What do the latest audience shifts tell us about the next 12–18 months of marketing—from how 18–21s are changing their media habits, to how cultural audiences are evolving, to what AI adoption really looks like across the UK?

In this March 2026 edition of Horizons, we explore three major areas shaping future media and marketing decisions. First, we revisit research into 18–21-year-olds’ media behaviour, comparing fresh survey data with results from a few years ago to understand what is changing—and what those changes might mean as this group becomes tomorrow’s professionals, decision-makers and consumers. The discussion highlights the decline of more performative social spaces, the continued fall of Facebook and Instagram relevance for younger audiences, and the rise of more immersive, community-led environments such as Discord, Twitch, gaming and private or semi-private channels.

The session then turns to cultural and tourism audiences, drawing on several years of research into heritage, culture and domestic tourism behaviours. Rather than focusing purely on demographics, the conversation explores audience mindsets: experience-oriented visitors who want culture packaged into a broader day or evening out, younger urban adventurers driven by relevance and novelty rather than prestige, and culture seekers who increasingly value peace, immersion and mental decompression. Across all of these audiences, the same themes emerge: low loyalty, high expectations, a sharper focus on value, and a growing need for brands and venues to think beyond individual productions or exhibitions and instead build fuller, more meaningful experiences.

Finally, the episode digs into AI adoption across the UK—not from a hype perspective, but through a survey-led look at who is actually using AI, how often, what they use it for, and how that varies by age, education, geography and lifestyle. The conversation explores the spread of AI beyond London, the stronger uptake among more educated and professionally active audiences, and the growing role of AI in information search, comparison, planning and decision-making. It also looks at the growing tension between AI and traditional search, with more people using AI tools as part of research and consideration before ever reaching a search engine—raising major questions for brands around discoverability, content strategy, SEO and visibility in AI-generated responses.

What you’ll learn:

The biggest shifts in 18–21-year-old media behaviour over the last few years

Why gaming, Discord, Twitch and private communities are becoming more important for reaching younger audiences

How today’s 18–21s may shape future media behaviour as tomorrow’s professionals and buyers

What has changed across culture, heritage and tourism audiences over the last five years

How to think about experience-led, relevance-led and peace-seeking audience mindsets

Why value now means more than price—and why whole experiences matter more than standalone events

How AI adoption varies by region, age, education and urban versus rural audiences

What people are actually using AI for today, from search and comparison to planning and work tasks

Why AI is becoming part of the consideration journey before traditional search

What brands need to do to improve visibility in AI tools as well as search engines

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