Adland leaders announced their optimism at last week's Year Ahead Breakfast Briefing in The National Gallery, talking about the trends and strategies across creativity, technology, leadership, brands and media for 2026.

Martin Beverley, co-founder and chief startegist at Ace of Hearts spoke about the importance of joy, while Netflix's head of advertising sales Ed Couchman said 2026 will be the year of fandom as consumers are wanting more from brands. Gravity Road's global executive creative director said agencies need to be AI literate to keep up with clients, while creativity will see a return to "raw human honesty" in 2026, said Kyle Harman-Turner, creative partner and executive creative director at FCB London.

In this episode, Campaign's journalists who were at the event and on the panels dig into what the industry’s leaders predict for 2026, and why. Tech and multimedia editor Lucy Shelley is joined by deputy editor Gemma Charles, premium content editor Nicola Merrifield and deputy creativity and culture editor Charlotte Rawlings.

Further reading:

'Isn't it boring spending in the same place?': the case for a diverse media diet

Global sentiment towards sustainability has 'fallen off a cliff', Trainline marketer says

The Year Ahead 2026: Ad agencies

The Year Ahead 2026: Creativity

The Year Ahead 2026: Social

The Year Ahead 2026: Cultural trends

The Year Ahead 2026: Media owners

The Year Ahead 2026: Brands

The Year Ahead 2026: Technology

The Year Ahead 2026: Media agencies

Can we talk about the ethics of AI-fuelled advertising?

Coming up in the Campaign calendar:

Brand Film Awards: deadline on 29 January

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