Brands are about to get a seat at the world’s biggest content marketplace. Mipcom Cannes is world’s one of the largest media and content market, bringing together studios, broadcasters, streaming platforms, distributors, creators, brands, and brands from more than 100 countries.
Mipcom Cannes running from 12 to 15 October 2026 at the Palais des Festivals, has unveiled Mip BrandWorks, a new initiative connecting brands and agencies directly studios, production companies, streamers, creators, IP rights holders and commissioners. Mip BrandWorks forms a broader expansion for Mipcom Cannes 2026, with the creator economy, AI and microdrama/ vertical series also taking on a significantly enhanced role across the market, reflecting the shifts that are reshaping how content is created, funded and distributed globally.
The programme is being co-produced in partnership with Unxnown co-founder, Emmy-nominated producer, Ogilvy Entertainment founder and former Cannes Lions jury president Doug Scott for branded content. It builds on last year’s introduction of brand entertainment to the Mipcom cannes programme and will run across all three days of the market.
Mip BrandWorks forms part of a wider expansion at Mipcom Cannes 2026, with the creator economy, artificial intelligence and microdrama or vertical series also taking a bigger role, reflecting shifts in how content is made, funded and distributed globally.
Mipcom Cannes director Lucy Smith said, “Mip BrandWorks signals the next evolution of Mipcom Cannes, reaffirming it as the gateway to the global media and content business. What began as a step change landWorks signals the next evolution of Mipcom Cannes, reaffirming it as the gateway to the global media and coast year is now a full transformation. Across the industry, companies are no longer operating separately they are building together, and Mipcom is where those partnerships can flourish. With Scott bringing unrivalled experience in global brand storytelling, we are taking this significantly further in October. Together with an expanded creator economy and artificial intelligence presence, this cements Mipcom Cannes as the one place where the whole industry, in every form, comes to do business.”
Unxnown co-founder Scott stated, “Mip BrandWorks represents the evolution of branded content into something far more systematic. We are creating an environment where brands can move beyond campaigns to build always-on programming, develop format IP and integrate commerce directly into the narrative, giving them the tools to operate with the power and reach of modern media companies.”
Three areas sit at the centre of the programme: the brand showcase, connecting brands as commissioners directly with producers and creators, curated matchmaking, themed sessions spanning microdrama and vertical series, both scripted and unscripted; and the Brand x Creator Pitch Fest, a live development marketplace pairing global brands with production companies and creators.
Alongside this sits the CXO Summit, an invitation-only forum co-produced with Kynetic Media Ventures founder and CEO David Freeman, aimed at senior leaders shaping the future of brand-funded content and IP.
“My partnership with Mipcom Cannes to launch Mip BrandWorks CXO Summit is about building the connective tissue the industry has been missing, a shared system where creator networks, brands and studios operate by design rather than chance. This creates that layer, aligning creators, capital and IP to turn audiences into long-term enterprise value,” shared Kynetic Media Ventures founder and CEO Freeman.
Freeman had built and scaled fandom, communities and talent IP into high-growth businesses. A former CAA executive, he spent 15 years founding and leading the agency’s digital media department, launching industry-defining verticals across creator representation, branded entertainment, gaming and esports, social media monetisation, immersive media/XR, AI and corporate advisory helping shape new business models in the creator economy.
Leading agencies, brands and brand entertainment studios and divisions attending Mip markets in Cannes and London over the last 12 months include Ancestry, Banijay Entertainment, BBC StoryWorks, Blink49, CAA, Dentsu, Digitas, Fremantle, Hasbro Studios, IPG Mediabrands, Little Dot Studios, Mattel, McCann World Group, Publicis Groupe, Spirit, Sugar 23, Toys R Us, Traverse32, UTA and WPP Media.
