Personalisation & Privacy

Performance marketing has reached a turning point. As 2026 unfolds, there are three shifts marketers need to watch and prepare for.

Consumers are changing the way they make decisions and where they make purchases. Brand leaders are tracking these shifts to align retail strategies to evolve in tandem.

New data shows AI is augmenting Martech rather than replacing it, revealing how SMBs and enterprises adopt AI differently and why understanding the learning curve matters more than the hype.

Digital out-of-home is evolving fast, blending programmatic buying, AI-driven creative, and retail media links. Rebecca Callaghan and Anu Bijoy explore how DOOH can balance ethics, privacy, and performance while embracing innovation.

Brands that delegate design and decision-making entirely to algorithms inevitably fall into homogenisation, where content starts to look and feel the same. The consequence is not just creative fatigue, but a measurable decline in long-term results, says John Speers, Joint Managing Director Middle East at MSQ.

Discover three ways Zalando drives creative disruption in fashion retail through AI innovation, ZEOS infrastructure, and cultural storytelling.

GenAI is stepping in where third-party cookies left off helping advertisers target audiences more precisely, with better ROI and a privacy-first mindset.

From AI disruption to brand decentralisation, marketing insiders weigh in on what to watch, what to fix, and what to double down on in 2025.

The report highlights rising user consent, growing iOS ad spend, and the effectiveness of consent-driven marketing approaches.

While 86% of global executives call AI core to their strategy, new reports from Kyndryl, Qlik and S&P Global reveal that complexity, cultural inertia, and capability gaps are keeping organisations from unlocking its true potential.