Q2 2026 Wrapped: Three Cannes Lions for FireCatchers, New Campaign Formats and Market Insights

Q2 2026 gave us one of the biggest reasons to celebrate this year: three Cannes Lions for FireCatchers, created by Havas Play for the French fire service and powered by inStreamly technology. Throughout the quarter, we also worked with partners on campaigns across markets around the world. The 33 Brand Lift Studies completed in the first half of the year gave us the numbers behind that work, with average uplifts across ad recall, brand affinity, brand recall, consideration and other key brand metrics.

The work took several forms. Betclic campaign assets were prepared to respond to live football events. We worked on broader Gaming 360 projects connecting creators, games, rewards and offline activity. We also published research on Romanian streaming audiences and invited Pyrkon visitors to try streaming for themselves.

Here is what happened in Q2 2026.

FireCatchers, created by Havas Play for the Fédération nationale des sapeurs-pompiers de France, received three awards at Cannes Lions 2026: a Silver Lion and a Bronze Lion in Media, as well as a Bronze Lion in Brand Experience & Activation.

The campaign replaced Twitch’s usual “Starting Soon” screens with live footage from cameras covering high-risk forest areas in France. Viewers could report suspicious smoke in chat. When several viewers flagged the same event, the alert could be passed to the Departmental Operational Fire and Rescue Center, known as CODIS.

Powered by our technology, the campaign brought the live feeds to 646 streamers and mobilised communities totalling nearly 600,000 followers. According to Havas Media Network, viewers contributed 2,190 hours of active surveillance. Our role covered the technical infrastructure, distribution of the live feeds and streamer activation.

The Cannes recognition followed another strong result at The One Show 2026, where FireCatchers received one Gold Pencil in the Livestream category and three Bronze Pencils.

Campaign delivery tells us how many people a campaign reached. Brand Lift Studies help us understand what changed after that exposure.

Across Q1 and Q2 2026, we completed 33 Brand Lift Studies. The average uplift across the measured campaigns was:

These are first-half results, covering campaigns from both Q1 and Q2. Taken together, they give us a broader evidence base than any single case study. They also help teams compare creative approaches and identify which campaign elements should be developed further.

The largest average changes appeared in ad recall, brand affinity and brand recall. This suggests that livestream integrations can support both immediate campaign recognition and the longer-term relationship between a brand and its audience.

Q2 took our campaign work into gaming communities across nine markets and regions. Together with local partners, we launched activity in Japan, Ukraine, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Central America.

The same quarter included campaigns for Audi, Samsung, Logitech, Warner Bros., Spotify, Visa, McDonald’s, KFC, Doritos and DAZN. The briefs ranged from consumer electronics and entertainment releases to FMCG, financial services and campaigns connected with the 2026 World Cup.

Altogether, our partners launched around 50 campaigns during the quarter. Each market required its own choices around creators, language, timing and platform mix. Local partners provided that market context, while our technology supported campaign delivery and reporting.

The briefs reaching New Game + are becoming more specific. The starting point is increasingly a business objective, such as building attention, encouraging participation or connecting digital activity with purchase, followed by a discussion about the right role for gaming.

Żabka’s Triki project is one example from Q2. Triki is a small motion-controlled device that connects with games inside the Żappka app. The wider product experience combines mobile play with rewards that can be used in Żabka’s retail ecosystem.

New Game + supported campaign activity around Triki through a mix of streamer participation, dedicated game rooms, competition, rewards and offline elements. Each part had a defined role: creators introduced the experience, gameplay gave people a reason to return, and rewards connected activity in the app with Żabka’s wider offer.

The project also shows why Gaming 360 planning needs to begin with the whole user journey. A livestream, an in-app game, a physical device and an in-store benefit work differently, but the audience should experience them as parts of one programme.

Our work with FUSE on Philips OneBlade continued in Q2 with another European streaming flight connected with Body Royale, the brand’s Fortnite experience.

The map turns body grooming into a game mechanic inside a playable virtual body. The concept first launched in 2025 and was extended through creators, tournaments and local campaign activity. inStreamly’s role has focused on supporting the livestreaming rollout across European markets.

The wider Body Royale project received major industry recognition during Q2. It won Best Use of Gaming at the Campaign Tech Awards 2026 and received two Silver awards at The Drum Awards.

The Drum published case study in which they stated the wider campaign generated 55,000 hours of gameplay in 2025, increased consideration by 11% and contributed to 28% year-on-year sales growth among men aged 18-30.

The 2026 continuation demonstrates how an established gaming concept can support further market activations. The central experience remains consistent, while creator selection, media activity and execution can be adapted locally.

Market expansion requires local audience data. In Q2, we published a study based on responses from 200 Romanian stream viewers and 57 Romanian streamers.

The viewing habits were substantial:

The study also identified an important point for media planning. 49.5% of respondents use ad blockers, while 64.5% react positively to advertising integrated into streams. The context, the creator relationship and the way a sponsorship appears all influence how the message is received.

Platform use also differs between viewers and streamers. Twitch was the leading platform among surveyed viewers at 51.5%, followed by Kick at 31% and YouTube at 17.5%. Among surveyed streamers, Twitch also led, while YouTube had a larger share than Kick.

A Romania-specific campaign therefore needs a platform mix based on the local audience rather than a default plan carried over from another market.

In June, we created our first physical Streamer Zone at Pyrkon, Poland’s largest fantasy convention. Over three days, nearly 100 visitors sat down at a fully equipped setup and tried livestreaming.

Some participants were already considering creating content. Others were simply curious about what happens behind a live broadcast. The format let them test the setup, speak with people familiar with streaming and experience the role of a creator in a low-pressure environment.

The zone also hosted creator meet-ups and live programming on the inStreamly and Streamerzy.pl Twitch channels. Across the event, the two channels carried around 20 hours of broadcasts.

For our team, the value of the project came from direct conversations. Visitors asked practical questions about equipment, confidence on camera, building a community and getting started. Those conversations will help us plan future creator support and offline streaming formats.

FireCatchers showed how livestream infrastructure and creator communities can support a public-service goal. Interactive campaign mechanics work best when participation is simple and the result is visible. Measurement needs to be planned alongside the campaign, as shown by the 33 Brand Lift Studies completed across the first half of 2026. International activity needs local research and local partners. Creator feedback remains essential in both product development and campaign design.

In Q3, we will continue applying these lessons across inStreamly and New Game +: building campaign formats around live behaviour, improving how we measure their effect, and planning gaming activity around the way each community actually watches, plays and participates.