As the clock struck midnight on December 31, people around the world welcomed the new year in their own ways with champagne toasts, last-minute deep cleans, ambitious resolutions, or quiet reflection on the year behind them.
And what a year 2025 was for marketing!
From headline-grabbing rebrands and buzzy commercials to rapid-fire developments in AI, the marketing landscape experienced its fair share of highs, lows, and plot twists. Naturally, it leaves us wondering: What’s Next?
While we at 5Points Creative don’t claim to be fortune tellers, we do spend our days watching trends, questioning assumptions, and imagining what’s coming around the corner. With that in mind, here are our team’s predictions for what marketing and advertising could look like in 2026.
A Big Year for Big TV
Our advertising czar and founder, Bruce Bryan, believes 2026 will be the year of massive television moments.
Never before has one network held both the Olympics and the Super Bowl in the same year—making NBC’s programming slate something to watch closely. Add in the NBA All-Star Game, NBA basketball at large, and the ever-present cultural force that is Snoop Dogg, and you’ve got the recipe for record-setting viewership.
While viewing habits continue to evolve, one thing remains clear: people are consuming more video than ever. The real shift isn’t if audiences are watching, it’s how and where.
From Search to Shortcuts: How AI and Maps Are Changing How Customers Find You
Bruce also predicts an acceleration of the SEO/PPC bypass. Searchers are increasingly turning to AI-generated answers, while others skip traditional search altogether by using map platforms like Apple Maps and Google Maps to quickly find hours, directions, phone numbers, and websites. Brands that adapt to this shift in discovery will have the edge.
Authenticity Breaks Through the Influencer Bubble
Our communication compass, Mike Dame, predicts that 2026 will mark a turning point for influencer marketing.
Audiences are growing tired of the overly polished, selfie-style sales pitches that once passed for authenticity. What once felt relatable now feels rehearsed. And the data backs it up. Engagement is dropping, and trust is eroding.
In 2026, expect a renewed emphasis on relationships over reach. As the influencer bubble deflates, it creates space for experts, customers, and real communities to reclaim the conversation by sharing stories that feel lived-in, credible, and genuinely human.
Less LLMs in LLCs
Kym Ricketts, our creative alchemist, hopes 2026 brings a return to more thoughtful, analog-inspired ideas paired with bold, inspired creative execution.
People are craving real connection to their communities, their interests, and each other. While “authenticity” may feel like an overused buzzword, the desire behind it is very real. We’re already seeing a rise in people seeking hobbies, inspiration, and experiences that exist outside of screens and AI.
Tech companies have raced to replace everything (and everyone) with AI, but the numbers and public sentiment don’t support it. Consumers have made it clear they don’t want AI everywhere (as even Dell recently acknowledged with AI PCs). The backlash to Coca-Cola’s soulless AI-driven holiday commercial only reinforced this point.
AI, more accurately, LLMs (Large Language Models such as ChatGPT), can only remix what already exists. When that source material becomes increasingly AI-generated, what’s left? Slop on top of slop.
In 2026, AI should be treated as a tool, not a teammate.
And one final creative hot take from Kym: forget Pantone’s “Cloud Dancer.” This year belongs to darker, richer tones, especially a bold, moody phthalo green.
Social Media Detox Goes Mainstream
Our visual linguist, Alice Steffler, predicts a surge of “how to stay off your phone” content in 2026.
With the explosion of short-form video, people are consuming more media than ever, often more than they want to. Doomscrolling fatigue is real, and many are responding with social media cleanses, digital boundaries, and a renewed focus on offline hobbies and activities.
“Dumb-downed” phones and flip phones are making a comeback, and we’ll likely see more marketing events and services designed to encourage presence, connection, and time away from screens.
Brent Stevens adds another layer to this trend, observing his own children intentionally unplugging from their smartphones. As Gen Z, who grew up fully immersed in screens, pushes back against rising screen time, there’s an opportunity for brands to meet them where they are.
This could mark the early stages of a resurgence in non-digital advertising from print and physical experiences to tactile, real-world touchpoints that feel refreshing in a hyper-digital world.
Looking Ahead
If 2025 taught us anything, it’s that trends don’t move in straight lines. They swing. As we head into 2026, marketing appears to be balancing innovation with restraint, technology with humanity, and reach with meaning.
We’re excited to see where it goes and even more excited to help shape what comes next.