2026 is nearly upon us, and odds are your marketing and advertising plans are mostly firmed up. Your focus is probably squarely on a few key things too; AI and hyper-personalization, short-form video, and authentic, community-driven marketing to name but a few. But what are you missing? This report highlights the big trends that aren’t so obvious – the ones your strategy might be overlooking, because the best insights require some digging to uncover. Leveraging a wealth of research tapping into over 2M+ annual surveys, including new original research on key markets and audiences, here’s our take on the big 2026 trends you might be overlooking.

• AI is taking the marketing industry by storm - but it’s making insights generic and stereotypical
• More consumers are contradicting themselves – there’s a big gap (and opportunity) between intent and behavior
• Social media is far from dead – it’s the dominant media in our lives
• The World Cup hype is serious – and 2026 fans aren’t who you think
• Gen Alpha’s turning sixteen – and it’s time to take them seriously as a defined generation