Cannes Lions Owner Ascential Rebrands as Informa Festivals

So long Ascential, hello Informa Festivals. Ascential CEO Philip Thomas has announced that the team has officially joined Informa Group and that they’ll continue to operate under a new name.

They’ve officially launched ‘Informa Festivals’ – a new brand designed to oversee some of the world’s most prominent creative, marketing and business festivals and information brands. 

Speaking on a video released across Ascential’s social media channels, Philip said: “Today, our incredible teams join the Informa family, with the launch of its newest business, Informa Festivals, our brands will continue to deliver unmissable events, intelligence and advisory services. And we'll be doing that as part of this incredible global business which is deeply aligned with our own values and our own offering.”

The move follows Informa’s acquisition of Ascential in July, in a deal reportedly valued at approximately £1.2 billion. Ascential, a global business with deep roots in creative marketing, owned several key festival brands including Cannes Lions, as well as Warc, a marketing intelligence platform, and other data-driven marketing services. 

The goal of Informa Festivals is to leverage the expertise of these established events and expand into new sectors and regions, enhancing the value of experience-led, festival-based events in the B2B space. 

The creation of Informa Festivals aligns with Informa’s strategy to capitalise on the growing trend of experience-led events. By combining its existing portfolio which includes events like London Tech Week and the Monaco Yacht Show, with the prestigious festivals from Ascential, Informa aims to enhance cross-sector synergies and expand into new markets, including high-growth regions like the Middle East and Africa.   

Stephen A. Carter, group chief executive, said: “The completion of the Ascential acquisition, creation of Informa Festivals and prospective creation of Informa TechTarget will establish leadership and scale in all our chosen B2B market segments, complementing our strength in Academic markets and creating a platform for growth from 2025 to 2030.” 

Speaking nostalgically about Ascential’s history and heritage, Philip spoke of the company’s roots as newspaper publisher EMAP, which launched in 1887 and its evolution over the years. Philip himself goes back decades with the company, having spent time working on some of its major consumer brands (now owned by other publishers) like Empire Magazine and FHM before joining Cannes Lions in 2006. 

“At the start of this year we unveiled our new brand purpose to take our customers to the heart of what's next – but the truth is we've always been at the heart of what's next,” he said. “In all our forms and through all of the brands we've bought and sold we've brought game changing information to communities of people and fostered the conversations about what counts about what's next for their industries.”

Thanking “every single person” who has worked at Ascential, formerly known as EMAP, over the years, Philip said: “This isn't goodbye. We'll continue to do what we do best, taking our customers to the heart of the action and the heart of what's next, and we plan to do it better than ever. Today's the start of a new chapter for all of us.”