thenetworkone – The Indie Forum 2025
Tuesday 17th June | LBB Beach, Cannes
This year at Cannes, we brought together some of the most outspoken and inspiring leaders from independent agencies around the world for The Indie Forum 2025. Our theme? Creative + Media. Fast + Slow. A reflection of the evolving dynamics in our industry and the pace at which we adapt.
We hosted two dynamic panel discussions on the beach, followed by happy hour drinks with our agencies and friends.
Here are a few highlights from this year’s Indie Panel, our first session ‘Creative + Media – Together Again?’
Massive kudos to our incredible panelists who brought the energy, honesty, and inspiration: Kamran Asghar (Crossmedia), Jaime Robinson (JOAN), Marcus Krzastek (VCCP) , Barby K. Siegel (Zeno Group) and Ian Forrester (DAVID)
This panel made one thing clear: collaboration between media and creative is more essential than ever – especially for indies. Now’s the time to join forces, not go it alone.
Our second panel of the day ‘Creativity: Fast and Slow’
Thank you to our brilliant panelists from this session too and Fern Miller
for being an excellent host: Steven Erich (Erich & Kallman), Franziska Gregor (Service Plan), Michael Nyman (Acceleration Community of Companies), Meghan Mullen (Zulu Alpha Kilo) and Robin Bonn (Co:definery)
Plenty of fire in this session. It ended with a room full of raised hands—proof that the dreamers and optimists are still leading the charge.
The takeaway? AI and fast media aren’t going anywhere. So let’s embrace the tools, keep disrupting, and grow together.
Progression is everything. Now’s the time to build the infrastructure that helps the next generation of creatives thrive!
We thank everyone who joined us on the beach and made this year’s Indie Forum such a success. If you haven’t already, be sure to register to receive Julian Boulding’s Cannes Review 2025, coming soon.
