The next era of pharma advertising is more human, more relevant, and more connected 

While adhering to regulatory requirements remains essential, brand stories don’t have to follow the same familiar formats. Across two conversations during Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2026, leaders from Genentech, Swoop, and The Trade Desk explore how marketers can rethink creative, data, and media strategy to build stronger connections across the patient journey. 

Together, these conversations outline a more connected pharma playbook:  

• Create for the way people consume media today 

• Use data to find moments of relevance 

• Orchestrate formats and messages across every potential touchpoint 

Break out of the typical 60-second mindset 

Most television creative for pharma brands follows a predictable pattern, Genentech’s Head of Media and Innovation Marc Minassian explains, this rigid structure makes it difficult for life sciences spots to stand out, especially on linear TV. 

The regulatory boundaries that many brand marketers find limiting can inspire more inventive storytelling in Marc’s experience. Instead of leading with a product claim followed by disclaimers, pharma marketers can lean on factual, relevant content that builds positive sentiment. Moving beyond the traditional 60-second linear format toward stronger, shorter creative across CTV, social, and online video. 

That shift starts with changing the order of operations, Marc says. Rather than treating linear TV as the default and every other channel as secondary, marketers should start creative development with the audience, the format, and the moment. This approach delivers more authentic storytelling, maximizes media efficiency, and engages patients more effectively. 

Personalization that respects privacy 

In our second conversation on data-driven audience engagement, The Trade Desk’s GM of Business Development Pharma Baron Harper, Genentech’s Head of Digital Marketing Oz Demir, and Swoop’s Chief Revenue Officer Katie Carr examine how healthcare marketers balance messaging relevance with privacy compliance. Effective engagement does not require one-to-one targeting. Instead, marketers can use aggregated, privacy-safe data to understand campaign context and deliver information that feels timely and personal. 

“Personalization does not mean it has to be one-on-one. It has to feel like it’s one-on-one, and it has to feel relevant,” Oz said.  

As consumer needs evolve across their health journey, segmentation must adapt dynamically. Consumers may shift based on what they research, engage with, or need next. This is where data and AI can connect signals and create an intelligence layer, helping marketers identify patterns, optimize faster, and make smarter decisions throughout a drug’s commercial lifecycle. AI can help surface themes across large volumes of data, and human experts can recognize the emotional significance of a single patient’s words or insight.