Cannes Lions: Pierce Cook-Anderson of Mail Metro Media on Publishing’s Existential Moment

Recorded live at Cannes Lions, John Horsley is joined by Pierce Cook-Anderson, Managing Director, Advertising at Mail Metro Media. After more than 20 years spanning publishing, media sales and ad tech, including roles at Future, Sky, the FT, Newsweek, OpenX and Equativ, Pierce has returned to publishing at what he describes as an “existential moment” for the industry. They discuss how AI and zero-click search are reshaping publishing, why trusted journalism could become more valuable as AI-generated content proliferates, and the growing question of how publishers receive fair value when their journalism is used by LLMs. Pierce also explains why Mail Metro Media is working with fewer, more strategic technology partners, how first-party data is changing the publisher proposition, and why relationships between brands and publishers are becoming less transactional and far more collaborative. They also explore premium advertising, trust, creativity, the renewed importance of brand building, and why the best briefs should challenge publishers to create something brands haven’t seen before. Recorded live at Cannes Lions, this is a timely conversation about the future of publishing, advertising and quality journalism in an AI-driven world.