The Creative trustthat is, the belief in bold and original creative ideas such as Business success engineis being reduced by the inability to develop high quality ideas and lack of cultural agility. These are the main conclusions of “The State of Creativity 2025”a report published by Lions, the company behind the Creativity Festival Cannes Lions.
This annual study – which is already for its fifth delivery – aims to be a practical tool that helps Marketing professionals to understand the main challenges, trends and opportunities in the field creativity. This new edition is based on a world survey conducted to more than 1,000 marketing and creative professionals between November 2024 and January 2025, and on individual conversations with sector leaders.
Brands that assume creative risks generate benefit margins four times higher
The study shows that Risk aversion brakes companies. The survey thus defines the “assumption of creative risks” as bold and unconventional ideas that challenge the norms and attract the public unexpectedly. Only 13% of the survey participants consider that their companies are prone to this creative risk, while 29% of brands admit having a great risk aversion. However, The brands that assume risks generate benefit margins four higher timesaccording to a WARC and Kantar study. And brands with a great appetite for creative risk have 33% more likely to increase their long -term income, according to Deloitte.
Patrick Jeffrey, vice president of Lions Advisory, has declared: “To a large extent due to the lack of solid ideas and cultural relevance, we are seeing less” assumption of creative risks “, which implies getting out of traditional limits and overcoming the conventions of the category. Addressing these two key barriers will unlock creative confidence and promoting better long -term business results.”
The two main obstacles to creative trust, Described in the report, they have to do with the shortage of information: half of the brands (51%) claim that their knowledge is too weak to develop bold creativity and only 13% consider them strong. The survey on the state of creativity shows in this regard that companies with the greatest information development capacity are much more willing to assume creative risks. Thus, the challenges faced by the development of high quality perspectives are:
- Lack of understanding and clarity of what constitutes quality information
- There is not enough priority to the development of information
- Insufficient time to explore information in depth
How to develop solid insights
Of the Lions report it follows that, the more solid it is The relationship between the brand and the agencybetter perceives the brand its ability to develop solid insights. Although, both teams and methods must be diverse to avoid personal preferences instead of consumer understanding. And the use of AI and synthetic data can improve efficacy and reduce biases and limitations.
But, in general terms, there is a situation of “cultural delay”: more than half (57%) of brands have difficulties in reacting quickly to cultural moments and only 12% describe their ability to do so as “excellent”. Thus, the lack of information is slowing down brands when reacting to those moments, which costs them to have creative confidence. The report shows in this sense a positive correlation between the reaction capacity perceived by brands before cultural changes and their appetite for risk. The challenges for cultural agility, therefore, are:
- Too many levels in the approval process
- Limited resources and investment
- Difficulty aligning brand knowledge with cultural trends
From Lions they advise companies that build structures that allow rapid and strategic action, which respond with resonant creativity and give shape to culture instead of persecuting it. “The brands that accept the risk and exceed the limits of creativity are the best equipped to advance with culture,” They comment from the company.
Agility comes from brand construction that allows spontaneous moments
This year’s survey also reflects that brands are increasing brand construction that allows spontaneous moments.
In summary, Patrick Jeffrey, by Lions Advisory, adds: “To increase creative trust, we advise investing in additional training to improve team skills and abilities. As the teams improve their skills and increase their confidence, so will the appetite for larger and bold works”.
More info.: The State of Creativity 2025
