As 2026 approaches, the communications and marketing industries are navigating a landscape defined by shifting public expectations, accelerating technology, and an increasingly fragmented media ecosystem. To stay competitive, brands and practitioners must rethink how they build trust, differentiate themselves, and operate amid growing complexity.
There is no shortage of issues that we’ll be keeping an eye on, but here are some of the more intriguing trends our team believes will shape the year ahead.
A Local Focus
Smart communicators need to redirect and ground themselves in things that really matter to their audiences. In 2026, public affairs communications will be driven even more at the state and local levels. As federal policy stalls and injects uncertainty, advocates and industry leaders will prioritize measurable outcomes where progress is still possible through targeted campaigns aimed at governors, state legislatures, regulators, and city leaders. Whether it’s clean energy, education, or health care, the message won’t be ideological; it will be kitchen-table issues like affordability, access, and jobs.
Evidence-First Brand Strategy
Some advice to brands: don’t make promises you can’t keep. Industry research shows that in 2025 and beyond, trust isn’t built through claims alone. It’s built through transparent communication and proof of impact. For example, in banking and financial services, that means moving from broad trust messaging to visible evidence. Instead of saying “we help you build financial security,” brands need to show it through transparent fees, real customer outcomes, and tools that demonstrate impact in real time. In ’26, trust has to be earned and demonstrated with data and results that customers can actually see.
Rise of More Distinctive Personalities
In a sea of sameness, being a little odd might be the smartest brand move a company can make in 2026.
Brand strategy is going to get a lot weirder… on purpose. With 61% of global consumers saying brands all “sound the same,” and Gen Z reporting they’re more likely to trust a brand that “feels like a real person” than one that feels polished, the pendulum is swinging away from overly stylized and perfected brand personas. Instead, we expect more brands to embrace a signature quirk—a tone, behavior, or visual trait that isn’t universally liked but is unmistakably theirs. Think less “brand voice” and more “brand personality disorders,” but the fun kind.
AI-Driven Transformation
AI will continue to transform the marketing industry by streamlining production, enhancing personalization, and enabling faster, data-driven decision-making. As AI tools become more embedded in the day-to-day operations of work life, many will rely on AI to automate routine tasks so teams can focus on strategic thinking and high-value creative work.
It will also clear the runway for smarter PR in ‘26. With another year of AI under our belt, PR teams should be more skilled at using it to accelerate the tactical parts of our work. In Muck Rack’s State of AI in PR 2025 survey, 93% of communications professionals said AI “speeds up their work,” and 78% said it “improves the quality.” Instead of reducing our value, AI should enhance it by giving us back the most important resource we have: time. Time to solve problems, spot and shape trends, and uncover human stories that show how a brand connects meaningfully with its community. Things that AI can’t do.
Increasing Digital Uncertainty
In digital we trust … Right?
In 2026, we’ll see the rise of increasingly sophisticated technology that will fuel a surge in paid media fraud. The line between real human behavior and automated agents will blur more than ever, making it harder for brands to trust what they see in their campaign data. As verification challenges grow, marketers will need to reassess how they measure effectiveness, validate audiences, and safeguard investments. This will require a combination of more technology and human-led oversight to navigate this new era of digital uncertainty. Stop the presses (or restart them): Print could make a comeback.
Moves in Measurement
Analytics budgets will shift from headcount to infrastructure and tooling, even if total spend stays flat. AI will continue improving surface-level tasks faster than it addresses core issues like data quality and attribution logic, widening the gap between impressive interfaces and truly reliable insights. A clear understanding of modeling approaches will be essential to ensure forecasting and budgeting decisions aren’t built on shaky assumptions.
Companies that invest in strong data foundations will gain the most value from AI. Server-side tracking will become a competitive requirement as browser data declines, and AI attribution tools, while more polished, will only be accurate when powered by consistent, accurate data. Ultimately, the winners in 2026 will be the organizations prioritizing durable data infrastructure over eye-catching AI dashboards.