2026 is coming. Everything’s changing. Are you ready to plan for what’s next?
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A direct line to take on the shifts.
Markets evolve. Tech accelerates. Expectations rise. In uncertain times, clarity becomes your most valuable asset. Doing the same things is not an option, but how do you keep up with all these shifts?
At Springbok, we believe in navigating change with both creativity and precision. That’s why we’ve outlined 8 shifts shaping the path to 2026 each one grounded in real client conversations, live challenges, and emerging opportunities.
This is your quick guide to future-readiness and an invitation to take the next step with our experts. No layers. No delays. Just direct-to-expertise, when and where it matters most during your planning.
Sammy Colson
Shift 1: Is your visibility AI-driven?
Your customers are no longer just searching, they’re asking AI. Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini are rewriting how people discover brands. They get answers without clicking to your site. If your content isn’t structured for large language models, you’re invisible in the new discovery landscape. This shift impacts not just SEO, but your entire visibility strategy across content and social.
Three questions to ask:
- Is my brand findable in AI-generated results?
- How does this change my SEO and content strategy?
- What role does social play in AI-driven discovery?
Shift 2: Accessibility is no longer optional
By 2026, digital accessibility will be enforced across the EU, with serious legal and reputational risks for non-compliance. But this shift is about more than regulations. Inclusive design improves usability for all users and strengthens brand reputation. Accessibility now needs to be baked into every digital experience from websites to campaigns to platforms.
Three questions to ask:
- Is my brand ready for the 2025/2026 accessibility deadlines?
- Are my platforms and campaigns compliant?
- How can accessibility become a competitive advantage, not a burden?
Shift 3: Marketing automation means owning the channel
Media costs are volatile. Privacy rules keep tightening. The brands that win in 2026 won’t just rent attention, they’ll own it. Marketing automation is about efficiency. And it’s also about resilience for your brands. Building direct, data-smart relationships with customers that don’t rely on paid media to stay in your funnel and build loyalty.
Three questions to ask:
- Are we using automation to create real value or just email volume?
- How reliant is our marketing on third-party channels?
- What would it take to own more of the journey, end to end?
Shift 4: AI demands data you can actually use
Everyone’s talking about AI, but most brands aren’t ready to use it well. The biggest blocker? Unstructured, siloed, or outdated data. AI-powered marketing needs clean, connected, and consented data to deliver real value. Without it, you’ll have smart tools running on bad fuel. 2026 planning is the moment to fix it.
Three questions to ask:
- Is our marketing data structured for AI and automation?
- Are we capturing the right data or just a lot of it?
- Do our teams and tools speak the same data language?
Shift 5: Your media mix needs a reality check
The days of set-and-forget media planning are over. Budgets are tighter, ROI pressure is higher, and performance varies wildly across channels. Media Mix Modelling helps brands spend smarter by showing what actually drives results. With 2026 planning underway, now is the time to bring science to your strategy.
Three questions to ask:
- Which channels are truly driving our business outcomes?
- Are we still investing based on habit, not evidence?
- Can we defend our media plan with numbers?
Shift 6: Fragmentation is killing your strategy
More partners. More tools. More teams. Less clarity. Most marketing departments are operating in silos, leading to duplicated efforts, missed opportunities, and blurred accountability. Strategy is a daily operating system. The brands that will lead in 2026 are those that reconnect vision with execution.
Three questions to ask:
- Do we have one clear strategy or five disconnected plans?
- Are we choosing tactics, or driving toward business outcomes?
- Who’s actually owning the bigger marketing picture?
Shift 7: Creativity is the last unfair advantage
You’ve got the data. The tools. The automation. The modeling. You’ve laid the groundwork for precision. But the winners in 2026 will go further. They’ll turn all that structure into standout ideas, faster execution, and brand experiences that actually connect. In a landscape where tech levels the playing field, your ability to build on top of it becomes the differentiator.
Three questions to ask:
- Are our creative ideas built to move people and numbers?
- Is creativity embedded in every part of our strategy?
- When everything feels the same, what makes our brand stand out?
Shift 8: Creative production has entered a new era
Generative AI and new creative tools have unlocked possibilities we couldn’t imagine a year ago. From lightning-fast prototyping to large-scale personalization and never-before-seen concepts. Production is no longer the bottleneck. For brands, this means faster output, more variation, and bigger creative swings if you know how to harness it.
Three questions to ask:
- Are we exploring the new creative tools at our disposal or playing it safe?
- How could GenAI help us scale, experiment, or surprise more?
- Who on our team is driving innovation in production?
