For many years, we at Critical Mass have been saying that the brands who will win are the ones who create experiences that live in between broadcast and the lower funnel. It’s the unique, meaningful work in the center that creates lasting joy and loyalty. But creating this engaging work is hard, and it requires us to break down traditional media approaches and brand silos.

Recently, we got the opportunity to light up the ecosystem for M&M’S -“Spokescandies on Pause” won a Gold Lion and a Bronze Lion. It was so much fun to watch the integrated team take an insight about how polarized our media landscape is and turn it into a stunt that gave fans so many ways to get involved—wherever they were. Theorchestration was not easy. Everyone had to partner closely to make it work—both on the client side and the agency side. The best thing about these wins: the foundation is set. We have the opportunity to build even betterexperiences for candy fans in the near future.

Wieden also really took it to the next level with “Clash from the Past,” by making a fake history feel so fabulously real. While Clash of Clans is only eleven years old, they gave fans of the game four decades’ worth of fake movie scenes, retro-style games, a reddit AMA, social stories, and even fake merch from specific eras. A meticulouslyimagined past. The level of detail and craft that went into all this fake content is just so impressive and enviable. I love thinking about the creatives geeking out, debating tiny details, and making up all those logos, characters, andworlds—even cereal. I especially love that they did it all with no paid media.

In a year where everyone was on stage talking about how AI will change the nature of our industry, it’s worth pausing for a moment to recognize that the activating center of the ecosystem requires content that brands don’t currently have funding for. Heinz A.I. Ketchup showed us a clever way to solve that challenge by getting in early on the generative AI wave and asking fans to help. While I applaud Heinz for this work, I do feel like they snuck in before the attribution conversation began. At CM, we are being very cautious about artists’ rights and generative AI.

Obviously, there’s so much more to say, but sometimes the best response to seeing so much inspiring creativity is to take that inspiration and put it to good use. So, we’re working on deeper insights and mini briefs that leverage AI and technology that allow us to execute in that messy middle. We’ll see you at Cannes next year!