27 marketing trends and predictions for 2026

Surveying what’s ahead for marketing in 2026, there are plenty of familiar challenges (reaching Gen Z customers, rethinking in-store brand experiences, maximizing retail media ROI, boosting consumer engagement), new possibilities (AI-powered search, packaging innovation, the shifting balance of power in the agency world) and more than few unknowns (the impact of digital fatigue, the future of so-called retail holidays, the true value of human connection in an increasingly automated ecosystem). Not sure what to expect in marketing this year? Here are 27 marketing trends and predictions to look out for in 2026, courtesy of Quad’s team of experts.

Things are getting smaller in 2026. AI is forging the now molten holding companies and reshaping them to the size and scale they need to be in the future. They will all eventually be forced to be smaller, nimbler and more specialized (again). Also, audiences are no longer for mass reach. They will be micro-sized, where one perfectly crafted message reaches only one target. The only thing getting bigger in 2026 is the impact that tech will have on marketing.
—Josh Golden, Chief Marketing Officer

Consumers want relief from digital overload on their devices. In-store experiences uniquely meet this need — especially when retailers prioritize multi-sensory interactions. In 2026, stores will grow as experiential destinations where customers — especially Gen Z and Millennials — physically interact with products, driving “retail tourism.” Research conducted by The Harris Poll and presented by Quad quantifies this “return of touch,” and found that 76% of Americans connect more deeply with brands through in-person retail experiences. Brands will look to build trust through in-person interactions and serendipitous discovery that screens can’t replicate. Retailers will also foster loyalty with shareable in-person experiences, balancing digital convenience with tactile engagement.
—Kelly Burt, VP Sales & Administration, In-Store

As concerns about data usage rise, resilient, first-party data will become a non-negotiable foundation for effective advertising. This shift will accelerate the adoption of contextual and consent-driven strategies. Micro-influencers will gain even greater influence, offering relevance and relatability at a time when AI-generated content becomes more common. Their human credibility will help brands maintain trust and differentiate in an increasingly automated landscape.
—Kristin “KJ” Jones, SVP of Integrated Media Strategy and Client Development at Rise, a Quad agency

As generative AI content floods every channel, more customers will gravitate toward brands that feel unmistakably human. In 2026, marketing authenticity will show up through lived storytelling, cultural truth and creator or employee voices that reflect real experience — not manufactured polish. Brands that embrace this shift will cut through the noise and build durable connections in a world optimized for automation.
—Marcus Lancaster, VP, Strategic Accounts

AI’s disruption of the industry will gather pace. Digital publishers will increasingly wall their content to stop AI-training bleed (or license to the AI models) and offer limited-edition print runs to encourage more paid subscriptions (see The Onion). Open-web programmatic will contract as more people find their answers in AI. AR (yes, AR) will see a resurgence as the Warby-Parker and Google collaboration hits the market. Expect active debate in the U.S. as other countries look to follow Australia’s social media ban for children under 16 years old.
—Joshua Lowcock, President of Media, Quad

In 2026, AI-powered assistants could become the new gatekeepers of brand discovery and purchase decisions. Consumers are increasingly turning to AI agents embedded in browsers and apps — think Google’s AI Overviews and Amazon’s Rufus — to search, compare and even purchase products on their behalf. This shift means marketers must optimize not just for people, but for the algorithms guiding them. To stay visible, brands will need to embrace “AI visibility” strategies, including machine-readable content and generative engine optimization (GEO). However, marketers have little insight into how they rank or surface brand content across the LLM landscape. This lack of transparency makes strategizing even more difficult. Marketers who fail to adapt and stay agile risk becoming invisible to both bots and buyers.
—Garon Benner, Group Director of AI

AI agents are becoming defaults everywhere — from filtering discovery for consumers (Apple Intelligence, Alexa+, Spotify’s AI DJ) to generating marketing creative and optimizing ad serve. Overreliance on these systems risks eroding brand distinctiveness and steering performance toward broad, modeled efficiencies rather than real business outcomes. Marketers will need to be clear about who their customer is and what their goals are, then use this knowledge to audit AI-driven outcomes consistently to ensure the technology is serving their strategy rather than steering it.
—Natalia Horst, Group Media Director at Rise, a Quad agency

In 2026, retailers must redefine what “modern” retail means to them. With established e-commerce and loyalty offerings now in place, the industry will now need to take a more defined and disciplined approach around retail media inclusive of in-store and on-site/off-site. CPGs are fully on the retail media train. But retailers need to lean in and use the CPG investments they receive to drive incremental case movement. Disruption to local trade, regional shopper and brand investment is here. My message to retailers is: Embrace it to better serve your shoppers — and your business.
—Kevin Bridgewater, Senior VP, Strategic Retail Solutions

In many cases, direct mail works best when meshed with other channels, something that nearly all marketing execs now understand. This year, brands and direct marketers will continue to expand triggered direct mail based on consumer behavior, from retargeting website visitors or cart abandoners to more sophisticated audience targeting across the customer journey. An increasingly rich vein of consumer data will bring elements of hyper-personalization to these types of campaigns: Brands will move toward integrated, orchestrated multichannel direct marketing that leverages dynamic customization for text, images, promo offers and more.
—John Puterbaugh, VP, Analytics, Advanced Media and Innovation

This will be the year we see the industry fully shift from siloed notions of TV versus short-form video to a more holistic ideal of “share of all video.” With moves like Netflix’s potential acquisition of Warner Bros., HBO and HBO Max, it’s clear that the competition isn’t just between streaming platforms but all forms of video content, including massive platforms like YouTube and TikTok. In other words, consumers don’t distinguish between types of video; they just see it all as time spent watching, and in 2026, we as an industry will finally start planning that way.
—Nikki Hill, VP, Connections Strategy at Rise, a Quad agency

A big marketing trend to watch in 2026 is the shift toward “paperization” — brands swapping out plastic for paper-based packaging. We’re seeing this move from plastic thermoform to all-paper alternatives across categories, including lip balms and batteries. These will be disruptive changes that get shoppers’ attention. As this shift becomes more common, consumers will increasingly consider paper packaging the new norm for eco-friendly products — and they’ll gravitate toward brands that authentically lean into this progression.
—Shannon Anderson, Director of Client Research, Accelerated Marketing Insights by Quad

In 2026, SEO will continue to be less about traffic generation and more about earning inclusion in AI-powered pathways to purchase. With consumers shifting from “Google it” to “ChatGPT it,” marketers will need to ensure their content is structured, validated and easily understood by AI systems. Winning brands won’t just rank; they’ll become the preferred source cited, summarized and transacted through AI agents.
—Jalen Jennings, Director, Investment Search & SEO at Rise, a Quad agency

As consumers continue to seek physical validation before they buy, brands will incorporate more sensory-rich activations into their in-store displays — immersive textures, tactile demos, sounds cues and scent triggers (e.g., Pura’s in-store displays that feature interactive sampling of the diffuser oil). This will not only provide real-world proof of quality but increase confidence in purchase decisions.
—Raquel Hudson, Director of Product Marketing, Creative and Production

Holding companies will continue to shed senior talent to manage their margins, which will lead to greater client instability, a volatile new business market and another wave of startup agencies helmed by top talent.
—Tim Maleeny, Chief Client Strategy & Integration Officer and President of Quad Agency Solutions

Consumers are no longer responding to transactional outreach — they’re gravitating toward brands that show up with empathy, community and continuity. When it comes to health, meaningful engagement happens in shared spaces: patient communities, affinity pop-ups, provider collaboratives and even cross-industry partnerships that dissolve traditional silos. These aren’t “nice to have” moments; they’re strategic touchpoints that build trust, loyalty and long-term brand equity. As AI and automation scale the mechanics of marketing this year, the brands that stand out will be those that prioritize human connection as intentionally as they measure clicks, conversions and cost per lead.
—Jennifer Hickman, VP, Business Development

As societal norms feel more fluid than ever — reflected in everything from political climates to changing social expectations — consumers are no longer anchored by traditional brand legacies and loyalties. Brands will need fresh ways to earn trust and credibility this year because younger generations, including Gen Z, see fewer boundaries and are less tied to institutional names.
—Nikki Hill, VP, Connections Strategy at Rise, a Quad agency

Amazon has been trailing behind Google and Meta in terms of targeting capabilities, but started inching toward parity in 2025, when it rolled out audience bid modifiers. Currently, its capabilities are limited to bidding on one audience at a time, but that will soon change: This year, Amazon is expected to blow this feature out into a complete audience bidding tool. Since it will surely rely on Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), there’s a good chance that access to such a powerful feature won’t be free. Even so, marketers will be hard-pressed to forego this kind of powerful optimization.
—Blake Kidd, Group Media Director at Rise, a Quad Agency

With the end of Google’s Privacy Sandbox and new behavioral signals opening up to fuel audience targeting, we’re seeing brands begin to seriously rethink their identity and rebuild their data strategies from the ground up. Measurement and ROI will only continue to gain importance. This convergence will push the industry toward a more open, intent-driven and accountable advertising ecosystem in 2026.
—Lily Wen, Director of Product Marketing, Data and Media

In 2026, consumers will increasingly expect retailers and brands to anticipate their needs and deliver shopping experiences that are seamless, intuitive and enjoyable. We’ll see more retailers innovating and experimenting with interactive, personalized touchpoints that invite shoppers to try, learn and engage in ways that feel tailored to them. This shift will deepen customer relationships, as consumers gravitate toward brands that offer meaningful, memorable experiences, driving a lift in purchases and loyalty.
—Tom Soloman, Senior Director, Product Design and Innovation

AI-integrated creative pipelines will start becoming standard practice this year, with generative image, video, 3D and voice technologies embedded across the pre-production, production and post-production workflows. These tools will eventually handle 80 to 90% of repetitive tasks, from rotoscoping and color correction to asset tagging, background generation and rough edits. New roles will emerge (prompt director, synthetic model supervisor, data curator) while traditional positions evolve (retouchers become AI editors, photographers become creative capture directors, producers become automation architects). Studios that don’t adapt will begin losing project bids due to slower turnarounds and higher cost structures.
—Jimmy Richardson, Group VP, Studio & Creative

In 2026, I predict several independent agencies and challenger networks will launch truly creative campaigns for big brands, breaking the cycle of mediocrity-at-scale that has polluted the airwaves as a result of holding companies’ lock on global advertisers.
—Tim Maleeny, Chief Client Strategy & Integration Officer and President of Quad Agency Solutions

As AI evolves into a primary discovery channel, social SEO is becoming just as critical as traditional search optimization — especially for brands competing for visibility in AI-driven summaries and recommendations. At the same time, younger audiences are craving deeper human connection, favoring content that feels personal, real and rooted in lived experience. Marketers who blend AI-powered insights with authentic storytelling will see the strongest engagement and loyalty in 2026.
—Alyssa Nevergold, Manager, Investment, Social at Rise, a Quad agency

Amazon extended its flagship shopping holiday to a record-long four days in 2025. Of course, if it reverts to a shorter duration in 2026, that will lower its search and sales volumes. But here’s the thing: We had already seen diminishing returns start to creep into Prime Day last year. So even if Amazon sticks with the four-day format this year, further gains are far from guaranteed. Marketers will likely need to look for other (more efficient, underserved) periods to invest.
—Blake Kidd, Group Media Director at Rise, a Quad Agency

We all know what “modern” marketing looks like: more CRM tools, more AI integration, more reporting and metrics — and fewer marketers involved in the process. But the novelty of tech only goes so far. Clients will start to care less and less about the tools and more about who can help them connect the tools with actual campaign development and pragmatic strategies. The agencies and creative teams that take a human-centric, white-glove approach to planning, creative, testing, delivery and analytics will position themselves to pull ahead.
—Todd McNab, VP of Client Strategy, Sales

In 2026, brands will continue to shift from siloed channels to a fully connected marketing ecosystem. With privacy trends that limit granular tracking, marketers will increasingly rely on unified measurement that reflects the entire customer journey. Those who align affiliate, paid, social, content and email under consistent messaging and shared metrics will unlock greater efficiency and incremental growth.
—Gonzalo Rodriguez, Manager, Investment, Affiliate at Rise, a Quad agency

In 2026, we’re going to see outcome-based value as the new pricing frontier — with clients evolving the scope of work and pricing conversations to focus on performance, not inputs. Aligning incentives around real business results is the next step forward.
—Jamie McGarry, VP, Business Development

In 2026, AI will continue to be embedded in daily tasks across agency functions — a powerful and necessary application of everyday technology — and no longer just be the b.s. buzzword bandied about on analyst calls by holding companies looking to impress investors.
—Tim Maleeny, Chief Client Strategy & Integration Officer and President of Quad Agency Solutions