How CMOs can make the case for creative investment

Global brand consultancy Interbrand analyzed data from 50 businesses that won the most Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity awards from 2020 to 2025 and found a correlation between creativity and growth. The companies, which ranged from automakers like Volkswagen to streaming services like Netflix, had a 2.7% rise in profitability and 4.7% growth in market capitalization in the year following a Cannes Lions award win, according to the study.

By outperforming market averages, the brands proved that investing in creative marketing directly translates into improved business performance. But, if that is the case, why is creativity still missing from the boardroom agenda?

For too long, creativity has been an abstract and unquantifiable entity that was easy to undervalue. In addition, businesses are currently facing immense market instability. Delivering growth for shareholders while budgets are under scrutiny is business as usual for CEOs, but creative marketing is rarely a part of their training. Only 37% of Fortune 500 CEOs have some marketing experience, according to a SpencerStuart report.

Now, as data and outcomes prove creativity’s value, marketing leaders must demonstrate those results to the C-suite. 

Why creativity is an undervalued growth lever

Protecting creative spend in challenging times is part and parcel of a CMO’s job, but the question is how to best do that.  

For most marketers, a good starting place is to find the proof points. Translating marketing performance measurements into business metrics is essential, across both short- and long-term KPIs. For example, if brand consideration and awareness are growing, can the results be connected directly to a sales uptick or long-term growth? 

Language and framing also matter. Karen Crum, partner, strategy and transactions at global strategy consultancy EY-Parthenon, spoke on WARC’s Creative Impact stage about the need for marketers to speak the language of C-suite executives, who often “find the metrics and the language around brand and creativity quite unconvincing.” She argued that “The C-suite is constantly in pursuit of value. We need to be more specific about how creativity drives those value levers.”

Finally, presenting compelling case studies, like the ones below, can prove creative value to the C-suite and help marketing leaders make headway in securing budgets.

Companies that invest in creative report consistent sales spikes 

Brands that build salience, stay in the collective consciousness and move consumers to take action all have a common denominator: creative marketing and brand-building are at their foundation, defining how the companies show up in the world and grow market share.  

But creativity isn’t solely about investing in campaigns or boosting perception. It also includes fostering a culture of creativity and innovation across the company by approaching business problems with original solutions — from the top down, daily. 

French insurance company AXA demonstrated how creative thinking can be applied to a business challenge. After securing C-suite buy-in, the company’s marketing team worked with legal, operations and finance teams to change the wording in AXA’s home insurance policy to include domestic violence as valid grounds for relocation. By using the three words “et violences conjugales,” the brand transformed an insurance product that had remained unchanged for decades. 

The results were impressive. AXA’s Three Words campaign won multiple Cannes Lions awards in 2025. AXA also achieved a 67% brand consideration rate, compared with the 43% market norm and saw a 9% uptick in new contracts, according to internal data. In 2025, AXA reported a 7% revenue spike.

Creativity and innovation have been the lifeblood of Apple’s business since the company was founded in 1976. Apple consistently reports remarkable growth, such as a 36% increase in monthly engagement on Apple TV. And in 2026, Apple took the top spot in Fortune magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies list for the 19th consecutive year. 

Apple has also consistently proven its creative credentials at Cannes Lions, winning multiple awards across brands, products and services in the B2B and B2C spaces. In 2025, for the second time, Apple won Cannes Lions Creative Marketer of the Year, which recognizes a company’s continued commitment to creative marketing.

How making creative a long-term business strategy compounds value

Chief marketing officers, and increasingly CEOs, come to the Cannes Lions Festival because they want to understand how to transform creative excellence into measurable, sustainable business growth. They understand that cementing creativity within their business infrastructure, raising its profile and measuring its impact can boost bottom-line returns. 

And creative excellence compounds value. Award-winning brands demonstrate 3x higher brand value, according to a study from PwC and the Association of National Advertisers. A report from McKinsey & Company found that companies that embed creative marketing at the core of their growth agenda are 1.4x more likely to outperform competitors. 

But a long-term creative strategy is not just about investing during the good times. Businesses that maintain or increase their marketing investment and drive growth during an economic downturn gain a competitive edge over rivals that cut back, according to WARC. 

That matters in today’s climate, as marketing leaders navigate increasing financial uncertainty and still have to communicate and prove the value of creative to the C-suite. In short, there is still work to do for creativity to get its rightful seat at the table. 

Partner insights from Cannes Lions