0.1 DIVERSITY. Of the creative kind.
The phrase on every marketer’s lips at the moment is creative diversity.
But not just more. More + different.
Test, learn, iterate, scale. Let your creative find your audience instead of your audience to find your creative.
These aren’t necessarily new ideas, but in 2026 they’re mandatory. Meaning, if you’re not creating diverse creativity at scale, you’ll lose out to the algorithms, the audience will move on and consumer behaviour will leave you behind.
TAKE ACTION: If your creative production process isn’t built to generate diverse assets at scale, make this your top priority. Yesterday would be ideal, but today works too.
02. Influencer Marketing grows up
It’s no secret that Influencer Marketing hit an all-time high in 2025. But 2026 is the year that it evolves – or gets cleaned up.
What was once the Wild West of marketing is about to get some guardrails. The faux financial experts, the spam course sellers, the engagement hackers – they’re all in the firing line. Platforms, brands and potentially regulators will be asking; “who are these people, and why are we giving them money?”
TAKE ACTION: Audit your Influencer roster. Are they creating genuine, authentic content or do they just have a lot of followers? Because in 2026, only one of those things will matter. Build your strategy accordingly.
03. Media Operations gets a makeover
The biggest shift in media in 2026 won’t be in media strategy, but in media ops.
AI is coming for the media buyer role. Though not to eliminate it entirely, but to transform it. The transactional parts (bidding, optimisations, builds) are increasingly automated. And what’s left is strategy. And specifically creative strategy (see above).
Meanwhile, fast growing social platforms will continue nipping at the heels of the big players.
TAKE ACTION: Take a hard look at your set up. Is it aligned with where the industry is going, or where it used to be?
04. MMM is funding the brand building comeback
We know that MMM adoption is rising, and with it, marketers are finally getting the data they need to make confident decisions based on what’s actually working.
So 2026 will see a renewed investment in upper funnel channels. TV, OOH, Podcasts, Partnerships – all those channels that don’t fit neatly into click-based attribution are coming back into the spotlight, because surprise, surprise…brand building matters and now we can prove it.
TAKE ACTION: If you’re not already embracing MMM measurement, start now. Full-Funnel measurement is the key to unlocking growth opportunities you’ve been leaving on the table.
05. GEO is the new SEO
The acronym explosion in search has been confusing to say the least, though one seems to be sticking around: GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)
As generative engines continue to rival traditional search engines, optimising for AI-generated answers will dominate the conversation in 2026. New roles, new agencies, new playbooks will come – all focused on making sure your brand shows up in these new environments.
Traditional SEO definitely isn’t dead, but it’s no longer what it used to be.
TAKE ACTION: Start treating GEO with the same seriousness you’ve given SEO for the last decade. And if you haven’t even been doing that, then start immediately. Experiment, test and figure out how your brand can show up in generative results before your competitors do.
