Shaping the Future: Agency Predictions for 2026

By India Fizer

Every new year promises transformation. With AI now embedded in nearly every workflow and platform, 2026 marks a turning point: not in what we use, but how we choose to compete. In conversation with AdForum, agency leaders reveal what they believe will truly move the industry forward, and what might just be noise.

Dulani Porter — EVP & Partner, Spark

“Looking at 2026, it’s clear the landscape is shifting faster than ever, but some things will remain steady: attention, trust, and relevance will win the day. First thing is that AI will be table stakes. From creative generation to media planning to real-time measurement, AI will power the routine, freeing agencies (and brands) to invest brainpower where it matters. Almost half of marketers are using AI tools in 2025, and in 2026, we should expect that number to jump even higher.

Second, content formats and channels will continue evolving. Short-form video, social-commerce, and immersive digital environments (AR/VR, interactive media) will deepen their grip on native users from Gen-A and younger audiences.

Finally, trust, transparency and human-first storytelling will become critical differentiators. As generative tools are more common, consumers will favor brands (and agencies) that prioritize authenticity, privacy, and real human connection over flashy but hollow automation.

At SPARK, we see 2026 as rewarding marketers who move beyond tactics, using technology not as a crutch but as a catalyst to deliver meaning.”

Valerie Carlson — Global Chief Creative Officer, Critical Mass

“2026 will be the year we build radical partnerships. With procurement, CFOs, and boards squeezing every drop for short-term gains and cost cuts, agencies won’t win on volume or velocity. They’ll win on honesty by becoming the trusted counterweight to reactive decision-making.

AI hype has pushed marketers into a corner of immediate value extraction: performance dashboards, last-click fantasies, and the illusion that optimization equals growth. But when everyone chases the same metrics, sameness becomes the default. That’s the opening for agencies: to illuminate the white space—community, unique narrative, and brand love—where durable value is built.

The advantage will belong to those who slow the pace, sit shoulder-to-shoulder with CMOs, and map the full ecosystem: creative aligned with media, tech realized through human behavior, and platforms used for what they actually enable. People trust people, not brands, so the work must show up where culture lives—inside niche spaces, with experiences that spark delight, connection, and conversation.

Boutique shops may surge in the near term, but the long game belongs to those investing in AI toolchains that unlock bespoke, in-platform creative that truly connects people.

The tools are interchangeable. The partnership is the power.”

Derek Green — Chief Creative Officer, TBWA\RAAD

“In 2026, I predict LinkedIn will be overflowing with visionaries heroically announcing the death of something in our industry. Luckily, they’re all far smarter than us and will kindly illuminate “the future” in 12 bullet points that were beautifully written by ChatGPT. Bless you, LinkedIn Nostradamuses. I refresh my feed, eagerly awaiting your next revelation.

I predict we’ll still be chasing creatives for timesheets, only to find the usual: 8, 8, 8, 8, 8—unless they hated the job, in which case it’s mysteriously a 14.

I predict every agency will “come a very close second” in every pitch, and the winners will definitely, absolutely, totally only have won because they undercut on cost.”

Ludovic Gougat — Chief Marketing Officer, North America, RAPP Worldwide

“In 2026 we’ll see the beginning of the great interface battle. People will increasingly use AI agents as their primary interface, forcing traditional brands who have historically owned the user interface to reinvent. Users will expect conversation-based experiences, transparent pricing comparisons, and frictionless transactions without leaving the chat interface.

The real battle will be controlling the data relationship: brands retaining CRM touchpoints will gain competitive advantages through zero-party data and personalization, while those relegated to backend providers risk commoditization.

Winners in 2026 will adopt a dual-channel strategy—excelling both within AI interfaces and maintaining direct customer touchpoints. Brands ignoring this shift will inevitably lose relevance as customers increasingly bypass traditional apps and websites entirely.”

Mathieu Plassard — President & CEO, Ogilvy Paris

“By 2026, AI will be an indispensable partner in advertising and marketing, moving beyond experimentation to deep integration. My top three predictions:

1. Hyper-Personalization & Predictive Engagement: AI will deliver truly individualized customer experiences at scale. Anticipating needs, crafting bespoke messaging, and optimizing real-time distribution, platforms like WPP Open will exemplify AI harnessing data for deep understanding and highly personal interactions.

2. Mastering AI Workflows & Human-AI Collaboration: The crucial competitive advantage will shift to the ability to expertly understand, integrate, and orchestrate diverse AI tools within complex workflows. This mastery involves combining specialized AIs, ensuring seamless human-AI collaboration to optimize efficiency, maintain quality, and unlock previously unattainable creative and strategic outcomes.

3. Invisible Integration & Ethical Governance: AI will be an invisible utility, embedded across all campaign planning, execution, and measurement. This ubiquity will be matched by solidified ethical guidelines and governance, ensuring responsible data use, mitigating bias, and fostering transparency, building crucial consumer trust.

At Ogilvy Paris AI.Lab we are actively building and refining frameworks, fostering the talent, and pioneering the ethical applications necessary to turn these predictions from hyper-personalization to mastering complex AI workflows and ensuring responsible, invisible integration into today’s reality for our clients.”

Darius Naficy — Senior Vice President, Creative Strategy, Wasserman

“Creator marketing will continue to metastasize into all forms of marketing, transforming it from a vertical into a principle – not just for brands at the forefront of culture, but for brands of all shapes, sizes and strategies. Marketing budgets will prioritize Influencer at levels unthinkable a few years ago.

Streamers will find the balance between authenticity and brand safety, becoming A-List ambassadors at scale. Experiential will solve its reach challenge by shifting from Creators as amplifiers to Creators as originators. Sponsorships will evolve as Creators, their media empires, events and networks are treated (and valued) like Properties. Production will continue to shift to nimble, Creator driven propositions powered by innovation in AI.

Bolstered by their consistent outperformance of most traditional Creative, content featuring Creators will become the primary assets paid media supports for many brands. The mere distinction between “brand” and “creator” will continue to collapse as more Creators become full-stack IP owners, distributors and dealmakers.

In a world where Creators become scaled across the marketing mix, brands will need to differentiate to stand out. The winners will be the boldest in empowering Creators to build original IP that is relevant, adds value to their communities and above all, entertains.”

Teemu Suviala — Global Executive Creative Director, Landor

“In 2026, we’ll witness the rapid rise of persuasion for the new dual-audience, where an AI agent sits alongside a human. People will continue to respond to stories, symbolism, and a sense of community, while the agents seek structured proof, ensuring the brand truly lives according to its audiences’ values. What brands must do is to pair emotionally resonant worlds with proper machine-readable truths. And this agent experience will require the same attention and rigor as the user experience.

We’ll also see a push for originality and unmistakably more human design. After a glut of generative sameness, audiences and brands are gravitating toward craft, care, imperfection, and honest narratives that carry a touch of rebellion. A push for more distinctive, experimental work will be the rallying cry when investing in identity. AI will continue to accelerate exploration and production, but taste and empathy will drive true creation.

Lastly, in a cautious market, retention beats reach. People are looking for more joy and IRL connection beyond the feed. Expressive, multisensory, gamified brand worlds offer moments to play, listen, create, and belong. And brands will give people opportunities to bend their new rules and versatile assets and offerings – and reimagine their constantly shifting futures together.”

Brendan Robertson — Chief Strategy Officer, David&Goliath

“2026 is going to be a year of big events with the Super Bowl, the Winter Olympics, and the World Cup all happening before August. This is a chance for brands to get back to doing what they do best, telling big, emotive stories. TV will be a big part of the experience.

However, it will be brands that go beyond to use digital, social, and AI in inventive ways to turn these cultural moments into personal experiences that make us feel like we’re a part of something bigger. This is not just for official sponsors or brands that pay to be inside the experience. I believe there is a huge opportunity for all brands to hack these moments, create something entirely new, and deepen their connection with their target audience.”

Dissara Udomdej — CEO/CCO, Yell Advertising

“Old Style Commercial, Branding, and Influencer Commerce: In every meeting room today, we talk endlessly about being more efficient, faster, and cheaper. It’s not wrong. We are in business, but we often forget that every business still has humans in the loop. Even with automation, AI, and lean processes, people still experience mental fatigue. That’s why the commercial trend of 2026 should bring audiences back to a sense of human touch.

Old-style TVCs are becoming popular again: Across Instagram and the Chinese version of TikTok, consumers are craving the classic storytelling they once loved. A single clear message or witty, simple punchline feels more human, less complicated and more sincere.

Make branding great again: With overwhelming information and AI-driven recommendations, consumers face ultra-cluttered choices. Brands cannot win through endless personalization or over-pleasing tactics. A strong brand standpoint is essential, people buy you because you and your audience believe in the same things.

Influencer Commerce: This should be identified as performance-driven communication. People buy because they trust the brand or the person they follow. Influencers are becoming the new evangelists of modern commerce. Paying them helps, but earning them is far more sustainable.”