That is a wrap (almost)!

This may be a strange comparison to you at first, but 2025 has had reminiscent vibes of 2020. While the hysteria hasn’t been anchored around a global pandemic, the rise of AI has created a similar impact.

So much has changed and brought about echoes of 2020’s questions: Does our business still exist? Do I still have a job? How does our business talk about ourselves? What matters to our audiences now? Where do we find our audiences? And, lots of other questions too.

What has absolutely been true is this: Once again our market and lives have been disrupted, creating a need for adaptation and change.

This has led to some big trends for this year: HUGE Audience Changes, AI Pressures, Increased Importance of Brand Building, The Attention Economy and Imposter Syndrome.

With our magic crystal ball in hand, let us explore each of 2025's Hot B2B Topics and Tenx4's 2026 Predictions for Marketers and Agencies.

HUGE Audience Changes:

What matters to your audiences is changing, how they research is changing, how content is consumed is changing, watering roles are changing. So much is changing. You need to change too, or be left behind.

Impact to Marketers: Last year’s playbook doesn’t work anymore. This doesn’t mean that there’s not a place for snackable content, video, OOH, content syndication, messaging architectures, personalized website experiences, programmatic, Google - it just means that adjustments are necessary.

• 2026 Predictions: Your audiences have changed - brands that pivot to meet your audiences where they are with the information that matters to them will win. This will likely result in a shift of strategies, investments, tactics and execution. Don’t be afraid to try something new or let go of something that no longer works.

Impact to Agencies: This one is rough. So much is being asked of your clients and expectations are high – that means the same (or greater) demands are on you. You may not have staffed the account to accommodate this change. However, if you can’t help your clients navigate this change, they will have no choice but to seek other help.

• 2026 Predictions: Agencies that lean into the partnership, spend your client’s money like it is your own and help them navigate this change will win. Empower your team to think strategically.

AI Pressures:

Holy smokes! The pressures are high and the FOMO is even higher. Everyone thinks everyone else is “doing AI” better, faster, smarter. Execs are demanding efficiencies - there are too many options and the stakes for getting AI wrong are too high. And, most B2B brands have legal restraints about how you can leverage AI – these will likely evolve, but they do exist today.

Impact to Marketers: AI has its strengths, but be careful not to over-invest or over-rely on AI. AI is great for repeatable tasks, market/audience insights, production, analyzing data, project management, notetaking, scale, etc. However, you still need people.

• 2026 Predictions: The brands that win are the ones that use humans for authenticity and machines for scale. Think of this as an amplified “human in the loop” approach – leveraging AI for the things AI is great at to allow humans to think more strategically, be more innovative and be more (well) human.

Impact to Agencies: Your clients are expecting more from you. And, they want it for less with the assumption that you are leveraging AI to do things easily and quickly that it used to take humans longer to do.

• 2026 Predictions: The agencies that win are the ones that leverage AI to bring thoughtful and scalable efficiencies to your clients. Be transparent about how AI is enabling your team to work faster and bring any savings to your clients before they ask.

Increased Importance of Brand Building:

We’ve talked about this before, but it’ more important this time. How you talk to your audiences, what matters to them and the value you offer has changed. While AI is handy for many things, it is also creating a “sea of sameness” when it comes to brands. And, simply adding “AI” into an existing sentence, tagline, creative or messaging framework isn’t cutting it. Every company is the “(insert topic) AI company”. Brands need to stand out, or you’ll die.

Impact to Marketers: Now is the moment to create differentiation. This is a great opportunity to refresh your brand, reenergize your campaigns and messaging, cut through the clutter and reach your audiences in unexpected ways. Invest in your brand.

• 2026 Prediction: The brands that win now are the ones that lean into authenticity, creating moments of true connection and targeted impact, while leverage AI for personalization and scale. People buy from brands they know and trust – it is on you to get them to know you and to trust you.

Impact to Agencies: Be careful to rely too heavily on AI when helping your clients build their brand and creative strategies. Robots can only create from what has been created, even when building something new.

• 2026 Prediction: The agencies that win are the ones that continue to think, push boundaries and help you clients create true distinction across their brand and every touchpoint. And, help your clients build a case for why they should invest in brand. Doing this right is a win-win for all of you.

The Attention Economy:

Everyone is trying to talk to your buyer. You hopefully have realized by now that you’re not just competing against your known in-industry competitive set - its food brands, hospitality, retail, sports, entertainment, etc. all trying to gain the attention of your ITDM, C-Suite, Developers, HR Professional, Legal and Procurement Leads and the like. Their professional and personal lives are blurred and continue to blur more.

Impact to Marketers: Your audiences need to be at the center of everything you do. To meet your goals, you need to get the attention of the people that matter to you. You get that, by approaching them based on where they are with the information/message/content that matters most to them.

• 2026 Predictions: B2B brands need to look and feel more consumer brands. We expect more and more B2B brands to make the shift into consumer-ish brand identities and campaigns, while also meeting the needs of your buyers across the journey. The brands that win, will find ways to connect with your buyer in a more creative and human way.

Impact to Agencies: Your clients need to stand out in ways that connect with their audiences in unexpected, yet brand appropriate ways. Help them think outside the box and to make greater impact.

• 2026 Predictions: The agencies that win are the ones who help your clients think differently, explore betas and bring new ideas to the table. Remember, we already mentioned that last year's playbook doesn't quite hit the mark anymore. Help your client's rethink ways to gain attention in crowded environments.

Imposter Syndrome:

This one pulls at our heartstrings. Almost everyone feels this to some degree, but few want to talk about it. Our senior Marketing friends, across the board, feel that overwhelming and looming sense of being an imposter. There’s false perceptions, doubt and feelings of fraud. It is the true embodiment of “Judging your insides by someone else’s outsides”. Too many highly talented Marketers feel this way.

Impact to Marketers: There is so much to know now, so many decisions to make, so many pressures, so much at stake. How can you possibly know everything? You can’t. But, that doesn’t mean that you’re not qualified for your role. In fact, you are probably doing a better job than you think, making it all look effortless and others may be viewing YOU as the ideal Marketing Leader.

• 2026 Predictions: The marketers who win are the ones that empower a highly talented team around you and listen to them, while taking their points of view into consideration when making the best decision for your organization. It is okay that you don’t know everything, but you have the power to put people in positions around you who have expertise that you don’t. Be comfortable enough in your value that you can rely on others. It doesn’t make you weak or an imposter – it will actually make you a stronger leader.

Impact to Agencies: Your clients have more stresses than you may realize – both internally and externally. They owe their bosses and boards insight into the impact that you are making together, they may have feelings of inadequacy and they may need your expert opinion more than you know.

• 2026 Predictions: The agencies that win will help empower your clients and give them what they need to communicate the impact of their investments. Help them feel safe asking questions, be their true strategic partner and make them better at their jobs.

While change is always inevitable, this year seems to have a bit more change than others (again, with the exclusion of 2020... and probably 2008 and dot-com). This change is creating more and more pressure for our Marketing and Agency friends. And, it is always just a reminder to give others some grace.

Our last thought of the year is this: You never know what another person is going through. The pressures of the board, the pressure to use more AI, the pressure to gain more efficiencies, the pressures at home, the pressure to do more with less, the pressure to show impact, the pressure to prove budgets were spent well – the list goes on.

Choose to be the person today that does something kind for someone else just because you can. Give someone positive feedback. Go the extra mile. Make that introduction. Share their resume. Stay up late just to make sure the final product is perfect for your team. Say thank you.

While it may seem like it has nothing directly to do with Marketing, doesn’t it?

With so much changing, be the kindness in someone’s life.

Our final 2026 Prediction for Everyone: Being the kindness in someone's life will empower them to do the best work of their life.