Fortune favours the brave but most brands are scared

The world’s most successful brands are turning uncertainty into a competitive advantage by “boldly going where no brand has gone before”, while most organisations remain paralysed by caution.

That is according to a new study, “The Chaos Advantage”, by FleishmanHillard and Contagious, based on an analysis of recent Cannes Lions and Effie Awards winners, along with a global survey of 1,000 senior marketing and communications leaders, including 200 from the UK.

The research reveals a striking and costly gap: 88% of marketing leaders believe bold creative drives impact, yet most of their organisations still produce mostly safe work.

Initial research was previewed at the 2026 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity by Contagious editorial director Alex Jenkins during his keynote “How to Win in a Volatile World.”

FleishmanHillard and Contagious will host a series of events to explore the findings, provide examples of brands that have leveraged uncertainty as a competitive advantage and highlight modern communications solutions to achieve bolder, business-driving work amid chaos.

The research raises a raft of issues, including the fact that 87% of respondents agree that uncertain environments create opportunities for bold work; in the UK, 94% agree that uncertain environments also create more opportunities for brands to gain share of voice.

In addition, nearly all (97%) UK marketing leaders agree that when competitors pull back, organisations that communicate confidently gain disproportionate advantage.

Meanwhile, 58% say missing opportunities through caution is more common than experiencing negative consequences from bold action; 56% of UK leaders report missed market opportunities as a result of waiting too long to act and 43% have already watched competitors capture share while they hesitated.

In the UK, nearly half (47%) of marketing leaders describe their organisation as currently operating under high or very high uncertainty, compared with 35% globally.

The report reveals that dull content requires significantly more investment to achieve results, with brand conversion dropping 37% and long-term ROI falling 14% when organisations default to uninspired creative.

UK leaders also say playing it safe has cost their organisations differentiation (39%) and competitive advantage (41%). The cost of caution is measured not just in missed opportunities but in lost business impact.

Alex Jenkins said: “The research validates what we’ve seen across award-winning work. Companies growing through uncertainty are those responding with creative conviction rather than hesitation. This is less about recklessness and more about understanding that the operating environment has fundamentally changed and requires a different strategic response.”

FleishmanHillard chief creative officer Americas Ellie Tuck said: “The data makes clear that uncertainty is now the operating condition, not a moment to wait out. Organisations that treat caution as a risk management strategy are actually multiplying their risk. The brands that thrive are the ones taking action despite, and because of, the uncertainty.

“There’s a bigger implication here for marketing and communications leaders. The old marketing playbook was built for a world where brands could control the message. That world is gone.

“Communities decide what’s worth talking about. You can’t buy your way through chaos. You have to know how to move through it. And that’s where modern communications and the ability to predict shifts, earn attention and mobilise influence become a critical engine of modern brand growth. That’s the conversation we want to start.”

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