SHeCOMMERCE
Bold Brands. Fierce Women. One Sisterhood.
SHeCommerce is more than just a podcast, it's a community.
Hosted by Cristina and Jax, two seasoned CPG leaders with almost 50 years of combined international experience, SHeCommerce dives deep into the heart of the CPG revolution, tackling the issues that matter most to women in the industry.
Tired of surface-level business podcasts? We get it. That's why we're committed to providing real talk, real solutions, and a whole lot of heart. From decoding the latest retail media strategies and accelerating omni-commerce growth to navigating work-life imbalance, shattering stereotypes, and fighting for wage equality – nothing is off-limits.
With Cristina's unparalleled insights in consumer/shopper behavior, category management, and omni-channel strategy, combined with Jax's digital transformation prowess and global leadership experience, you're getting battle-tested strategies you can actually use.
But SHeCommerceis about more than just business. It's about building a supportive sisterhood where women (and women advocates) can connect, share their stories, and inspire each other to achieve their full potential.
Join us for smart, strategic, and unapologetically female conversations. We promise to be the happiest (and most insightful) 20 minutes of your week!
SHeCommerce: It's not just business, it's personal. It's time to power up your career, your brand, and your life!
SHeCOMMERCE
Episode 27: Canapés from Cannes - The Hot Takes Everyone Was Talking About
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🎙️ Canapés from Cannes: The Hot Takes Everyone Was Talking About
What happens when you gather leaders from agencies, brands, financial services, and media coaching on the Croisette? You get a refreshingly honest pulse check on where our industry is headed.
In this special Canapés from Cannes mini episode, Cristina and Jacqui caught up with Claudia Johnson and Sebastian Flynn from Omnicom, Marta Saunders and Melanie Samarasinghe from Chase Media Solutions, Francisco "Pancho" Cárdenas from Avocados From Mexico, and Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and executive coach Jane Hanson to capture their unfiltered hot takes from Cannes Lions.
While the temperatures were soaring, so were the conversations.
A few themes rose above the noise:
🤝 Collaboration is replacing competition.
Claudia Johnson and Sebastian Flynn from Omnicom reflected on how commerce continues to mature, with organizations recognizing that success requires greater collaboration across disciplines. As new technologies emerge, the challenge isn't just adopting them—it's cutting through the complexity they can create.
🎥 Authenticity needs a reboot.
From Chase Media Solutions, Marta Saunders declared that we desperately need a new word for "authentic." Creator influence isn't a trend—it's the new reality. Melanie Samarasinghe expanded on that thought, highlighting the rise of sports creators, the growing importance of trust in an AI-driven world, and reminding us that despite the technology, our industry is still powered by great people and meaningful relationships.
🤖 AI conversations are finally getting more nuanced.
Francisco "Pancho" Cárdenas of Avocados From Mexico offered one of the week's most balanced perspectives. Rather than framing AI as something that will replace creativity, he sees the conversation shifting toward how it can enhance it. The industry's most valuable discussions are no longer about choosing sides—they're about embracing thoughtful debate, experimenting with new possibilities, and redefining what success really looks like. Even traditional media metrics are being challenged as marketers seek measures that capture real business impact, not just impressions.
✨ Inspiration is still the greatest takeaway.
Jane Hanson reminded us that beyond the keynotes, the parties, and yes...the long lines in the Cannes heat, the real value comes from the people. New conversations spark new ideas, and those moments of inspiration often become the catalyst for what's next.
Our biggest takeaway?
This year's Cannes felt less about having all the answers and more about asking better questions.
How do we build trust in an AI-powered world?
How should we redefine success beyond traditional metrics?
How do creators, brands, agencies, and platforms work together instead of apart?
Those are exactly the conversations we're excited to keep having on SHeCOMMERCE.
Because the future of commerce won't be built by one perspective—it will be built through many voices, healthy debate, and a willingness to evolve together.
Bold Brands. Fierce Women. One Sisterhood.
SHeCOMMERCE:
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I'm Claudia Johnson and I'm on the commerce team as well as the Omni team at OmniConni.
SPEAKER_01I'm Sebastian Flynn and I work on the growth team at Omnicon Media.
SPEAKER_03My hot take for this week that commerce continues to be popular, but I think we've all finally accepted that we need to come together and maybe do some things at the same time.
SPEAKER_01That's a good one. My hot take is that I think can create more confusion than clarity sometimes.
SPEAKER_04My name is Marta Saunders. I work at Chase Beauty Solutions, and here are my hot takes on day four of the Can Lions. Number one, we need a new word for authentic. Badly. Creators are taking over the questette. Get used to it, they're not going anywhere. Invest in linen. Hardcore. Woo! Love it. And banks are the new beloved brand. We love our banks and we love Chase.
SPEAKER_05That's it. Hey, I'm Melanie Samersing. Also at Chase in the Media Solutions part of the business. And so many hot takes from Can because it's been so hot. But similar to you, not only just influencers, but sports influencers. They are everywhere and it's been fun to see them, right? Like we've just been seeing them everywhere. Yeah. I would say the other things are, you know, trust. We're hearing so much about how do you build, you know, brand trust, especially in the face of AI, just continuing to build trust with you know your communities as well. And then as I always end with these, it's there's so much happening, great meetings, great people, just so much creativity. But the best part is just hanging out with the most amazing humans. So always have so much fun here. Thanks for asking.
SPEAKER_00Hi, how are you? I'm Francisco Cárdenas. I am marketer at Avocados from Mexico, formerly creative, super excited to be here at Cannes and to meet you girls. Incredible. ChiCommerce, what a great platform. My takeaways from Cannes so far, because it's not over, is it's hot. It's been really hot. But um in all seriousness, I think what I've seen is that I think as an industry we tend to kind of speak of things definitively and and kind of what it is, it is. And I think what I'm seeing right now, even it's within the conversation of AI, which has not gone away, and I don't think it's gonna go away. There's more of an of an openness to talk about how it helps us and not just how it's gonna destroy us. And being able to reframe those two worlds, uh I think a lot of what I've been seeing is debate of this versus that, in-house agencies versus versus outsourcing agencies, again, AI, what is it doing? Is it hindering or destroying creative creative creatives in the industry or is it empowering them? Is this a tool that kind of brings creative to the next level? It allows you to be faster, it allows you to experiment more. So I like that contrast and I like that debate happening because I think there's openness to that. Um and within that, you were just mentioning I think also measurement. I think it's something that we're starting to redefine how we measure things. I think it's not only how we measure across the board, but we're questioning some of the metrics, especially in media, of what we define as successful. Um impressions, CPMs, things like that, which yes, they tell us something about what the ad did, but not the full story. So yeah, I'm happy, I'm still here learning, keeping humble, and having a lot of fun. So thank you for the opportunity.
SPEAKER_02Hi, I'm Jane Hansen with a hot take, and I do mean hot, because it's been everybody dealing with the heat. But what I truly enjoyed was the variety of people that I met and and the inspiration that they gave to me. It was a little overwhelming, and the lines were really, really long, and people actually stood in them to go into places. I can't believe it. In that hot sun, I didn't, by the way. I either snuck in another way or I just left. But the parties, the inspiration, the ideas, everything was really super cool. So see you next year.