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Future of Marketing Q1 2026 | A promotional supplement distributed on behalf of Mediaplanet, which takes sole responsibility for its content

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“Marketing runs on trust between customers and brands, and AI can either reinforce or erode it.”

“The future of marketing belongs to teams that can blend technology with trust.”

Chris Daly, Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Marketing

Bryony Graham, Head of Marketing, The British Chambers of Commerce

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The future of marketing lies in the past Let’s get the AI bit out of the way quickly. Yes, AI is making an indelible mark on the planning, execution and measurement of marketing campaigns.

he DMA’s (Data and Marketing Association UK’s) recent Customer Engagement survey of 260 marketers reveals that nearly half think AI will improve the marketer skillset, while two-thirds believe it will drive significant budget efficiencies.

WRITTEN BY Ian Gibbs Data and Insight Director, DMA

The consequences are published in the DMA’s Value of Customer Data report, which reveals a 33% decline in performance marketing effectiveness in the last halfdecade. Previous work from the DMA, based on an analysis of over 1,700 campaigns, provides substantive evidence as to how a focus on the value of customer data, creativity and best practice measurement will turn the tide on declining effectiveness.

Efficiency and effectiveness aren’t the same However, focusing on efficiency alone plays to the mantra of ‘doing more with less’ (i.e. with less marketing budget) How Super Touchpoint planning can help What would benefit the and leads businesses to suffer the very To add to this significant body of work, real opportunity cost of highly efficient be publishing ‘The Value of Super marketing industry more we’ll spend delivering lower levels of revenue Touchpoint Planning’ later in Q1. Super would be to use AI as a and profit overall. What would benefit Touchpoint planning encourages the marketing industry more would be marketers to look beyond chasing tool to defend and grow to use AI as a tool to defend and grow cheap reach and instead consider marketing budgets by building more a myriad of other factors. These marketing budgets. effective marketing comms. include trust, transparency, regulatory But effectiveness will never be built compliance, targeting capabilities, by AI alone. Along with advances in full-funnel effectiveness, emotional automation, real-time analytics and resonance and contextual relevance — big-tech platform power, it’s become abundantly clear that to ascertain how to drive sustainable growth in marketing best-practice campaign planning principles are falling by effectiveness. the wayside. Time-poor marketers are too dependent on These best practice planning principles are nothing new. being spoon-fed algorithm-based campaign plans, which They’ve been around for years, yet are more important now invariably chase cheap reach and short-lived response in than they’ve ever been. favour of long-term loyalty and customer growth.

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Head over to DMA.org.uk to take a deep dive into the vast amount of evidence we’ve accumulated around marketing effectiveness and gear yourself up for an effective future.

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Strategic Sales Manager: Amy Shah | Interim Managing Director: Sarah Muir | Lead Designer: Ellen Cahill | Interim Content Manager: Rachelle Ong | Paid Media Strategist: Jonni Asfaha | All images supplied by Getty Images, unless otherwise specified | All images supplied by Gettyimages, unless otherwise specified | Contact information: uk.info@mediaplanet.com or +44 (0) 203 642 0737

The leadership challenge: harnessing AI without losing trust Artificial intelligence is no longer a marketing novelty — it’s a strategic necessity. The rapid evolution of AI is reshaping leadership, demanding more than technical fluency.

oday’s leaders must balance data-driven decisionmaking with ethical responsibility and strategic foresight. Simply adopting AI tools isn’t enough; brands must use AI to build trust, strengthen credibility and drive sustainable growth.

WRITTEN BY Chris Daly Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Marketing

Building organisational capability For today’s marketing leaders, embracing AI is central to future-proofing organisations. This requires a mindset shift: AI isn’t a shortcut to scale but a strategic capability integrated with core business functions and guided by clear ethical principles. From automating segmentation to personalising campaigns, AI is embedded in modern marketing. Yet, while AI processes data at speed, it lacks cultural nuance and foresight. Without human judgment, biased data can erode trust — a loss that’s hard to recover. Marketing has always been about human insight and creativity, not algorithms alone. The future lies in harnessing both AI and human strengths. Without leadership and oversight, brands risk producing content without meaningful experience — something that will never resonate. Futureproofing for growth Marketers must evolve, and leadership is key to guiding teams through this transformation. Building a culture of continuous learning and equipping teams with the right skills is essential for growth, while maintaining integrity and professionalism. At the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), we’ve developed global standards, guiding principles for AI

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marketing and leading training to help leaders leverage AI responsibly and unlock organisational potential. Trust: the cornerstone of marketing Marketing runs on trust between customers and brands, and AI can either reinforce or erode it. Research shows 62% of consumers trust brands more when they’re transparent about AI use, and most want AI-generated content clearly labelled.1 Transparency is no longer a technical detail — it’s a mainstream expectation. Brands that fail to meet this risk reputational damage. Those that embrace openness, invest in human oversight and respect privacy will sustain loyalty and command market advantage. AI as a co-pilot The future belongs to leaders who see AI as a co-pilot — enhancing human insight, sharpening decisions and deepening customer understanding while ensuring accountability and transparency. This is about amplifying ideas, not automating them. For marketing leaders, AI is no longer a question of curiosity or competitive advantage; it’s a prerequisite for relevance. With responsible AI now a key commercial differentiator, brands that embrace its power, under the guidance of professional standards and clear ethical frameworks, will be the ones that define the future of meaningful marketing. References: 1. Saint Peter, C. (2025). Global consumers demand greater AI transparency and explainability from businesses, according to RWS research. rws.

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‘Evidence-based creativity’ — the ability to combine human creativity with AI-driven insights — is emerging as the defining capability of modern marketers.

How AI can help make marketers become more human A new study gives insight into how marketers can leverage AI to encourage ‘evidence-based creativity,’ which combines human creativity with insights from AI.

C WRITTEN BY Kemberly Gong Vice President Product Marketing, Contentful

Paid for by Contentful

ontentful, in partnership with Atlantic Insights, The Atlantic’s marketing research division, conducted a new study, When Machines Make Marketers More Human,1 challenging the notion that AI will replace many marketing functions. Instead, it demonstrates how AI can amplify marketers’ effectiveness, creativity and impact. The research finds that ‘evidencebased creativity’ — the ability to combine human creativity with AI-driven insights — is emerging as the defining capability of modern marketers, and is becoming essential to producing, testing and scaling ideas with measurable impact. Research methodologies include: quantitative survey of 425 marketing decision-makers across industries, company sizes and regions; tenday diary studies with marketing professionals using AI tools in a real workflow; and in-depth interviews with executives and team leads to contextualise results and highlight emerging best practices. Here are the key messages from the study. AI making marketers more human Brilliant marketers don’t just use AI to produce more content. They see it as a catalyst to guide more informed decisions, move ideas from concept to market faster and amplify rather than replace their own human creativity.

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Evidence-based creativity: must-have skill set for modern marketers The ability to combine human creativity with AI-driven insights is becoming essential to producing, testing and scaling ideas with measurable impact. The marketing skills that matter most today are data analysis and interpretation (46%) and digital experience design (40%), followed by personalisation strategy (37%) and writing for AI tools (37%). New generation of ‘full-stack’ marketers on the rise Today’s marketers are fluent in AI-enabled workflows, skilled at writing effective prompts, navigating diverse technology stacks and embedding AI tools into daily operations. Nearly half of marketers report using both AI copilots in productivity software (49%) and generative tools for content creation (48%), underscoring how quickly these tools are becoming part of the day-to-day workflow.1 AI changing how work gets done, but not who does it (yet) Many marketing teams have moved beyond transformation into optimisation, but AI hasn’t categorically changed the amount of work on their plates. While 56% cite faster content creation as a meaningful result, only 18% report reduced dependence on other teams, and just 33% see greater content output with fewer resources.1

Integration, not experimentation, drives ROI Almost half of marketing leaders (40%) are concerned about measuring the effectiveness (ROI) of their investment in AI.1 The most successful teams optimise and connect existing stacks (6 to 10 tools on average), shifting from ad hoc pilots to systematic workflows that deliver measurable impact.1 AI use in marketing hasn’t reached its full potential We are facing an ‘optimismexecution gap’ when it comes to AI implementation in marketing. Almost all CMOs, at 96%, are prioritising AI adoption, but only 65% are making meaningful investments, demonstrating that teams are testing with intent but haven’t rushed to full deployment.1 Marketers are facing an agility paradox Teams want to move fast and deliver quality: 40% of marketers say “fast and efficient execution” defines success, while 42% say it’s “high content quality and consistency.” Nearly half of marketers, at 48%, are looking to AI-powered content tools to help them find a middle ground.

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References: 1. Atlantic Rethink & Contentful. (2025). When machines make marketers more human. https://shorturl.at/38f9r.

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AI & sustainability: levelling up marketing campaigns for UK small businesses

Why capability, not shiny tools, will drive B2B marketing success

Marketing in the age of AI: from hype to hard results

Small businesses are the heart of the UK economy, innovating, creating jobs and anchoring communities. Yet, many are navigating a complex marketing landscape with limited time, budgets and support.

Marketing is no longer a support function, but an engine of growth, guiding organisations on where to compete, how to differentiate and build trust when trust is harder to retain.

AI is no longer something marketers are “keeping an eye on.” It’s already here — helping to write copy, personalise campaigns, analyse performance and predict what customers might want next.

s we look to the future of small business marketing, two forces stand out, already reshaping how small firms grow: artificial intelligence and sustainability. AI: one of the most significant opportunities for small businesses According to the 2025 Small Business Britain and BT Business ‘AI Big Survey’1, nearly two-thirds (62%) of UK small businesses already use AI, most commonly in marketing (47%). It’s typically used to help create content, understand customers, personalise communications and automate timeconsuming tasks. For many founders, AI has become a ‘silent team member,’ freeing up precious hours and enabling smarter, more efficient marketing without huge budgets. It’s no surprise that 60% of small businesses now believe AI will be essential to survival and growth within the next five years.1 However, the future must be inclusive. AI’s benefits must be accessible to every small business owner, regardless of size, location or background. With the right interventions, AI can empower all entrepreneurs to thrive, not just survive. How sustainability is also shaping the future of small business marketing Too often framed as a cost or compliance exercise, sustainability is in fact a major commercial opportunity. Small businesses are uniquely positioned to act quickly, build trust, and communicate authentically with increasingly values-driven customers. Insights from the Government-backed Willow Review2, which I co-chaired, found that over half of SMEs benefit financially from sustainability practices — allowing them to cut costs, reach new markets and build stronger relationships with customers and employees alike. AI and sustainability are deeply connected. AI can help small businesses measure impact, reduce waste, optimise operations and tell credible stories, converting purpose into performance. The future of small business marketing will belong to those who embrace both AI and sustainability, not just to keep up, but to build more inclusive, resilient and future-ready businesses. References: 1. Small Business Britain & BT Business. (2025). The AI Opportunity for Small Business. 2. The Willow Review.

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arketing’s role as the customer’s voice is more important than ever. AI can support pattern recognition, automate research and enrich decision-making, but it cannot advocate for customer needs or advise on feelings and subtle internal factors. Marketers translate behaviour into strategies that resonate in the real world, ensuring technology investments enhance rather than distance organisations from their audience. AI driving change across customer journey The way we search, discover and evaluate solutions is shifting from keywords to conversational queries. We’re entering a prompt-driven future where AI shapes decisions more than traditional search results. The prize for marketers who adapt to this transformation is significant. Hyperpersonalisation — tailoring content, experiences and journeys in real time — is becoming the next frontier of competitive advantage. AI can help marketers deliver targeted insight to sales teams, scale account-specific content and create adaptive journeys that respond to role, need and intent. But technology alone is insufficient. Success requires marketers who understand behaviour, commercial context and brand integrity. Despite AI’s growing sophistication, B2B sales still hinge on relationships — something no machine can manufacture. AI can support and strengthen these relationships, but it cannot replace the people who build them. Investing in teams that can maximise new technologies Organisations must ensure teams have the soft skills, judgement and confidence to use tools effectively. CIM helps organisations align capability with strategy, build practical skills and raise standards so marketing can play its full role in driving growth. It’s telling that while organisations increase AI investment, many are also encouraging marketers to return to the office more frequently. Leaders know that collaboration, creativity and innovation are social functions. AI can automate tasks, but it cannot generate the collective energy that drives marketing forward. As the hype fades, a simple truth remains: AI cannot compensate for weak strategy or underpowered B2B marketing teams. Those who invest in these human capabilities won’t just adapt to the future of marketing; they’ll shape it.

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Michelle Ovens, CBE CEO, Founder, Small Business Britain

James Sutton (FRSA, FCIM, CMktr) Strategy and Commercial Director, CIM

he real question for the sector isn’t whether AI will change marketing, but how quickly businesses can turn that change into an advantage. Data from the British Chambers of Commerce shows 60% of firms in the B2B services sector, including marketing businesses, are using AI to some or a great extent.1 How AI is aiding human marketers At its best, AI frees marketers to focus on what humans do best. It takes on the heavy lifting — crunching data, spotting patterns, testing variants at speed, while people bring creativity, judgement and empathy. Used well, that combination can sharpen targeting, improve ROI and make campaigns feel more relevant rather than automated. Many small firms feel conflicted and worry about falling behind. Concerns about data quality, brand voice, IP, ethics and skill gaps are still unresolved for many teams. That’s why the next phase of AI in marketing matters more than the first. We’re moving from experimentation to expectation. Clients and customers increasingly assume smarter personalisation, quicker responses and consistent experiences across channels. How to fully leverage AI The good news is that this isn’t about having the biggest budget or the most advanced tools. It’s about confidence, capability and knowing where AI can genuinely add value to your business. That means investing in people as much as platforms, and making sure leaders understand both the potential and the limits of the technology. Across the business community, we’re seeing a growing appetite for practical, hands-on support, not just theory or hype. Initiatives like the British Chambers of Commerce’s AI Academy with Pair are helping firms build real-world understanding, so marketing teams can use AI responsibly, creatively and with commercial impact. The future of marketing belongs to teams that can blend technology with trust, automation with authenticity and insight with imagination. Reference: 1. Small Business Britain & BT Business. (2025). The AI Opportunity for Small Business. https://shorturl.at/NzxRW.

WRITTEN BY Bryony Graham, Head of Marketing, The British Chambers of Commerce

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The future of marketing’s gold dust

The future of marketing isn’t just AI; it’s human judgment AI will give marketers unprecedented information and tools. The challenge is turning that information into knowledge, and knowledge into wisdom.

or the past two years, AI has dominated industry conversations. But what matters isn’t the technology itself, but its possibilities for brands, media and audiences. Across industries, 55% of CEOs identify technology and AI as the biggest driver of future competitiveness.1 Yet many organisations remain uncertain about how those investments will translate into real impact. That tension captures where marketing stands today: enormous opportunity but still defining what the next era will look like. New marketing ecosystem In the UK, 82% of media executives expect AI to disrupt operations, while 76% believe it will transform content development, and more than half expect significant changes to advertising revenue models.1 Some changes are happening in emerging marketing ecosystems. Streaming platforms, often referred to as TV+, are bringing digital targeting and measurement to television. Retail media networks are transforming retailers into advertising platforms, allowing brands to reach consumers closer to the moment of purchase. AI is also accelerating the growth of the creator economy. The tools required to produce and distribute media are becoming dramatically more accessible. Independent creators and smaller publishers can now reach global audiences without the infrastructure traditional media once required. We’re already seeing the shift. The share of music streaming attributed to independent creators has grown from 13% in 2017 to 29% in 2024, illustrating how technology can redistribute influence across the media ecosystem.1 For marketers, this means a future where partnerships with creators, platforms and communities become increasingly important. From data to decisions At IAB UK’s annual Leadership Summit, Ogilvy’s Amelia Torode described the future of marketing as an era of accelerating acceleration. AI is generating more information than ever, but information alone isn’t insight. Because while AI will deliver more data, more automation and optimisation, the real competitive advantage will come from the ability to interpret signals, make sense of complexity and decide what matters. The future of marketing will not just be defined by AI, but by the human judgment that guides it. References: 1. Wyman, O. (2026). IAB UK Leadership Summit 2026.

In an industry obsessed with novelty, marketers often overlook their most valuable asset. Evidence suggests the real gold dust is far older...

he 150th anniversary of the world’s first-ever registered trademark passed without fanfare on January 1st this year. The legal protection granted to Bass Ale’s red triangle — as later depicted in Edouard Manet’s A Bar at the FoliesBergere — must have felt like the future of marketing on that New Year’s Day in 1876. (A company employee queued overnight to be first in line.) A century and a half later — and for the turmoil of 2026 — it remains a historical marker that might inform the future of marketing. The lure of the next big thing There’s no shortage of new trends, tech or technique in marketing. Its practitioners are pathologically but sometimes inadvisedly drawn to the Next Big Thing. “Like dogs that bark at every passing car,” in the words of David Wheldon, now President of the World Federation of Advertisers. Pokémon Go and QR codes once claimed the future. Today, creators and AI wear the crown, and both will likely enjoy longer reigns. But even they’ll be outlived by — or at least understood in the context of — eternal truths about marketing and, in turn, humans. The future of marketing will still be the successful alignment of an organisation with the needs and wants of its audience. A timeless pursuit, made timely. Despite all the talk of ‘agentic,’ the future of marketing will still — I contend — hinge on brands. Humans use brands to simplify choices and identify their tribe, while organisations build them to win enduring competitive advantage. (The recent advertising arms race among AI brands is the latest example, even if it’s a counter-intuitive example.) Central role of trust Buried within the unfashionable talk of brand-building as the future of marketing lies an even older notion: that trust may be one of the most important things a brand-owner can pursue and earn. In an era when much marketing effort and reporting have been preoccupied with vanity metrics and dubious proxies, the business case for trust has never been stronger.

WRITTEN BY WRITTEN BY

Jon Mew CEO, IAB UK

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Laurence Green Director of Effectiveness, IPA

Responsibility: the heart of advertising’s mission Building public confidence in advertising was one advertising organisation’s founding mission a century ago. It matters more than ever as we consider the role and contribution of responsible advertising today.

ome 3.5 million UK businesses invest in advertising yearly to help them grow, supporting 1.7 million jobs and contributing £109 billion to the economy.1 But responsible advertising does more, and there are several reasons why putting responsibility and trust at the heart of campaigns is vital. What businesses can do Research shows that when creative work is engaging and enjoyable, people are significantly more likely to trust it.2 New analysis also shows that trust-building advertising campaigns are highly effective at driving business growth, outperforming across business metrics and delivering stronger branding gains.3 As we mark our centenary, the Advertising Association is placing renewed emphasis on the role that public trust plays in advertising. We’ve seen the publication of Trusted Advertising by Matt Bourn and James Best CBE, providing a roadmap for practitioners to put trust at the heart of campaigns, and we’ll publish a new Trust Action Plan for the industry in May. AI’s benefits in advertising Our AI Best Practice Guide, developed as part of the DCMS Online Advertising Taskforce, sets out recommendations for using Generative AI responsibly. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has also been using AI with its Active Ad Monitoring system, helping to identify non-compliant online ads faster. Twentyeight million ads were scanned in 2024 — a tenfold increase from last year. Meanwhile, the industry has been raising awareness of the ASA’s work through a UK-wide, integrated advertising campaign, which has been proven to grow public trust in ads. By emphasising the importance of trust in advertising, supporting collective initiatives and backing a strong regulator, we aim to ensure advertising’s future contribution continues to be responsible, delivering value for people and businesses alike. References: 1. AA. (2025). New report shows UK economic growth and jobs powered by advertising investment. https://shorturl.at/LuVbP. 2. AA. (2026). New research shows the public’s trust in advertising at highest level in five years – but their relationship with it is increasingly complex. https://shorturl.at/pJj2g. 3. IPA. (2026). Trust-building advertising delivers stronger business growth. https://shorturl.at/TDHvT.

Since 1926, we’ve worked to build public trust and demonstrate how advertising supports innovation, fosters healthy competition and generates jobs. Check out our Best Practice Guide for the Responsible Use of Generative AI in Advertising here: adassoc.org.uk/our-work/best-practice-guide-forthe-responsible-use-of-generative-ai-in-advertising.

WRITTEN BY

Stephen Woodford CEO, Advertising Association

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