Data’s increasing importance - Kirsten, Head of Client Services

Data is the foundation of marketing - without it, we’d struggle to know what our audiences are doing, where they’re doing it, and how we can give them what they want. It’ll still be crucial in 2026, but what will be just as important is choosing the right data.

In modern marketing, there’s data on just about every single aspect of customer and brand behaviour, so 2026 will be all about drilling down into it and finding those invaluable insights that could otherwise get buried under the masses of information at our disposal.

The prominence of podcast advertising - Matt, Lead Technical Designer

If you’re one of the millions of people who listen to podcasts on a daily basis, you’ll be no stranger to ‘a word from our sponsors’ or a pre-loaded advert from the hosting platform’s partners. But despite the immense popularity of the medium, podcast ads still lag behind social media when it comes to popularity with marketers.

In 2026, that could change. As more people tap into the personal, conversational feel of podcasts, brands that properly leverage these marketing opportunities could see real results. Advertising directly into the ears of an engaged audience who know and trust the brand of the podcast they're listening to could be a goldmine for those who get it right.

Increasing requests for AI collaboration - Pawel, Designer/Animator

It’s hardly bold to predict that AI is going to play a bigger role in marketing next year, but we think part of its increased prominence will come from client requests, rather than creative or strategic decisions. We’ve already used AI as a collaborative tool for things like voiceovers at the request of clients, and that’s likely to become more common next year. Crucially, it’ll be a collaborative process between humans and AI - there’s still so much we can do that the technology can’t.

The ascent of AI agents - Marcin, Head of New Business

The influence of artificial intelligence in marketing is also going to include ‘AI agents’. At the moment, people’s understanding of what AI can do for productivity is quite limited, and once those capabilities are understood, we’ll start to see AI used for more tasks. Things like booking events or sending out emails will be handled automatically, which will free people up for more complex, time-consuming jobs.

An increase in experiential marketing - Gemma, Senior Account Executive

Whilst the rise in AI will inevitably lead to increased usage, we think it’ll also strengthen people’s need for human connection and interaction. Experiential campaigns that merge out-of-home (OOH) ads with smart devices, connected TV campaigns - things that people can take part in beyond simply watching or reading an ad - are mediums to look out for in 2026.

Portable AI is going places - Annabel, Junior Planner

We’ve seen glimpses of portable AI tech in the mainstream already, with Apple’s new AirPods boasting real-time AI translation functionality. It’s likely that plenty of other brands will follow suit with transportable, wearable AI-powered technology that’ll change how we interact with the world around us. Pens, glasses (like Meta), and other tech will give us more direct access to AI’s capabilities, rather than limiting it to our computers, phones, and laptops.

Proof will be key in brand strategy - Katie, Senior Planner

We recently wrote about how important creative testing is going to be in 2026, and in all our recent research, we’ve seen a clear pattern: consumers want proof. They’re refusing to take brand claims at face value, whether relating to purpose, innovation, sustainability, inclusion or product performance. There’s increasing expectation for brands to demonstrate their promises through visible, measurable actions, and our strategies and creative need to shift and align with that.

In 2026, the brands that truly stand up, and stand out, won’t be the ones making the boldest statements, but the ones whose actions continually validate what they say.

Snapchat will streak ahead - Katie, Social Media and Content Manager

Next year could be Snapchat’s year. It’s been around for ages, but it’s never quite been top of the pile, overshadowed by contemporaries like Meta, Instagram, and TikTok. But the underlying stats show a platform that has a seriously loyal audience - it has one of the highest market penetrations for Gen-Z and Gen Alpha in the UK - and one of the lowest CPA rates of its peers.

Couple this performance with its superb AI and AR tools, which have helped generate more than 5 trillion views of lenses built in its Lens Studio, and Snapchat is well equipped to make serious moves in 2026.