go: bloody hell, where did all this equity come from?”

He’s right. Our data at Fospha shows brands investing more than 10% in upper-funnel activity see 2x the overall marketing efficiency. But belief isn’t the issue — buy-in is.

To protect brand budgets, we need better evidence. That’s why we’ve identified early signals—like branded search and engaged visits—that connect brand activity to business outcomes.

👉 Read the full article
📊 Download the Glow Report to explore the data behind the brand debate.

Sector Spotlight 💡

LUXURY WATCHES

Arnold & Son's New Watch Celebrates Cornwall's Coastal Beauty with Lunar Elegance

Arnold & Son's Perpetual Moon 41.5 Red Gold Cliff Grey Edition, limited to 28 pieces and priced at £37,000, offers marketing professionals insight into exclusivity and brand prestige through its homage to Cornwall and intricate design features like a sizable moonphase crafted in red gold and platinum. This highlights an effective strategy in luxury branding where scarcity and unique regional storytelling drive consumer desire. Additionally, the watch's design, featuring hand-painted constellations and mother of pearl overlay, underscores the significance of craftsmanship as a differentiator in targeting affluent audiences seeking unique and culturally rich products.

LUXURY MARKET GROWTH

India's Growing Demand For Swiss Luxury Watches Signals Market Expansion

India's growing demand for luxury Swiss watches is a significant opportunity for marketers, driven by aspirational buyers and shifting consumer preferences. Exports rose by over 10% to 104.3 million Swiss francs in early 2025. This trend underscores the potential for strategic marketing in premium sectors.

LUXURY WATCH RELEASES

Explore 13 Exciting New Watches from Casio, Omega, and Timex Brands

This overview of new watch releases from brands like Casio and Omega shows a dynamic industry that merges heritage and innovation, offering options from $350 Casio automatics to $19,500 luxury pieces. This variety is crucial for marketers leveraging product diversity in campaigns to capture different consumer segments and needs.

BRAND ELEVATION CAMPAIGN

IWC Schaffhausen Shines in F1-Themed Movie With Iconic Watch Launch

IWC Schaffhausen, renowned for its luxury watches, has secured a prominent role in the film "F1 The Movie," starring Brad Pitt and Lewis Hamilton. This collaboration highlights IWC's strategic position within both the motorsport and cinematic realms, offering marketing professionals a case study in aligning brand identity with high-energy, culturally relevant platforms to enhance brand visibility and audience engagement. With its association with the film and introduction of new timepieces, IWC showcases how integrating product placement in blockbuster settings can serve as a potent marketing tool, aligning precision craftsmanship with high-adrenaline sports and entertainment.

🏆 Announcing the ClickZ 25 of 25 Awards –
Powered by Fospha

While the world’s eyes were on Cannes last week, we’ve been spotlighting a different kind of creativity.

The ClickZ 25of25 Awards spotlights 25 standout DTC and digital-first campaigns that drove real impact this year — across five key sectors: luxury, beauty, wellness, home, and fashion.

Each winner represents smart, scaled, creatively sharp marketing — and we’re thrilled to celebrate their work.

You’ll find the full list — plus sector breakdowns and creative highlights — in our full awards report.

📥 Download the full report below

👉 Got a standout campaign or behind-the-scenes story to share? ClickZ is always looking to spotlight fresh creative — reach out to us, we’d love to hear from you.

Optimization Hub 📈

ECOMMERCE TRENDS

eCommerce Marketing Trends to Know of in 2025

In 2025, eCommerce marketing is driven by five crucial trends:

• personalization and enhanced customer experiences using data and AI

• the rise of mobile commerce and shoppable content

• the impact of social commerce coupled with influencer marketing

• the importance of data analytics and marketing automation

• the evolving roles of SEO and content marketing.

These trends highlight the strategic use of technology and platforms in capturing and retaining customers, emphasizing the need for tailored experiences, efficient data handling, and adaptive marketing strategies for professionals in the field.

GEOGRAPHIC INSIGHTS

Geographic Insights Help Brands Expand Into Underserved Markets With Amazon DSP

Geographic Insights and Activation (GIA) on Amazon DSP empowers marketers to efficiently tap into underpenetrated markets by leveraging Amazon's first-party data.

This tool enables advertisers to identify high-potential geographic areas, optimize campaigns, and combine online and offline sales data for improved reach and ROI. By addressing challenges of localized personalization and operational friction, GIA offers a precise means to enhance advertising effectiveness and expand customer bases.