→ 2026 is the year of unplugging. 

For brands, this is the time to edit ruthlessly. To make less, but mean more. To swap the dopamine hit for long-term trust. 

The unplugging is entirely in line with the marketing and content trends 2026: 'Unshittification’, intentionality, and escapism. 

Starting with Gen Alpha, which is an indicator for every generation. They are ‘tech-empowered but not tech-dependent,’ nearly 75% of 8-10 year-olds prefer to go outside and use technology less to manage their mental health and disconnect.

→ This digital detox trend is already visible in Gen Z, and other generations will follow.

Young people are prioritizing mental wellness by reclaiming time from screens. This reflects a real cultural craving for time offline, hands-on living, tactile hobbies, and simplicity. All as a roadmap back to an analog connection.

See the last paragraph for all sources, fact-checking, and more details. 

What's happening in 2026

You’ll see people are choosing to unplug and re-value offline time. 

• Offline is the new online, hiking, walking vacations, and weekend hangouts with friends are on the rise. Searches for ‘nature getaways’ are up 72%.
   
• Experiential is on the rise: 74% of Alphas prefer to go outside, exercise, or use tech less to manage their mental health and disconnect.
   
• Board gaming popularity is up by 8% since 2023, showing a renewed appreciation for offline play. There’s been a 16% increase in kids adding physical toys to their wishlists since 2023.
   
• The ‘Martha Stewart aesthetic’ is experiencing a massive surge: searches are up 2,889%. And the 'rustic farmhouse' or ‘farmhouse cottage interiors’ trend is also booming: searches for ‘farm cottage aesthetic’ rose 911%, and for ‘thrifted home decor’ jumped 488%.
   
• Book-related retreats and communities are gaining traction: searches for 'book club retreat ideas' surged 265%, while 'book retreats' broadly went up 103%.

This is also confirmed by the Financial Times (read more, watch more). Small side note: I read that TikTok wasn't included in this data, but I'm not sure, since I don't have access to the original research. 

• Average time spent on social media of  2h20 minutes a day is still considerable, but down 10% from the peak in 2022. The steepest decline amongst the heaviest users: the 16 to 24-year-olds.
   
• Social has become less social. From a place to connect to, it's now social is a place to fill spare time with mindless browsing.
   
• This trend is also visible in the declining engagement on your posts and algorithms that continuously adapt, balancing between your social connections and the relevance of the content and their own commercial objectives.

Why it matters

Unplugging is more than a trend. It shows that people want less noise and more real life. Gen Alpha and Gen Z are leading the way. They choose nature, hobbies, and time with friends over screens.

→ This is part of a bigger shift: a move away from fast, fake, and flashy (and from AI).

People want brands that help them slow down and feel good again. The ones that do will stand out because they make life better, not busier.

What to do as a brand, what this means for your content

Create calm, not clutter. People are tired of being chased by content, HubSpot email flows, or highly targeted and hyper-personalized paid social advertising.

Your audience want fewer messages, more meaning, and space to breathe. Use content to add value, not volume. Think simple formats, slower storytelling, and a real human tone, less AI.

→ The future of content isn’t about being louder; it’s about helping people feel more human again.

Besides all of this, we’re in a bizarre era with tension between what brands do and what consumers want. 

• Brands are cranking out AI-generated content, slapping a ‘next-gen’ label on it, and calling it evolution. 
   
• While consumers are in the comments screaming, 'This is slop.' (Because it is.) Slop = AI junk content. Content that looks sleek on the surface but is creatively bankrupt underneath. Technically impressive, but lacks any real creative or human value.

If you want your brand to appear human, make a mistake (on purpose). We are tired of the perfect, polished AI content.

Check out the New York Giants ‘mistake’ keyboard slamming post below. 7.8M views and counting. 

My advice for your content in 2026: invest in strategy and expect lower ROI

For the C-suite, this means declining ROI from social, rising consumer demand for physical experiences, and a renewed push to cut content bloat. Many brands will use AI to chase speed. Smart ones will use it to deepen their thinking, not replace it.

→ Invest in and obsess on your strategy and identity. Think and write by hand. And improve all of that with AI. Not vice versa. 

Or think different, don't use AI, and make that one of your USPs. 

Like Aerie, they stopped retouching in 2014 and are now committed to no AI-generated people or bodies in their content and campaigns. 

Wrapping it up

2026 marks a shift back to what feels real. People are tired of filters, noise, and fake perfection. They want quiet confidence, real connection, and moments that don’t need to be posted. 

Unplugging isn’t about rejecting technology; it’s about rebalancing it.

For brands, this is the time to edit ruthlessly. 

To make less, but mean more. To swap the dopamine hit for long-term trust. 

The future of relevance won’t come from algorithms or reach—it’ll come from resonance.

Are you ready? 

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Sources

Pinterest Summer Report  

Gary Vee

GWI 7, Gen Alpha characteristics to know for 2025 

Razorfish Study Unveils Generation Alpha Insights, Preparing Brands for the Next Consumer Cohort

Marketing and content trends 2026: ‘Unshittification’, intentionality and escapism

Social media fatigue is real, here’s what actually helps

Ogilvy, ‘Vive la Créativité’

The Drum, Cannes Lions 2025: View all the Grand Prix-winning ads 

WARC, Creative Impact unpacked 

WARC feed 

WARC, Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lions 2025

WARC, Creative Impact Unpacked: What we learned at Cannes Lions 2025

WARC, How to achieve the multiplier effect in China 

WARC Consumer Trends 2025: Five shifts shaping consumer spending

Kantar, Cannes in a can: Refresh yourself with the top 5 takeaways from Cannes 2025 

Ipsos @Cannes  2025

Nielsen, Conversations from Cannes

Cannes Lions

Cannes Lions, Need-to-know numbers 

Cannes Lions, the official Cannes Lions wrap-up 2025

Love The Work 

Love the work, Winners and Shortlists 

Adweek, The Cannes Lions 2025 Controversies Casting a Shadow Over Big Awards  

The New Yorker: Are You Experiencing Posting Ennui? 

The New Yorker: Why posting on social media has become something of the past

Pinterest Summer 2025 Trends

Tracksuit, The Emotion Effect

Tracksuit, Make Waves in the Sea of Sameness

Tracksuit, From Awareness to Effectiveness

Tracksuit, Track the Field Report

The Philosophy of Online Manipulation

When Good Algorithms Go Sexist: Why and How to Advance AI Gender Equity 

Evaluating Gender Bias in Large Language Models in Long-term Care,

Stuff About Advertising

Uncensored CMO

Callum McCahon

Eugbrandstat 

Jarned Carneson 

Paul Evans 

I’ve unapologetically stolen and remixed insights from Charles Wigley’s book ‘Chaz’s 100 Things a Planner Should Know’, blended with my own 25 years on the client side, working with marketers who were often inspiring... and often stubborn, old-school, or just stuck.

So, I put together the top 10 list for you.

1. ‘Your definition of the problem is likely to be more important than your definition of the answer.’
    
2. ‘Being fashionable is different from being right’, and ‘If it’s already best practice, then lots of other people are already doing it.’
    
3. ‘Don’t ever say ‘this brief is about starting a movement’. You will look like a fool for vastly overestimating the power of what we do.’
    
4. 'There is nothing wrong with repetition, people need to get the message.'
    
5. ‘There is nothing wrong with repetition, people need to get the message.’
    
6. ‘Three points are better than four. Five than Six. It’s just an odd numbers thing. Trust me.’
    
7. ‘If it isn’t interesting to you, it’s unlikely it will be to anyone else.’
    
8. ‘Be honest and simple wins.’
    
9. ‘Read.’
    
10. ‘Walk. Walking is like taking a shower. It frees the mind.’

Do you want more? 

Buy his book; it costs about as much as your over-foamed oat milk macchiato. But it lasts longer.

Why it matters

In a world where AI can create a planning and strategy in seconds, it’s tempting to do it all yourself. But, if you're relying on the same tools as everyone else, don’t be surprised when your brand starts sounding like everyone else.

 → Strategy and planning are still a craft; it’s about making the unexpected connections that AI can’t.

If you want to stand out and can’t hire an agency, an independent planner like Charles, or an interim content strategist like me, at least you can read ‘Chaz’s 100 Things a Planner Should Know’ and listen to the WARC podcast.

Let's connect

If this helped you think differently and you're looking for someone to help you, I’d love to connect.

About my confessions

More about me and my confessions. Why I hold content to a higher standard. And why I write what most people in this industry won't say out loud.

I'm a content strategist with a university background in marketing, media, sociology, and psychology. I've worked in this industry for 25+ years and for 50+ global brands and agencies. 

I've seen a lot. Made many mistakes. Learned even more. 

Now, I share all this to inspire everyone working in marketing and communication to more accountable work. There's already too much crappy content out there; no need to add to it.

Join 2,500+ professionals

Most content advice tells you what to do. This tells you how to think. For marketers and communicators who want the difference. 

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→ We're done with the AI and the fake; we become more intentional, and from time to time, we escape

→ More than ever, we want the real and authentic, with meaning

→ It needs to feel seamless and effortless, thanks to modern technology

This post breaks down the key trends and what they mean for you. I’ve included all sources at the end, give credit where it’s due, and check out the originals for all details.

The trend for 2026: ‘Unshittification’, intentionality, and escapism

Building on 2025’s ‘being human’ momentum, we continue. For 2026, it's the ‘unshittification’. We're done. We're fed up with the AI-generated and automated fakeness. We're numbed by the algorithm fixing that results in more of the same content. We're tired of the fast-paced microtrends. 

More than ever, we move toward ‘intentional’. We want to escape the fake and polished, and go ‘back’ to the ‘old school’ real, authentic, personal attention, human connection, and meaning. 

Yet, all needs to feel seamless and effortless, thanks to modern technology. 

This is brand marketing at its best. And it's powered by the bold, simple ideas that truly stand out. Just show up, consistently, frequently, and with a long-term mindset. 

For marketing and content strategists, this isn’t just inspiration; it’s the new standard. And the bar is not just raised, but redefined.

What you need to know:

1. Social tiredness: brands need to behave like creators
2. Brand building is (again) the most important: long-term consistency
3. In the age of technology, it’s creativity and trust that set you apart
4. Great ideas are singular (as in ‘simple’)
5. Wear out of website content by AI search, zero-click content, and social search
6. The gap is growing fast: traditional and tech-driven marketing

Let’s dive in.

What's happening right here and now

1. Social tiredness: brands need to behave like creators

There’s a huge wearout of being social on social. This is what you need to know:

• Lower engagement. We’re tired of commenting, liking, and sharing. We’re not tired of (brand) content, though. Actually, 71% of TikTokers want brands to be on TikTok, and on Instagram, only 15% of the feed is from friends.  
  
  We view the content in a glance of 1.3 seconds. If we like what we see, we spend a bit more time, but after a few seconds, we’re off to the next, without leaving a visible sign of engagement. However, we do trigger the algorithm to show more of this type of content.
   
• Algorithm fixing. We get bored really fast. The algorithm feeds us more of the same, and we create content that fits what the algorithm wants to push. Within a short time, we hit overload, bored with the format, tired of the trend, and just like that, we move on to the next content micro trend.
   
• Social channels become publication channels. Nowadays, social is like watching TV with a chat function. TikTok (and Instagram) are about consuming content, it's about entertainment, it's not about connecting with your friends and family. And it's about content that's really entertaining, and that teaches you something. 

What to do: behave like a creator

Brands need to behave like creators, producing content that adds value. Because people want to be entertained, inspired, and informed, they don't want ads. 

Rule of thumb: the more professionally pixel-perfect polished your content is, the more it appears like an ad. Not to say you shouldn't produce high-quality content, I'm saying that not every piece of content has to be 100% perfect. A little real, raw, unpolished, unedited edge gives personality. Just like creators do. 

There's a huge difference between creating an ad and creating content for entertainment. As soon as content starts to smell like commerce, people tune out. Nobody wants to be marketed to. And it's good to realize that 61% of consumers trust creator content, while 38% trust brand content. (Cannes Lions). So if you behave more like a creator, you'll also gain more trust. 

Example: ‘Vaseline Verified’ 

Vaseline becomes the voice of reason in a world of viral beauty hacks. They add value by verifying and debunking myths in UGC, making the brand a cheeky authority. (case description)

2. Brand building is (again) the most important: long-term consistency

As said, people want content, not ads. That means for brands, a shift from performance focus to brand building. Being there, consistently. It is not the one-off big, bold campaigns that make an impact. It's the always-on content that ‘feeds’ the consumer by giving value in the form of entertainment, inspiration, or education. 

Brands (still) need to build trust and credibility. And that pays off, seeing the Cannes Lions this year:

• ‘Dove Real Beauty,' how a soap brand created a global self-esteem movement for 20 years
   
• ‘L’Oreal', the final copy of Ilon Specht was a feminist breakthrough (1971)

What to do: 60-40 rule

The 60-40 rule still holds: balance your budget with 60% for brand building and 40% for performance marketing.

In this brand building, it’s about consistency. Showing up and doing that frequently, and recognizably. Not a short and fast campaign, but year after year. 

It’s also about the long-term trust and reciprocation, not immediately wanting to close a sale, but to really help your customer, even if that means they don’t buy directly from you. After all, only 5% of (B2B) customers are ready to buy, and the best metric of success is retention: customers who repeat the purchase.

But consistency without meaning is just noise

No need to tell you that you need a bigger idea, a structure, and a storyline. Right? 

Posting for the sake of posting is not how to build your brand. My advice in a nutshell: stick to a maximum of 3 topics per (half) year, don't spread yourself too thin, and try to tick all the content marketing and customer journey boxes in one go. Better whole ass one thing than half ass everything – especially if you're tight on budget. 

Did you know you have to repeat yourself at least 7 times to make your message stick? 

B2B is finally catching up

The new kid on the block: B2B. It looks like B2B is becoming sexy and the new playground for marketers. And I get it. Where B2B was still rather traditional, now it’s time to apply lessons from B2C to B2B. Don't think that because you're in B2B, the basic rules of attraction suddenly don’t apply.

Ultimately, we communicate with humans, and in B2B, this interaction is even more personal than in B2C, as the buying journey is longer, more intense, and more personalized.

→ B2B Cannes Lions winner shows how it's done: GoDaddy AI software to launch your website and socials

Example: ‘Dove Real Beauty,' how a soap brand created a global self-esteem movement for 20 years

It began in 2004 with a bold insight: only 2% of women considered themselves beautiful. Dove challenged the industry’s narrow ideals by celebrating confidence over perfection, sparking one of the first viral marketing movements.

Reaching millions of young people. Dove didn’t stop at ads; it backed real change, supporting laws like the Crown Act against hair discrimination, and fighting toxic beauty standards on social media. (case description)

3. In the age of technology, it’s creativity and trust that set you apart

We’ve moved past the novelty of AI hype. We still use it, of course, but AI is no longer a differentiator. It’s a commodity. Now, creating content has never been easier, but the result often feels like more of the same. And that's not how you build your brand. 

What to do: ‘involve the crazy ones’

It’s not the tech that sets you apart, it’s the creativity behind it. The curious, messy, and dirty mind that makes unexpected connections and challenges the status quo and how things have always been done. 

What really matters is the human marketer who's guiding the technology to create content that makes your brand stand out.

With the side note that being different and innovative isn’t always about technology; it’s also about looking at things differently.

Trust and ethics as a brand advantage

Marketing now holds even more real power over data and personalization. What starts with persuasion and service can quickly slide into online manipulation or exclusion. Not because anyone plans it, but because we’re moving fast with high workloads, chasing conversions, and using AI and IT tools we don’t fully understand.

That’s the real risk: it happens quietly. Invisibly. And once the damage is done, it’s already too late. How to bake ethics into your marketing strategy and work processes 

Example: Penny locks in price stability in times of inflation

During a period of steep inflation, Penny offered long-term price stability on everyday essentials by locking prices permanently by printing them directly on the packaging. ‘If you print it on the package, you can’t change it.’

This is creative thinking and innovation by design, not by technology. (case description)

More things that matter

4. Great ideas are singular (as in ‘simple’)

As I already said, we're tired. There’s so much going on. In tech and AI, efficiency pressure at the office and home, social pressure, spiking inflation, and geopolitical factors.

We want simple. Nothing complicated that requires headspace and mental effort. The simpler your idea, the more it resonates. 

What to do: go deep on tech, but make it look simple

The trick is to develop it as advanced, tech-supported, data-driven, well-researched, and executed to the highest level of excellence. If you don't do the tech part, you'll miss out, as the UX and CX expectations are high. You just have to make it look very simple, intuitive, and easy to use. 

Rule of thumb: we love simple and easy. At first glance, no-click, no-effort. 

5. Wear out of website content by AI search, zero-click content, and social search

Thanks to AI search and zero-click content, website traffic drops. At the same time, social search becomes the second search engine. Eating away more of your precious traffic.

It's a rollercoaster. What to do?

What to do: I don't know

I don’t have an answer to these developments. All I'm doing now is keeping my pace and peace, continuing to produce high-quality content, and having faith in the future. 

While my web traffic has dropped by more than 30%, my social engagement is at an all-time low, but my newsletter subscribers are growing faster than ever. Apparently, I must be doing something right.

Truly good content is always worth it and will get noticed. Only now, it might take longer and won’t always be measurable. But just because you can’t measure it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t resonate and convert.

6. The gap is growing fast: traditional and tech-driven marketing

This one really blows my mind. I just don’t get it. With all the incredible new technology out there, I’m amazed at how little of it is truly integrated into marketing teams. It’s not a lack of enthusiasm or openness; those are there. It’s rooted in a strange kind of hesitation from leadership. A reluctance to really commit. Is it fear? Budget? Or something else entirely?

Yes, we experiment with AI, we try out ChatGPT, and give CoPilot a nudge. But that’s usually where it stops. A few marketing teams have built their own GPTs, but most are one-off projects. What’s missing is real integration. A rethink of processes and workflows, with AI placed at the core from the start.

Furthermore, the ease of doing research with AI has made everyone feel like an expert. But many lack the context or experience to interpret what they find or to challenge the answers AI gives them.

For me, the person behind the prompt makes all the difference. I take the output seriously only if I trust the person who did the research, someone who put in the thought, context, and effort. I’ll always value that over someone who just runs a prompt and presents the result as is.

What to do: you already know

Embrace AI. Get professional help. Stop experimenting, now is the time for integration and rethinking your processes and ways of working. 

The first agencies are already falling over because of AI. Businesses are next. If you don’t adapt, your competitors, or agile startups, will. And it’s not just lost revenue or market share at stake. You’ll lose talent too, because no one wants to work in a company where AI isn’t part of the way things are done.

Frequently asked questions about marketing and content trends

• What are the marketing and content trends for 2026?
  
  In a nutshell: First, content that's fast and efficient is produced with help from AI, but is crafted by humans. Reflecting the brand's values and point of view. 
  
  Second, focus on brand building over performance content. The brand behind the product matters. And brand content that's produced as if the brand is a creator is far more appreciated by customers than sales-driven performance content. 
  
  Third, it's the creativity that sets you apart, not the tech you're using. 

• Why do the Cannes Lions cases matter for marketing? 
  
  The work that wins awards is the work that stands out, surprising, forward-thinking, and proven to be effective. By studying this kind of work, you can see what resonates. 
  
  Just like in fashion, what you see on the runway from luxury brands shows up in stores not long after.

• What if I don't follow marketing and content trends?
  
  Honestly, in the short term, nothing much will change. (Probably you're already behind your competitors.) 
  
  However, in the long term, you'll notice. Not investing in marketing and failing to keep up with what customers appreciate is the nail in your coffin. 
  
  This also goes for B2B; don't think that because you're in B2B, the basic rules of attraction suddenly don’t apply.

• What's the One Thing to do for marketing and content for 2026?
  
  Besides all the trends, tech, and AI options, I highly recommend that you focus on your ethical standpoint and operational guidance for the marketing team. 
  
  With hyper-personalization and targeting enabling marketing-to-one, the lines quietly and unintentionally get crossed. And you don't notice until it's too late. To obsess on the transparency and privacy of data usage and get rigorous bias testing in place. 

Wrapping it up: Unshittification in 2026

The trends from 2025 continue in 2026. It’s just more integrated. 

What you need to know:

1. Social tiredness: brands need to behave like creators
2. Brand building is (again) the most important: long-term consistency
3. In the age of technology, it’s creativity and trust that set you apart
4. Great ideas are singular (as in ‘simple’)
5. Wear out of website content by AI search, zero-click content, and social search
6. The gap is growing fast: traditional and tech-driven marketing

What you need to do: try hard and harder. Play the marketing and content game by the rules, or miss out. Bring in the professionals, hire the expensive senior to guide the cheaper juniors. And use AI wisely, integrated, not experimented. 

In 2026, there's no such thing as being mediocre. 

Not only do your SEO and SEA drops due to AI search and zero-click content. Additionally, the algorithms will hide your content if it doesn't resonate, even if you promote it with paid advertising budgets. What's left is email marketing, but if you don't nail the web and social content, there's a small chance that you'll excel in email content. 

If you don't, your competitors will. 

The choice is yours. 

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Sources and credit

Credit to all below for feeding me with their insights. Confession, I ‘borrowed’ the term ‘unshittification’ from a WARC deck; it captured what’s happening perfectly. For transparency, I used AI to summarize the Cannes case videos and added my own perspectives and key takeaways.

Ogilvy, ‘Vive la Créativité’

The Drum, Cannes Lions 2025: View all the Grand Prix-winning ads 

WARC, Creative Impact unpacked 

WARC feed 

WARC, Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lions 2025

WARC, Creative Impact Unpacked: What we learned at Cannes Lions 2025

WARC, How to achieve the multiplier effect in China 

WARC Consumer Trends 2025: Five shifts shaping consumer spending

Kantar, Cannes in a can: Refresh yourself with the top 5 takeaways from Cannes 2025 

Ipsos @Cannes  2025

Nielsen, Conversations from Cannes

Cannes Lions

Cannes Lions, Need-to-know numbers 

Cannes Lions, the official Cannes Lions wrap-up 2025

Love The Work 

Love the work, Winners and Shortlists 

Adweek, The Cannes Lions 2025 Controversies Casting a Shadow Over Big Awards  

The New Yorker: Are You Experiencing Posting Ennui? 

The New Yorker: Why posting on social media has become something of the past

Pinterest Summer 2025 Trends

Tracksuit, The Emotion Effect

Tracksuit, Make Waves in the Sea of Sameness

Tracksuit, From Awareness to Effectiveness

Tracksuit, Track the Field Report

The Philosophy of Online Manipulation

When Good Algorithms Go Sexist: Why and How to Advance AI Gender Equity 

Evaluating Gender Bias in Large Language Models in Long-term Care,

Stuff About Advertising

Uncensored CMO

Callum McCahon

Eugbrandstat 

Jarned Carneson 

Paul Evans 

Disclaimer

I update and edit this page frequently with fresh insights. First publication June 2025, update in August, and added the importance of ethics in September. 

Your ethics only show when something breaks. And with AI, that break is mostly invisible, until it’s too late. Resulting in a fast PR shitshow, brand trust gets killed, legal and financial risks, and liability.

→ The real problem: most AI ethics missteps aren’t intentional. They’re baked in.

Did you know that:

• There can be fines up to 7% of global revenue (EU AI Act, 2026): any AI you use must be transparent, governed, and ethically applied
   
• 44% of AI systems show gender bias, and 25% show both gender and racial bias
   
• Targeting and hyper-personalization can unintentionally shift from persuasion to online manipulation and exclusion

If you're using AI in marketing, and you are, ethics are now part of your job, too.

Let's dive into an example of unintended bias, followed by the 5 risks and 3 things you can do.

AI doesn’t need bad intentions to cause real damage

In the UK, councils in adult social care assessments use AI. They took real case notes from 617 people and put them into different language models.

Then they changed just one thing: the gender. By AI, women’s health issues were downplayed compared to men’s; these ‘subtle’ wording shifts directly affect care decisions.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., a review of 133 AI systems found that 44% showed gender bias and 25% showed combined gender and racial bias

EU AI Act

Good to know, the EU AI Act, in force since August 2024 and enforceable from August 2026, is the world’s first full AI regulation with fines up to 7% of global revenue. 

The AI Act bans unacceptable uses such as social scoring, sets strict rules for high-risk systems like hiring or healthcare, and requires transparency from general-purpose AI, including large language models.

→ For marketing, the message is clear: any AI you use for personalization, customer service, or creative work must be transparent, governed, and ethically applied.

The 5 ethical risks in marketing and how AI makes them stronger

These risks aren’t new. But AI makes them bigger, faster, and harder to spot. 

1. Consumers as the product

Free isn’t free. If people don’t pay with money, they pay with their data. They think they’re the customer, but in reality, they’re the product.

→ AI multiplies that trade-off. Data is collected and combined at lightning speed. One small gap in consent turns into systemic exploitation across millions of interactions.

And here’s the real danger: once customers realize they’re being treated as data points instead of people, trust is gone. Not bruised. Gone.

2. Targeting is powerful, but there’s a line

Age or location is one thing. Income, religion, or health? That’s exploitation.

AI takes it further, finding invisible micro-patterns, often rooted in bias, and quietly pushes groups in or out. You don't really notice this happening, but the impact is real. And all of a sudden, your targeting turns into exclusion.

3. Hyper-personalization that steers invisibly

Personalization feels helpful, but let’s be clear: it also nudges people into choices they never planned to make.

AI doesn’t wait for behavior. It predicts it. It pushes consumers into paths before they even see alternatives. What looks like service is actually control and can turn into online manipulation. 

4. Privacy and data misuse

Modern marketing runs on data, but consent is often a fiction. Hidden in the fine print. Buried in 'accept all' clicks.

AI optimization engines combine all that (consented) data, test and tweak endlessly, and then feed the targeting and hyper-personalization systems. Often resulting in manipulative defaults that trap people in decisions that benefit the brand, not the customer.

This isn’t just a legal issue. It’s about trust and clarity in what you do with their data. 

5. Dark patterns in design

Marketers know design shapes behavior. But dark patterns take it further and even too far; they’re design tricks that pressure, mislead, or confuse people into taking actions they never wanted, like hidden opt-ins, sneaky subscriptions, or 'confirm shaming' buttons.

AI amplifies this risk. With all the targeting and hyper-personalization options, you can adjust language, visuals, and even tone of voice to match someone’s emotions in real time.

The result? Every customer gets a different 'truth,' and when people realize you’ve used their emotions against them, they won’t just lose trust, they’ll walk.

→ The question isn’t what AI can do, it’s what we should allow it to do. You can do it by the book and create a role to focus on AI collaborations and ethics.  

But being more realistic, these are the 3 things you can do without adding a huge chunk to your workload.

Marketing AI ethics for people who don’t have time for marketing AI ethics

I know you’re busy, and AI is not sexy. But small steps get you far. This is what you can do today.

1. Awareness is step one

Ignoring ethics in AI usage won’t save you; it’ll surprise you. And not in a good way. Most marketers are sort of aware of the risks, but it’s not really on their radar and sounds like a future-me problem.

Educate yourself and your team. That said, there's no need to dive into philosophy and read Plato, Aristoteles, or Kant. Just be aware. 

• Keep in mind that there’s a real gender and race bias in AI 
   
• And you might be shifting from persuasion to online manipulation and exclusion when combining data for targeting and hyper-personalization

2. Assign someone to own AI and ethics

No owner means no accountability. Appoint someone in the team to stay sharp and ask the hard questions, with the authority to say ‘stop.’

This isn’t a full-time role and can be perfectly blended into the daily work of the marketing team. 

I’d say you need about 4 hours a week to stay up to date on developments, dive into what marketing is producing, educate, and give feedback.

What also helps is having tangible ethical guidelines that clearly define where to draw the line and how far you're willing to go, backed up by real-world examples.

3. Build ethics into your workflow

Test early, test often. Make ethics a part of the brief and the campaign quality assurance. Not a side note in legal review.

Most missteps are unintentional, baked in, and hard to unveil. That’s why you need to be sharp, ask the difficult questions, challenge the systems and campaigns you’ve built.

TL;DR: ethics is part of your marketing job now

You don’t have to be perfect. But you do have to care. Ethical AI isn’t ‘extra.’ It’s insurance. It’s trust. It’s risk prevention. It’s part of your marketing job.

Ethics are not on your radar until the trust gets broken, and then there’s no way back. It’s smarter to prevent problems than to manage crises. And it’s cheaper not to screw it up.

The 5 ethical risks in marketing and how AI makes them stronger

1. Consumers as the product
2. The limits of targeting
3. Hyper-personalization that steers invisibly
4. Privacy and data misuse
5. Dark patterns in design

3 ways to build ethics into AI

1. Create a central AI and ethics role, also great for collaboration
2. Embrace radical transparency with clean data usage
3. Build ethics by design: educate and obsess on transparency and rigorous bias checking

Read how ethics influence the role of the CMO 

More reading and my sources: The Philosophy of Online Manipulation, When Good Algorithms Go Sexist: Why and How to Advance AI Gender Equity, Evaluating Gender Bias in Large Language Models in Long-term Care, and Hannah Samaro's post on LinkedIn. 

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But here’s the inconvenient truth: ethics is now part of our job, too. Not HR’s job. Not a bullet on the comms slide. 

With AI, marketing now holds even more real power over data, personalization, and the line between persuasion and online manipulation. 

And most ethical missteps aren’t malicious. They’re invisible. Until they’re not.

That’s exactly why ethics needs to be baked into your long-term marketing strategy. Not for the headlines, but for the trust. Not because it’s trending, but because it matters and lasts. And being the brand that ‘didn’t mean to’ isn’t a great look.

If we know AI is biased and can be unethical, we need:

• To obsess on the transparency and privacy of data usage
• Rigorous bias testing
• Baking accountability into the system

Executive takeaways 

→ Fines: up to 7% of your global revenue (EU AI Act, 2026)
→ 44% of AI systems show gender bias (US review, 133 AI systems)
→ Ethical AI = brand trust + legal compliance

Let’s start with some obligations, regulations, and fines, followed by why AI is a catalyst and what you need and can do.

From August 2026, you can get a fine of up to 7% of your global revenue for unethical AI usage

Unintended, unethical use of AI is often invisible and hard to grasp. These studies show just how easily bias can find its way into your marketing.

In the UK, councils in adult social care assessments use AI. They took real case notes from 617 people and put them into different language models. Then they changed just one thing: the gender. But by AI, women’s health issues were downplayed compared to men’s; these ‘subtle’ wording shifts directly affect care decisions. (source, research)

And there’s evidence that runs deeper than one UK study. A US review of 133 AI systems found that 44% showed gender bias and 25% showed both gender and racial bias.

This bias is real, and unethical behavior can, unintentionally, creep into marketing. 

The EU AI Act, in force since August 2024 and enforceable from August 2026, is the world’s first full AI regulation with fines up to 7% of global revenue. The Act bans unacceptable uses such as social scoring, sets strict rules for high-risk systems like hiring or healthcare, and requires transparency from general-purpose AI, including large language models.

→ For marketing, the message is clear: any AI you use for personalization, customer service, or creative work must be transparent, governed, and ethically applied.

Now you know your legal obligation, let’s dive into the risks and what you can do.

The 5 ethical risks in marketing and how AI makes them stronger

These risks aren’t new. But AI makes them bigger, faster, and harder to spot. That’s why ethics need to be included in the marketing strategy.

Here are the five big risks and how AI amplifies them.

1. Consumers as the product

Free isn’t free. If people don’t pay with money, they pay with their data. They think they’re the customer, but in reality, they’re the product.

→ AI multiplies that trade-off. Data is collected and combined at lightning speed. One small gap in consent turns into systemic exploitation across millions of interactions.

And here’s the real danger: once customers realize they’re being treated as data points instead of people, trust is gone. Not bruised. Gone.

2. The limits of targeting

Targeting is powerful, but there’s a line. Age or location is one thing. Income, religion, or health? That’s exploitation.

AI takes it further, finding invisible micro-patterns, often rooted in bias, and quietly pushes groups in or out. You don't really notice this happening, but the impact is real. And all of a sudden, your targeting can turn into exclusion.

3. Hyper-personalization that steers invisibly

Personalization feels helpful, but let’s be clear: it also nudges people into choices they never planned to make.

AI doesn’t wait for behavior. It predicts it. It pushes consumers into paths before they even see alternatives. What looks like service is actually control and can turn into online manipulation. 

4. Privacy and data misuse

Modern marketing runs on data, but consent is often a fiction. Hidden in the fine print. Buried in 'accept all' clicks.

AI optimization engines combine all that (consented) data, test and tweak endlessly, and then feed the targeting and hyper-personalization systems. Often resulting in manipulative defaults that trap people in decisions that benefit the brand, not the customer.

This isn’t just a legal issue. It’s about trust and clarity in what you do with their data. 

5. Dark patterns in design

Marketers know design shapes behavior. But dark patterns take it further and even too far; they’re design tricks that pressure, mislead, or confuse people into taking actions they never wanted, like hidden opt-ins, sneaky subscriptions, or 'confirm shaming' buttons.

AI amplifies this risk. With all the targeting and hyper-personalization options, you can adjust language, visuals, and even tone of voice to match someone’s emotions in real time.

The result? Every customer gets a different 'truth,' and when people realize you’ve used their emotions against them, they won’t just lose trust, they’ll walk.

→ The question for CMOs isn’t what AI can do, it’s what we should allow it to do. And how we provide guardrails to prevent our marketing tech and campaigns from slipping out of control.

3 ways CMOs can build ethics into AI

Ethical AI isn’t about getting it perfect. It’s about proving your brand gives a damn about more than just clicks and conversions. Do this ethical part well, and AI becomes more than a productivity tool. 

This is your shot to lead. 

Ethics isn’t a blocker; it can be a brand advantage. Here are three things you can do to shift AI from a trust risk to a trust builder.

1. Create a central AI collaboration and ethics role

AI touches every corner of marketing, from media buying to creative production. Someone needs to own the ethical layer; otherwise, it gets lost in the rush for efficiency.

This person connects the dots across teams, sets clear guardrails, oversees AI investments, and gives leadership visibility into what’s really happening. It’s about having someone accountable for asking the hard questions before mistakes go live at scale.

2. Embrace radical transparency with clean data usage

Consumers are tired of fine print and hidden trade-offs. If you want long-term trust, show exactly how you collect, store, and use data in plain language.

Radical transparency isn’t a weakness. It’s a differentiator. When you prove your data practices are clean and your use of AI is visible, you don’t just meet compliance. You signal that your brand has nothing to hide. That’s a rare competitive edge.

3. Build ethics by design

Ethics can’t be bolted on after launch. It has to be part of how campaigns are designed. That means two things:

• Educate your teams on the ethical risks of AI, especially how it can quietly amplify bias, pressure, and manipulation.
  
  Don’t just wave around abstract principles. Bring in real examples. Break them down. Not to play morality police or to shame, but to unpack how even well-meaning brands end up with unintended bias into their systems.
  
   
• Build rigorous bias checks into your workflow as standard operating procedure
  
  If this isn’t baked into your process, it’s just wishful thinking. Test early, test often. Make sure unintended bias gets caught before it scales and does harm.

Wrapping it up

Bottom line: ethics is part of the job now, and it should be.

Marketers have an obligation: do no harm.

We're not launching missiles or winning wars; we're launching products. So we don’t need to act like conversion rates justify everything.

The 5 ethical risks in marketing and how AI makes them stronger

1. Consumers as the product
2. The limits of targeting
3. Hyper-personalization that steers invisibly
4. Privacy and data misuse
5. Dark patterns in design

3 ways to build ethics into AI

1. Create a central AI and ethics role, also great for collaboration
2. Embrace radical transparency with clean data usage
3. Build ethics by design: educate and obsess on transparency and rigorous bias checking

Now it’s up to you to bake ethics into your long-term marketing strategy. For the trust, because it matters and it lasts. So you can prevent becoming the brand that ‘didn’t mean to’ unethically use AI and create a PR disaster.

My sources: The Philosophy of Online Manipulation, When Good Algorithms Go Sexist: Why and How to Advance AI Gender Equity, Evaluating Gender Bias in Large Language Models in Long-term Care, and Hannah Samaro's post on LinkedIn. 

Let's connect

If this helped you think differently about scaling AI or looking for someone to help you integrate AI, I’d love to connect.

About me and ‘Confessions of a content strategist’

A little bit more about me and my rant as I have a feeling of sharing some background information with you – why what I see and think matters and why I humbly think that I have a point. 

I'm a content strategist with a university background in marketing, media, sociology, and psychology who fell in love with technology, creativity, and data. I have been around in the industry for 25+ years and have worked for over 50+ top-notch brands and agencies. 

I've seen quite a lot. Made many mistakes. Learned even more. 

Now, I share all this with you to nudge and inspire everyone working in marketing, communication, and corporate to do an even better job. Let's be honest; there's already too much crappy content out there; no need to contribute to that, right?

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And now, while testing the public beta of iOS 26, 3 design changes stand out that make me wonder: 

→ Is iOS 26 quietly training us for Apple Vision Pro and the era of spatial computing?

The conclusion might already be here: these changes aren’t just aesthetic tweaks. They feel like subtle prep, nudging us to see screens as portals, not panels.

 

1. Liquid glass design

The first thing you notice is the interface itself. iOS 26 introduces a liquid glass effect across navigation layers, a transparent surface that lets background elements bleed through. It’s more than a visual refresh. 

→ It creates the sense that the interface is floating above the content instead of sitting on top of it

That spatial feeling is also noticeable in the subtle, playful animation when unlocking the screen. The widgets float and bounce into their places, as if they’re settling into a three-dimensional scene instead of a flat layout. See the video at the bottom of this page. 

This matters because spatial computing depends on depth. The Vision Pro interface isn’t built on static windows but on layers that occupy space. Transparent, glass-like surfaces are a way of signaling that shift. They train your eyes and your brain to interact with elements that are part of a scene, not just stuck to a screen.

It’s subtle, but Apple has always used design language to shift user behavior. The skeuomorphic era taught us to trust digital objects. Flat design taught us to read function from minimal cues. Now, liquid glass hints at a future where screens are no longer hard edges but soft frames into something larger.

2. A more immersive full-screen experience

The second change is easy to miss until you use it. The top and the bottom navigation bars aren’t gone, but they’re no longer the solid white strip we’ve seen for years. 

In iOS 26, it becomes a transparent glass bar that lets the background continue underneath. It’s shorter, lighter, and it floats instead of anchoring the UI with a hard line. That one shift makes the entire screen feel more immersive. 

→ It’s not about removing elements; it’s about erasing the sense of edges, and it feels spatial

The phone starts to feel less like a device and more like a window, an opening into content instead of a container for it. That’s exactly what Apple is creating with Vision Pro: the screen as a lens into space, not a frame that defines it.

By changing such a small detail, Apple is teaching us to interact without relying on heavy visual anchors. That behavior will translate perfectly when content is no longer locked to a rectangular device but layered around you.

3. Spatial photos

The third change feels playful on the surface. Photos in iOS 26 now have a subtle 3D effect, giving depth to images as you move your phone. It’s not entirely new technology; Facebook experimented with 3D photos as early as 2019, but Apple’s implementation is different. It’s baked into the OS, not a feature inside an app. 

→ And it feels natural, like the ‘living pictures’ straight out of Harry Potter.

What’s interesting is not the novelty but the context. By bringing 3D to the camera roll itself, Apple is normalizing depth as part of everyday content. They’re making spatial elements something you expect, not a bonus feature. When you later view those same photos in spatial computing, on Vision Pro, and see them layered in space, it won’t feel like a leap. It will feel obvious, inevitable.

This is how Apple prepares us: small, integrated steps that slowly rewire what ‘normal’ looks like.

Connecting the dots

Individually, these changes could be dismissed as design polish. Together, they form a pattern. 

Apple has done this before. Removing the home button trained us for gesture-based navigation. Face ID prepared us for a device that knows you by presence, not touch. Each of these shifts seemed minor until they became foundational to the next platform.

iOS 26 feels like the same playbook. 

The liquid glass design, the edge-dissolving navigation, the everyday 3D effects, they’re not about making iPhones prettier. They’re about reshaping how we interact with digital content so that when screens dissolve into space, it feels natural. We’ll have already learned the language.

The bigger picture

Spatial computing isn’t just a hardware leap. It’s a behavioral one. You don’t wake up one day and suddenly stop thinking of screens as boundaries. You get there through small, consistent nudges. Apple has always understood that. iOS 26 might be another nudge.

If that’s true, this update is a preview of a future where devices disappear and content surrounds us. And just like every other time, Apple is teaching us the new rules before we even realize we’re learning.

→ Am I wrong and seeing things that aren’t there, or is this Apple’s subtle hint? What do you think?

Image credits: Apple and my own content on iPhone with iOS 26
 

This unlock screen animation is preparing us for a spatial, layered reality with animations that feel alive and playful. The first part is in real-time, while the second is in slow motion to show the ingenious beauty of the animation. 

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Before we dive in, let’s be real: nothing I’m about to say is new. You have just ignored it, or conveniently forgotten it, for way too long. And I get it. Changing habits you’ve had for years isn’t easy, especially when the payoff feels harder to track.

Still, if you want to stay visible in 2026, this is what you'll need to do.

• Behave like a creator
• Be consistent
• Simplify

Your alternative ‘more content’ is not the answer, because we’re already drowning in mediocre content. Not being on social media is not an option for most brands either. 

If you play by these rules, content is still a smart investment for your marketing budget.

1. Behave like a creator: add value, not ads

Brands need to behave like creators, not like a brand creating ads and pushing them on social. Your most significant strategic change is a mind shift: add value, not ads

Entertain, inspire, and/or educate the 95% who are not in the market (yet). Only 5% of people are ready to buy. The rest? You'll need to stay on their radar for when they are.

• Put your customer first and reason from their needs. I know, it’s been said a million times. But apparently, this marketing 101 is still widely ignored: most brands remain more focused on themselves than their customers.
   
• Write like you speak. Don’t talk in corporate jargon and bullshit bingo. Don’t polish or overcomplicate. 
   
• And please, don't think that because you're in B2B, these basic rules of attraction suddenly don’t apply.

Explained by example: ‘Vaseline Verified’ Vaseline becomes the voice of reason in a world of viral beauty hacks. They add value by verifying and debunking myths in UGC, making the brand a cheeky authority. 

2. Consistency

Show up. Be there. Day after day, year after year. 

Consistency beats creativity. Being recognizable is more powerful than being original every time. Great brands aren't built overnight. They're built through clarity, intent, and repetition (source). Especially now in these oversaturated content days, showing up is more important than ever.

Consistency compounds, with one tiny mental nudge at a time.

Explained by example: 

• I, a solo entrepreneur without a big budget, running a one-person agency, can create awareness, build a memory structure by showing up consistently. You probably don’t read everything I write. But you see it. 
  
  And that’s my objective. When my name pops up in your inbox next to the subject line, I want one thing to happen: your brain combines ‘Fleur’ with ‘marketing, content, AI.’ That’s it. 
   
• This is how consistency looks like at scale: Dove. Who else. It began in 2004 with a bold insight: only 2% of women considered themselves beautiful. Dove challenged the industry’s narrow ideals by celebrating confidence over perfection, sparking one of the first viral marketing movements. Still going strong and winning awards 20 years later. 

But consistency without meaning is just noise. No need to tell you that you need a bigger idea, a structure, and a storyline. Right? Posting for the sake of posting is not how to build your brand. 

3. Simplify

If you create content for everyone, you create it for no one. Keep it simple. This means two things.

First, you pick one objective per content asset. 

• Don’t try to squeeze in more than one message or storyline. 
• Don’t try to address the needs of different audiences in one go. 

→ Keep it simple and easy to understand. If you have different audiences and needs, create multiple content assets.

Second, compound and repeat. Don’t spread yourself too thin. This is the most common mistake made by marketers: trying to do it all at once with a bare minimum budget. Trying to tick all the customer journey boxes with just one or two content assets per phase. 

Doing a little of everything never beats giving your full attention to one thing. 

→ Did you know you have to repeat your message at least 7 times before it sticks?

A note on AI usage: trust and purchase intention can decline

“When people thought something was AI-generated, they rated that content much worse across metrics like trust and authenticity, regardless of whether it was really AI-generated or not.” Source: Adweek and WARC

The research found a 14% decline in purchase consideration and in their willingness to pay a premium for a product advertised around content perceived to be made by AI. The researchers also found the same for human-made content perceived to be AI-made.

People who saw ads around AI-seeming content rated the ads around it:

• 17% less premium
• 19% less inspiring
• 16% more artificial
• 14% less relatable
• 11% less trustworthy

My take: be careful how much AI you use and fully generate your content and or ads. Show your audience that you still make an effort to create content for them. For my own publications and when I work with clients, I still think by hand before I turn to AI. And that shows in the content and statistics. 

Frequently asked questions why your social reach is dropping and what to do

• I'm seeing the reach dropping on my socials, what can I do?
  
  This is really normal and experienced by all brands. You can do two things. One, invest more paid budget, but that is a patch and not a solution. Two, you behave like a creator and improve the quality of your content. That’s the most effective and efficient long-term move.

• I want to keep my content consistent, but I'm short on time and money. What can I do?
  
  This is where you'll need to be smarter about how you reuse and repurpose your content. Consistency is not about ‘more’ content, but it's about showing up day after day, year after year (and checking your data to repeat content that worked before).
  
  By the way, this doesn't mean you'll need to post every day; 2 or 3 times a week will already get you there. Don't oversaturate. Good to know: consistently low-performing content will reduce your future visibility. The algorithm flags your content as low performing and will hide it from the feed, making it even less likely to be seen. 

Wrap-up: your mini playbook

Social media fatigue is real, and more content is not the answer. Here's your mini playbook on what to do to stay visible in 2026. 

1. Behave like a creator: add value, not ads. Entertain, inspire, and/or educate the 95% who are not in the market (yet)
    
2. Consistency compounds, with one tiny mental nudge at a time
    
3. Simplify: pick one objective per content asset and don’t spread yourself too thin. You have to repeat your message at least 7 times before it sticks

That’s the playbook. What you do with it is what matters.

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→ After digging through 50+ case studies, 25+ blogs and whitepapers, and just as many content by creators and publishers on socials, podcasts, and webinars, I pulled together what I think are the best cases from Cannes 2025, and give context on what that means for 2026. 

Actually, there are 15 cases in random order, not 10. I just couldn't choose. Check the last paragraph for all credits. 

Trend for 2026: ‘Unshittification’, intentionality, and escapism

Riding the ‘being human’ wave from 2025, we're still moving forward. It’s just more integrated, less showy. 

Now adding the ‘unshittification’. We're done. We're fed up with the AI-generated and automated fakeness. We're numbed by the algorithm fixing that results in more of the same content. We're tired of the fast-paced microtrends. 

→ We're done with the AI and the fake. More than ever, we move toward ‘intentional’. We want to escape the fake and polished, and go ‘back’ to the ‘old school’ real, authentic, personal attention, human connection, and meaning. Which all does feel seamless and effortless, thanks to modern technology. 

This puts more weight on brand identity over pure performance, and on the power of bold, simple ideas that truly stand out. Show up, consistently, frequently, and with a long-term mindset. Not just a one-off.

For marketing and content strategists, this isn’t just inspiration; it’s the new standard. And the bar is not just raised, but redefined.

→ All marketing and content trends for 2026 explained

1. ‘AXA, Three Words’ turns home insurance into a lifeline for domestic-violence survivors

→ How 3 words change a boring insurer from a commodity to a lifesaver

Through its “THREE WORDS” campaign, AXA France added a no-cost emergency relocation guarantee to every home-insurance policy. Any woman at risk, whether named on the contract or not, can be moved to safe housing immediately, eliminating the paperwork and financial hurdles.

Because home insurance is mandatory in France and AXA is the market leader, the benefit reaches households nationwide. Survivor testimonies show the policy’s power to provide safety and a fresh start. Celebrated at Cannes Lions 2025 for its social impact, the initiative redefines what insurance can—and should do, positioning AXA as a genuine ally against domestic violence.

2. ‘Caption with intention’ reinvents captions as a powerful storytelling tool

→ Using design and animation to bring words to life 

This caption with intention, by the Chicago Deaf Society, is finally putting deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers at the center of the experience.

For the first time in 50+ years, captions get a meaningful upgrade. This design system adds emotion, tone, and timing through dynamic animations, varied text weights and sizes, and color-coded speaker cues. It makes dialogue easier to follow and brings the feel of a scene, not just the words, to life.

With over 430 million people depending on captions, this isn’t just innovation. It’s inclusion by design.

3. ‘Tenessee sounds sites’ where artists bring alt txt to life

→ Accessibility meets sensibility 

Tennessee songwriters collaborated with blind communities to craft authentic, lyrical descriptions for hundreds of Tennessee images, redefining travel accessibility. Providing descriptive lyrics instead of standard alt-text. Better image descriptions for better experiences. 

Experience it yourself on tnvacation.com

This won a Bronze Lion in the category of copywriting. 

4. ‘Pedigree Camarelo’ turns the most common mutt into the most adopted breed 

→ Using DNA data for good and changing perceptions, as well as long-term brand building and consistency

By giving Caramelos official pedigree certificates based on DNA, Pedigree turned overlooked mutts into national icons. The campaign began when a celebrity’s Caramelo was rejected from a dog show, sparking public debate. And even updated their packaging to feature one. With influencer support, media buzz, and official recognition, Caramelos has become a celebrated symbol of inclusion.

And Pedigree is consistent in showing up in this domain, the ‘Selfie Stix’ won a Lion in 2017, and last year's Adoptable, using AI to make dogs more adoptable. 

5. ‘Amazon Greenventory’ blends AI, drones, and community to turn deforestation into regeneration

→ Using data for good; win for the forest, win for the locals, win for the brand

Faced with severe biome loss, Natura developed a smart mapping system that identifies tree species and sustainable harvesting zones across the Amazon. 

What once took years of manual research can now be achieved in just months, thanks to the use of drones and AI, which unlock precision at scale. The data is handed to local communities, empowering them to earn long-term income without harming the forest. 

Natura guarantees to buy everything they harvest, creating a closed-loop model where community growth fuels forest renewal and product innovation. A partnership to turn deforestation into regeneration—economically and ecologically.

6. ‘Dove Real Beauty,' how a soap brand created a global self-esteem movement for 20 years

→ Brand building is a long-term game that pays off if done consistently

It began in 2004 with a bold insight: only 2% of women considered themselves beautiful. Dove challenged the industry’s narrow ideals by celebrating confidence over perfection, sparking one of the first viral marketing movements.

Through the Dove Self-Esteem Project, the brand became the world’s largest provider of self-esteem education, reaching millions of young people. Dove didn’t stop at ads; it backed real change, supporting laws like the Crown Act against hair discrimination, and fighting toxic beauty standards on social media.

This long-term commitment reshaped public perception, turning Dove into a $7.5 billion brand and one of the world’s most influential platforms for body confidence and inclusive beauty.

7. Dove, ‘Real beauty redefined for the AI era’

→ Using content to influence what AI labels as beauty, Dove keeps showing up, frequently and consistently over 20 years

Dove defends real beauty in a digital age. As AI-generated influencers flood social feeds, Dove raises a red flag: these figures may look real, but they’re entirely artificial, and they’re reshaping how people see themselves. One in three individuals would change their appearance, even knowing the images they’re chasing aren’t real.

Building on its 20-year mission to redefine beauty, Dove’s latest campaign challenges the next frontier of unrealistic standards. The rise of AI adds complexity, but the brand stays grounded in its core belief: authentic beauty matters more than ever.

In this campaign, Dove goes one step further, not just speaking to people, but to the algorithms themselves. By intentionally feeding more diverse and realistic beauty representations into the system, the brand aims to influence how AI and algorithms define beauty, ultimately shaping what shows up in the feed.

8. ‘L’Oreal', the final copy of Ilon Specht was a feminist breakthrough (1971)

→ Long-term brand building, four words that challenged the status quo of the beauty industry

Ilon Specht’s "Because I’m worth it" wasn’t just a slogan; it was a feminist breakthrough.

In a male-dominated advertising world of the 1970s, Ilon Specht, a young female copywriter, challenged the status quo by crafting four words that gave women agency in beauty decisions. ‘Because I’m worth it’ became a quiet but powerful act of rebellion: beauty no longer for male approval, but for self-affirmation.

This short documentary retraces how her frustration with misogynistic norms led to a line that empowered millions of women to own their choices. Despite resistance, like an agency insisting on a male voiceover, the slogan stood strong, rewriting the rules of how women were spoken to in media.

More than 50 years later, Specht’s words still echo as a timeless feminist message, proving that authenticity and self-worth aren’t trends, they’re movements.

9. ‘Sounds Right’ turned nature into a Spotify artist, with a long-term payment stream

→ Using data and payment systems to generate income for nature

Launched on Earth Day, this bold campaign gave Mother Nature an official Spotify artist profile, allowing anyone to support biodiversity simply by streaming. Every time you listen to natural soundscapes or music featuring nature sounds, royalties are funneled directly into conservation efforts through a UN-backed advisory board.  Listening turns into long-term conservation funding.

→ feat. NATURE (Spotify playlist)

Top artists credited Nature as a co-creator, integrating environmental recordings into their music. With over 150 million streams and 14 million listeners, Nature quickly entered Spotify’s top 1% most-played artists.

Crucially, this model created a sustainable, ongoing payment stream for global biodiversity projects, offering a fresh path for environmental funding that scales with culture, not charity. A great collaboration between the Museum for the United Nations and Spotify. 

10. ‘Penny’ price packaging locks in the price in times of inflation

→ Creative thinking and innovation by design, not by technology

During a period of steep inflation, Penny offered long-term price stability on everyday essentials by locking prices permanently by printing them directly on the packaging. ‘If you print it on the package, you can’t change it.’

This is a bold act of transparency. Turning groceries into trust markers, helping shoppers plan and budget with confidence, and reinforcing Penny’s image as a reliable, people-first retailer.

11. ‘Lucky Yatra’ turned train tickets into lottery tickets

→ Creative thinking and flipping perspectives 

Indian Railways turned a frustrating economic problem into a culturally resonant opportunity, transforming each valid train ticket into a lottery ticket, incentivizing honest fare purchase. It wasn’t just a campaign, it was a behavioral nudge built on local insights. It reframed compliance as reward, not punishment.

Nearly 40% of the 24 million daily passengers were riding without paying, and enforcement alone wasn’t working. So instead of cracking down, they tapped into something deeply rooted in Indian society: the love of lotteries.

India has a $33 billion lottery market. For many, playing the lottery is a daily ritual offering hope, excitement, and the chance of life-changing wins, often for just a few rupees. By transforming each valid train ticket into a lottery entry, Indian Railways flipped the script:

• Ticket evasion became a missed opportunity.
• Buying a ticket now came with emotional and financial upside.
• And every ride felt like a chance to win, literally.

The execution was smart, too. Daily and weekly cash draws using ticket serial numbers. No added cost or extra steps for passengers. And targeted launch at 24 high-traffic stations, maximizing impact

The Lucky Yatra campaign was questioned for running too briefly, but Cannes Lions checked it and confirmed it was real. 

12. ‘Bad Bunny’ merges tech, music, and national pride into one unforgettable digital experience

→ Combining data and technology with creative brilliance to counter an insult

‘Floating garbage’ was the insult. What followed was one of the most powerful cultural comebacks ever staged. When a U.S. nitwit labeled Puerto Rico as “an island of garbage,” Bad Bunny and his team flipped the narrative, using music, maps, and tech to turn it into a celebration.

At the heart of the campaign was geo-coordinated storytelling. They mapped over 100 real locations across Puerto Rico, beaches, streets, plazas, and iconic local spots. Each song is linked to a place, each place redefined by its sound. Each is a piece of Puerto Rican identity. These precise coordinates were integrated with:

Google Maps. Users could enter a set of GPS coordinates and be dropped into a physical location across Puerto Rico, not to view it through the eyes of disaster or poverty, but through art, pride, and music. The pins weren’t just markers; they became cultural anchors.

Spotify Integration. Each location unlocked a custom track by Bad Bunny, accessible only through that geo-tag. By moving digitally across the map, fans pieced together an album—part music, part manifesto. The island became a living playlist.

The result was more than a tribute. It was a statement. Not just creative brilliance, it's how it merged tech, music, and national pride into one unforgettable digital experience.

13. ‘Vaseline Verified’ becomes the voice of reason in a world of viral beauty hacks

→ Adding value by verifying and debunking myths in UGC makes the brand a cheeky authority

In a landscape dominated by TikTok trends, Vaseline takes a bold stance, putting internet beauty hacks to the test. By scientifically verifying (or debunking) popular DIY skincare tricks, the brand positions itself as a credible, no-nonsense skincare authority.

“Vaseline hunted down viral DIY skincare hacks on TikTok/Instagram, enlisted 450+ creators to recreate them, ran each tip through an on-camera lab test that either stamped it with a blue-tick Vaseline Verified badge or debunked it, then boosted the verified clips - complete with swipe-to-shop links - driving 63.3 million interactions and turning the brand into skincare’s trust referee.” (quote Callum McCahon)

"5 reasons why Vaseline Verified is modern brand building at its best

1. It’s democratised distinctiveness. Community made. Brand owned.
   They observed how the community interacts with the brand, handed over the keys, but without sacrificing brand codes. In fact, they’ve strengthened them.
2. It deals with the duality of UGC
   UGC is great for reach, risky for messaging. The brand becomes an arbiter of trust. By verifying the genuine hacks, the brand instantly discredits the dodgy ones.
3. It’s delivered at genuine scale. Earned + Owned + Paid integration. 450+ creators. Media spend behind it for visibility beyond existing audiences. 63.3 million interactions. Organic alone won’t cut it.
4. It’s a platform with stretch. Social-first platforms don’t have fixed boundaries. They evolve as momentum builds, creating real longevity for the brand.
5. It combines brand and product: mixing brand building and sales activation on social with shoppable tags—a shift that challenges the old belief that you can't do both in one piece of content. Drove a 43% increase in eCommerce sales. Social commerce = brand + product in one."
   (Credits Callum McCahon)
    

Partnering with content creators, Vaseline evaluates everything from beard care routines to band-aid beauty hacks. Safe ones earn the official “Verified by Vaseline” status, along with a playful trophy box, while dangerous ideas are publicly “unverified.”

The campaign cleverly showcases Vaseline’s versatility, from protecting lips and cuticles to even healing a dog’s dry nose. In doing so, the brand doesn’t just correct misinformation—it reinforces its role as a trusted, science-backed staple in daily care routines.

14. ‘B2B; Act like you know’ by GoDaddy

→ There's absolutely no legit reason B2B should be boring

A campaign with actor Walton Goggins used humor and AI to launch a real sunglasses brand, showing how anyone, regardless of experience, can confidently start a business with GoDaddy Arrow. The campaign blended entertainment with product utility, earning billions of media impressions and demonstrating the power of merging story, personality, and tech utility.

At its core was GoDaddy Arrow, an AI tool that helped create a real sunglasses business, logo, website, and all. What started as a playful Super Bowl ad turned into a functioning company, blurring the lines between ad fiction and real-world action. While walking the talk, launching a business on national TV.

15. IKEA ‘Hidden tags’ tackled the myth that IKEA furniture is disposable

→ Data on the product labels tell the true story

By encouraging people to check the hidden manufacturing tags on their furniture, the brand proved many pieces were older and more durable than expected. One customer even found a piece from 1969. 

Thousands of old tags inspired millions with proof of Ikea's long-lasting quality. The second-hand market also uses these tags to show value, reinforcing the message. With gift card prizes and widespread participation, the campaign successfully shifted perceptions: Ikea furniture can stand the test of time.

Sources and transparency on AI usage

Credit to all below for feeding me with their insights. Confession, I ‘borrowed’ the term ‘unshittification’ from a WARC deck; it captured what’s happening perfectly. For transparency, I used AI to summarize the case videos and added my own perspectives and key takeaways.

Ogilvy, ‘Vive la Créativité’

The Drum, Cannes Lions 2025: View all the Grand Prix-winning ads 

WARC, Creative Impact unpacked 

WARC feed 

WARC, Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lions 2025

WARC, Creative Impact Unpacked: What we learned at Cannes Lions 2025

Kantar, Cannes in a can: Refresh yourself with the top 5 takeaways from Cannes 2025 

Ipsos @Cannes  2025

Nielsen, Conversations from Cannes

Cannes Lions

Cannes Lions, Need-to-know numbers 

Cannes Lions, The official Cannes Lions wrap-up 2025 

Love The Work 

Love the work, Winners and Shortlists 

Adweek, The Cannes Lions 2025 Controversies Casting a Shadow Over Big Awards  

Stuff About Advertising

Callum McCahon

Eugbrandstat 

Jarned Carneson 

Paul Evans 

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In short:

• Less content is more impact: We're tired of overflowing inboxes and bottomless scrolling timelines, we crave quality over quantity. We need less content but of higher quality. With the constant pressure for efficiency and getting more done, we start tuning out and becoming more selective. 
  
  We're drowning in information and starving for knowledge. 
   
• The choices are endless, so you need to step up your game as a brand. It’s about addressing needs, answering questions, and providing top-level entertainment. Not through pixel-perfect content, but by focusing on what truly matters to everyone: ourselves.
   
• We’re becoming less engaged on social, and algorithms are trying to adapt. A more AI-human approach is needed. 
  
  Less polished, more outspoken.

Let’s zoom in on 3 trends that stand out. I'll start with the most important one: human connection and authenticity. 

1. Human-first content: why authenticity matters more than ever

The more AI we have, the more we value human effort. We are social beings and crave attention and connection.

→ Let’s use AI where possible to have time for human connection where needed.

Of course, there is a huge efficiency win in automation and having AI agents working on your customer care and sales processes. The danger is in using AI to pretend to be human.

It’s for a reason that authenticity is a hype. We want to know if the other is human, and made an effort when reaching out to us.

What to do as a brand or thought leader

This is simple. Make an effort. Use AI to increase efficiency and speed up processes, but don’t fully rely on it. Nor automate everything. In the end, personal attention is what makes the difference and closes the deals.

→ If you have AI to handle the routine, you free up time for meaningful human connection.

In line with the craving for personal connection is social media fatigue. We're oversaturated; there's so much out there, we don't know where to start, so sometimes we tune out and go offline. 

2. Social media fatigue is real, how to adapt

This fatigue is real. Due to the vast overflow of (mediocre) content, people zoom out. Content quality is spiraling down in favor of quantity in the hunt for vanity metrics, especially on social media.

• Somewhere, I read that the real successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders refrain from such practices; they move in silence in the background and connect personally.
  
  This makes sense to me. I value authentic interest and genuine connection over being part of a clickbait anytime.
   
• Next, People hold back from liking or commenting on posts. Being tired of engagement is real. 
  
  You see fewer likes and comments on social, but people do read your posts. This is based on my experience publishing almost 200 LinkedIn newsletters. Hardly anyone gives me a like, but almost everyone reads it regularly, according to my DMs and chats. It's the same as dark social, because you can't measure it, doesn't mean it isn't there. 
   
• Third, the rise of niche channels is also real. I’ve never seen so many of my contacts popping up as new users on Substack, my follower growth on Medium, and I can’t be the only one who emptied and closed my Facebook account.

Not even to mention the resistance people feel against the big tech bros…

What to do as a brand or thought leader

The answer is simple. Produce less (social) content. Learn the algorithms and keep up with their speed. The algorithm changes every few months; what works now can be different in the future. 

Again, you absolutely don’t need more content; you need better content. Higher quality, truly focused on your reader and reasoned from their perspective, not yours. 

You don’t need 100+ content pieces. If you have around 5 or 10 really amazing ones, you can update, reuse, repurpose, and republish those time and time again.

Like many other websites, my site gets 80% of its traffic from just 10 to 20% of its content. Your data can tell you exactly which content performs well and which doesn’t.

It brings me to the next point: how to get the attention? Again, It’s all about quality.

3. Quality is king: how to stand out in our AI-driven world

This is nothing new but a kind reminder. In the abundance of mediocre AI-generated or automated content, the true gems still shine. This is fully in line with the tiredness described above.

Three things to know.

• First, the coolest people in our society right now are the ones who are deeply obsessed. Niche expertise. 
  
  It’s never been easier to crank out content, pretend you’re an expert, and know a little about a lot. When everyone is going broad (and shallow); the status will come from the ability to go deep, to know a lot about a little.

• Second, algorithms adapt. Search also adapts. About 50% recognize AI-generated content and tune out. And thanks to AI, it also becomes easier to see if the content has real value, is created by a knowledgeable professional, or is just summarizing the internet. AI works both ways; it’s becoming easier to produce content, but it’s also becoming easier to distinguish between mediocre, good, and great.

• Third, we develop blindness for mediocre content and tune out. We become better and faster in recognizing content that is real, personal, and has authentic points of view with insights shared by experts who paid their dues in the industry.

Conclusion: you don’t need more content; you need less content of higher quality, produced with a bit more love, and AI-powered, not AI-generated.

What to do as a brand or thought leader

Don’t be lazy or want to be too efficient. Make a human effort.

For your content strategy, you must first research what matters to your customers, not just what you want to tell the world. If you don’t tap into what your customer needs content-wise, there’s no need to create content at all. Use data, use AI, and lastly, talk to your customers about what they want.

Also, please make an effort to learn how to configure your AI and prompt. If done wisely with expertise and an eye for detail, this can save you up to 75% time in your content production process while you elevate the quality and stay authentic and in your brand voice.

For my client, it took me 2 days of AI configuration to be able to create high-quality content in 4 to 6 hours instead of the 40+ hours originally. And based on their feedback, I update the configuration almost weekly.

Frequently asked questions about content and AI for 2025

• What is the biggest content trend for 2025?
  
  If I have to summarize, it's ‘human.’ The more AI we have, the more we value personal connection. Not only to know if the other is ‘real’ or a bot but also just because we're social beings and crave attention. 

• How can I use AI to create content? 
  
  There are two ways. The common quick and dirty, which results in generic mediocre content, prompt-and-go. And the more thought-through process where you spend a lot of time on the strategic framework and processes, AI configuration, and operational workflow. Which results in AI-powered, high-quality, engaging content. 
  
  Of course, every leader wants quality over speed. But it takes effort; please realize this takes seniority, a serious budget, and time. 

Final thoughts: content in 2025 is all about connection & quality

2025. What's hot and what's not? My predictions for this year were spot on. Now that we're 3 months in, I'd like to focus even more on:

1. Human connection and authenticity
2. Social media fatigue is real
3. Quality to stand out

As a brand or thought leader, it's a no-brainer that you have to adjust your content accordingly. Use AI wisely to improve your content; it's still the human factor that counts and makes the difference. 

AI is not about more; AI is about better and faster. So we can free up time to connect again. 

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The tides are shifting.

Here are three key trends shaping content:

1. The rise of niche channels as an answer to social media and engagement tiredness
2. Humanizing content as an answer to AI
3. Brands are now expected to be bold and playful

This is the first episode of a three-fold series I zoom in on the rise of niche channels. This is an answer to social media and engagement tiredness, reflecting a shift towards smaller, more community-driven spaces where users can find more genuine interactions.

With the popularity of the brand new BlueSky, the less new Threads, and the overnight growth and hipsterness of established channels like Substack and Reddit, I rest my case.

This is what you need to know.

Social media fatigue is real, but it’s not killing social

Around 40% of people in the Netherlands report feeling tired of social media and consider reducing their time spent on platforms. While intentions often differ from actions, there’s no doubt a change is on the horizon. 

Globally, time spent on social is down slightly, while in the Netherlands, it’s stable at about 1 hour and 30 minutes a day.

Algorithms are changing, adapt or fall behind

The bread and butter of social platforms are their users, and to keep them engaged, platforms must constantly refine what content they deliver. 

TikTok has set a new bar with its algorithm, serving content based purely on user engagement rather than who you follow. 

Instagram, LinkedIn, and others are racing to adapt to this model. 

The message is clear: if content isn’t resonating, it’s not getting pushed, whether organic or paid.

Niche channels are on the rise, but proceed with caution

In a landscape crowded with AI-generated content, people crave genuine, community-driven spaces. 

New and niche channels like Bluesky, Threads, Discord, Substack, and Reddit are growing in popularity as they offer more personalized, less commercialized experiences. 

While these platforms are increasingly popular, they might not be right for every brand just yet.

What does this mean for your social strategy?

The days of mass-produced, bland content are over. If you want to keep your audience engaged, you must focus on quality over quantity. 

Know how algorithms work and use that to make sure your content speaks to what your audience wants: entertainment, education, and inspiration. This is true for organic and paid posts alike.

On LinkedIn, for instance, organic reach has dropped significantly, especially for business pages. The algorithm now rewards active, connected users over passive content pushers. For business pages, pay to play or adapt and tap into the personal and human side of your business and use your C-suite and employees to connect to others. 

So, what’s the big takeaway? 

Stop trying to be everywhere at once. Instead, double down on the platforms that matter to your audience and refine your message. Use AI tools wisely, don’t let them replace authenticity.

Final thoughts: quality is king in 2025

The biggest shift we’re seeing is the heightened importance of quality. To cut through the social noise, your content must resonate and bring real value—don't be too serious, don't puff up, no excessive ads, no empty product plugs. You might think you don't fluff, but 9 out of 10, you do. 

Whether you’re aiming to entertain, inspire, or educate, the goal is to make your audience feel like their time spent engaging with your content is time well spent.

Stay tuned for the next episodes in this series, ‘Humanizing content as an answer to AI', and why ‘Brands are now expected to be bold and playful.’

Key takeaways

• People aren't leaving social platforms, but they’re becoming more selective. Content quality and relevance are more important than ever as users seek more value and less noise.
   
• The secret to social success is no longer simply visibility—it’s relevance. To thrive under the new algorithm rules, brands need to focus on creating content that entertains, educates, or inspires.
   
• Brands should resist the urge to immediately flood every new niche channel. Instead, focus on improving content quality where your audience already engages, adding value through genuine storytelling rather than pushing ads.

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About me

A little bit more about me as I have a feeling to share some background information and credits with you – why what I see and think matters and why I humbly think that I have a point. 

I'm a content strategist with a university background in marketing, media, sociology, and psychology who fell in love with technology, creativity, and data. I have been around in the industry for 25+ years—yes, I started at a young age—and have worked for over 50+ top-notch brands and agencies. 

I've seen quite a lot. Made many mistakes. Learned even more. Now, I share all this with you to nudge and inspire everyone working in marketing, communication, and corporate to do an even better job. Let's be honest; there's already too much crappy content out there; no need to contribute to that, right?

Please check the sources before jumping to conclusions. Credit where credit is due: thanks to my coworkers from Dentsu Creative in Amsterdam, who helped me kickstart the overarching trends. I did the rest of the research and analysis myself. If I missed anything or made a mistake, please let me know. I'm only human, and hiccups happen. 

Sources and credits

• Dentsu Creative Amsterdam 
• NewCom Social Media Onderzoek 2024
• WPP Cannes Lions 2024
• Rockcontent Cannes Lions 2024
• LinkedIn algorithm secrets (monthly updated)
• LinkedIn algorithm secrets archive
• GWI usage of social media 2024
• Smart Insights global social media statistics 2024
• Social media data report 2024 (Meltwater, We Are Social and many others)
• Frankwatching and NewCom
• Datareportal 10 stats for 2024 (video)
• Datareportal extended 560 slides deck
• Datareportal social media 2024 details
• WARC Effective 100 2024
• https://medium.com/@johnkovacevich/case-studies-for-the-2024-cannes-lion-grand-prix-winners-36b314146b86
• https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/cmotalk/id1231349060?i=1000664207981
• https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/cmotalk/id1231349060?i=1000664207808
• https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/cmotalk/id1231349060?i=1000662813952
• https://offers.hubspot.com/ai-marketing

→ What's more believable and real, a review where a brand new product is shown or the same review with an obviously used and or worn product?

This means you replace the new and perfect-state products with products that are dented, busted, gouged, or panned half-empty from use. 

Be more real and relatable; be less perfect

This new trend builds upon the booming de-influencing, under-consumption, and quiet luxury trends on social. Usually, what you see on TikTok emerges in other socials within a few weeks and in society within a few months to a year. The same is true here; I already wrote about them in 2023, and they are still growing and becoming more popular. 

For the clarity of the post, let’s undress the terminology.

• Deinfluencing challenges hypes promoted by influences, pushing back on these promoted trends and products, and emphasizing honest reviews.
   
• Underconsumption is about choosing less and resisting overconsumption. It promotes mindful spending, valuing quality over quantity, and focusing on living with intention instead of accumulating more.
   
• Quiet luxury is about not showing off with big brands, logos, and names. It’s about slowing and toning down and focusing on quality over quantity; less is more.

Check out this TikTok that inspired me: ‘In a world where there is a new product launch every single month, the novelty and shine of new makeup has worn off and we are starting to romanticize using our stuff.’

Why authenticity matters

People are getting tired of all the ads. Tired of the perfect state of things while they look at their own lives falling apart while we can't keep up with every shiny new trend. 

We are massively getting fed up with crafted, polished social content that’s not relatable to our worlds. Not even to mention how tired we are of the fakeness of the products influencers push upon us. Creators are becoming more popular than influencers for a reason. 

As a result, roughly 40% consider spending less time and engaging less on social, as explained in '2025 Content trends’.

Next to this, we want to counterbalance AI; we don't know what's real and what's not. Therefore, the less perfect something is, the more probably it's real and authentic. We value authenticity and realness more and more. 

What you can do for 2025

There are three things you can do immediately. If you start now, you have a bigger chance to be noticed and stand out in next year's content – this process takes time. 

1. Keep your eye on TikTok for trends; what’s hip and happening there will eventually spread to other socials and society. 
   
   Know what's coming your way is half the work and you can decide if you want to join, or not. 
    
2. Get buy-in for showing imperfection and to show your product in its authentic and used condition. Dented. Busted. Panned. Nobody believes a review where the product is brand new. If the product is obviously used, it 10x'es the credibility. 
   
   It takes time to convince the more traditional marketers and get them on board. 
    
3. Dare to embrace being real. Dare to be less perfect and more real. Perfection is boring. Authenticity is key to stand out.

And you’re not alone. Big brands leading the way, two examples:

• Coca-Cola dared to crumble its can to promote recycling.
• IKEA dared to show the real state of the furniture in daily life. 

Both won a Lion in Cannes 2024. Apparently, they're onto something. 

Wrapping it up

If you want to stand out, you have to dare to be real. We're getting tired of the polished, picture-perfect products that are not relatable to our own daily lives. You're losing credibility if you're just too perfect. 

What to do

• Show your products in the used, dented, busted, gouged, panned state to win credibility
   
• Show that you know what's going on in society: we're tired of being perfect, we want a counter-balance for AI, we are fed up with influencers, and as a result, we're flirting with underconsumption, deinfluencing, and quiet luxury

And please, don't forget to have some fun along the way! 

Need help?

If you need any help with all of the above—and I’m not biased at all—I’m thoroughly experienced, have ruffled many feathers, and have learned from my mistakes, drop me an email. If I’m not the right person to help you, maybe I can recommend someone or an agency from my network.

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Let’s start with why it matters to know what’s next this early. That's easy. You move slow at the corporate level, and the adjustment pace is generally, well… a bit low — no offense meaning. 

So, the sooner you know, the faster you can start acting. 

This is what you need to know to prepare for 2025.

1. We’re getting tired of the crappy content flood on socials. As a result, we spend less time and engage less on social and seek more niche and personal channels.
    
2. All you can do as a brand is upgrade your quality. Great content is not about you; it’s (still) about your audience. That becomes even more important to get reach; paid doesn't guarantee that anymore. 
    
3. As a counterbalance against AI, we value human connection more than ever. And that shows in the ads to get awarded in the industry.
    
4. Next to that, we finally dare again to stand up and speak out. On ethics and what matters to us. And we become more playful with logos and products. We break the unwritten rules.
    
5. Lastly, we embrace data and AI in a different way. Not only for production, also as a direction and a reflection.

Bear with me as this will be a rather long read; you can skip and skim to the most relevant paragraphs; there is no need to read from beginning to end. I’ll try to keep it as short as possible.

1. Social media tiredness causes algorithms to change, and the rise of niche channels

In the Netherlands, about 40% of the population is getting social tired and thinks about cutting down social time and engagement [Newcom, 2024]. Of course, take this with a grain of salt; ‘saying’ and ‘doing’ are still two different things. Yet it’s an indication there’s a change coming.

→ Social is not dead, but it is changing. 

2024, Social analytics and the numbers

• Time spent on social: Globally, there is a -2.7% or - 4 minutes of daily time spent on social, now at 2h23min. Disclaimer: this is a global number; in the Netherlands, the usage of social is actually + 1 minute per day at 1h30, despite their intention of cutting down on time and engagement I mentioned above [SmartInsights] [NewCom on Frankwatching] [Datareportal][Meltwater]. 
   
• Popularity in numbers: Facebook is still the biggest in numbers among Millennials, GenX, and even older people, but that's changing very fast. Instagram is now second, YouTube third, and TikTok is fourth. For Gen Z, Instagram is first. [GWI] 
   
• Popularity in usage and time on the channel: For popularity, Instagram is the global number one, WhatsApp is second, Facebook is third, WeChat is fourth, and TikTok is fifth. For time spent per day, TikTok is at the top, with over 1 hour daily. [Datareportal]

And I get it. With the vast amount of shitty content, it’s overwhelming and just a bit too much. Brands, publishers, creators, influencers, you and me, we all use AI to create even more content,  that doesn’t help either.

This results in two things,

• Social channels adjust their algorithms: hello there, LinkedIn and Instagram copying TikTok
• The rise of niche channels: hello Telegram, Discord, Reddit, Signal, Twitch, Threads, BeReal, Mastodon, Tumblr, and more

Let’s dive into some details per channel.

First, why algorithms continuously change

This is how the business case of a social channel works. Yes, it's about generating revenue with paid ads, but the bread and butter are still the users who are on the platform. 

→ Socials earn money when users watch the (paid) content in between the (organic) content. 

→ Users only like to watch content that adds value and fulfills their need for entertainment, inspiration, or education. 

→ So, if the user does not like the content, the user will leave the social channel. 

→ Therefore, serving the best, most liked content is in the social channel’s interest. As a result, shitty content gets declined, whether it’s paid or organic.

TikTok drives these changes even further

TikTok. I know this is not the most obvious channel for business, yet its brilliant algorithm influences all other channels. The biggest difference is that TikTok’s ‘for you’ homepage serves content based on your engagement behavior, not on who you follow or like.

Back in the day, socials used to serve you a mix of who you followed and what they thought you’d like. Now, thanks to TikTok, it’s based on what you like, measured in what you watch in milliseconds and your engagement. And the algorithm reacts fast; on TikTok, you can change what algorithm serves you in as little as 10 minutes.

Instagram and others

The other social channels copy this. Everyone looks at each other and 'borrows' what works, from super short-form video to reels, swipes, and sequential content.

But what works today will be different tomorrow, so I don’t even try to describe what changed. We know one thing for sure, it keeps on changing, there's never a dull moment.

LinkedIn is usually late to the game and the last to follow, which isn’t bad due to its more business-paced nature.

LinkedIn's changes

Everyone sees a drop, some even up to 90%, in reach and engagement on LinkedIn over the last year. It’s not you or your content; it’s the algorithm that changed, and you'll need to adapt accordingly. 

Now, LinkedIn favors the real connected and active users over the daily one-way content pushers.

For the business pages, the news is even worse. The organic business page content fills just 1.5% of the user’s timeline. Pay to play, or use your employees and ambassadors to spread your content for you.

Check my monthly LinkedIn algorithm secrets update for the latest updates and how to's. 

The rise of niche channels

With more AI comes more overwhelming automated and generated content in the feed. As a result, we prefer (human) (real) (authentic) (not paid) (not commercialized) (no brand) content.

Not surprising that the smaller and niche channels keep growing. It's there where people find their communities and why they ditch the bigger socials.

What can you do with these niche channels as a brand? My advice for now is to leave it alone. Please. You don’t need to push your ads on every channel. Wait until the market balances out. 

And in the meantime, you focus on upgrading your other social content and improving the quality so it resonates more with your audience.

Conclusion and my advice

The quality of your content has never been more important. Work with the algorithm by focusing on how your content adds value to your audience: no ads, no promotions, no highlighting, features, or product launches.

Focus on entertainment, inspiration, or education.

This applies to organic and paid content, which I explain in the next paragraph.

2. Paid is no guarantee for reach anymore

As mentioned above, social channels want users to stay on their channel. Users stay on the channel if its content adds value; if there’s too much crappy content and one-way ads, they’ll leave. The social channels don't want content that doesn’t resonate with the users. Not even if you pay. After all, if your paid content doesn’t resonate, the channel doesn’t serve it out of fear of losing users.

In other words explained, social channels want to keep users hooked. To do that, the content has to deliver value. If users are bombarded with junk and too many ads, they’ll walk away. There’s no space for content that doesn’t hit the mark—not even if you pay. If your paid content doesn’t resonate, the platform won’t push it because they can’t afford to lose their users.

→ In short: paid is no guarantee for reach anymore

This means, as a brand, you need to focus on the user and not on you. 

For some marketers, this is a given; for the majority, they still see social as a derivation of a campaign. And that’s just not how it works. 

Your campaign needs to have a social-first mindset with engagement and working with the algorithm at its core. This means social is integrated from the very first brief and beginning, not as a channel but as a way of thinking.

The algorithm selects your audience, not you

Another thing you can do is rely on the algorithm to serve the content to the audiences that engage with you. It's turned around; it’s not you who defines the audience in the campaign setup; it’s the algorithm that serves your content to those who value it.

You optimize your assets to the user, and you don’t ‘buy’ the user anymore. 

Explained by example: if you’re an electric car brand, you create social content that resonates with the 25-35-year-old male living in a city with 2 children and 1 dog, who cares about the environment and might be in the market for a new electric car. You select a very broad audience in your campaign, and the algorithm will serve it to those who are most likely to like and engage with it. If you did an excellent job with your quality, that will be that 25-35-year-old male. 

By the way, high quality doesn’t mean pixel-perfect productions. Actually, the less authentic, raw, personal, and a bit edgy your content is, the more it will resonate as people are a bit tired of the overly polished posts.

→ What to do? 

Optimize your content for your audience's needs. And vamp up the quality. 

How to improve your quality

Improving your quality is easier said than done. There’s so much to tell; I don't know where to start... For now, my advice is to improve your content strategy and your briefing skills as a first step. After all, shit in is shit out. 

• A content strategy should be a deviation of your brand strategy, not your marketing strategy. As your content is more than marketing. 
   
• Your brief should be focused on how content adds value to your business. A good brief is a short one-page document describing your problem, not the solution.

I work for clients and agencies, and time after time I’m surprised by the subpar level of briefs from client to agency and agency not pushing back hard enough.

Below, you find my honest take on the industry, agency side, client side, and freelancer side. 

Who and whom to work with

For content strategy, I am not biased at all; it’s me who can help you. For an agency, there are so many great and less great ones out there, DM me for advice. As always, the quality of an agency rises and falls with the people who work there. 

The same applies to working with freelancers; there are the good, the bad, and the ugly ones.  

Now we understand the two major changes, let’s get into the creative part and rely on what was awarded at the Cannes Lions 2024. 

There are 3 main trends: human as a counterbalance for the AI, standing up and speaking out, and data combined with AI. 

→ Here, you can view all my favorite Cannes cases. Just sit, click, watch, and be inspired. 

3. Human, humanize, humanity

This is where things get really great! This is all based on what’s hot and not in Cannes Lions 2024. For the first time in many years, I’m blown away by the creativity that surprises, enlightens, and is daringly bold. Yes!

And it makes total sense. 

The more AI, the more we value human contact—real, authentic, personal. It’s for a reason that personal selling outperforms automation with forms, and flows. I prefer a personal email or call any time over being marketed to, no matter how personalized you make it for me with AI and CRM systems.

So, what we see in Cannes is that the great winners put 1 human upfront and honor them.

• JCDecaux gives a stage to abuela Marina Pietro in the Madrid metro to prove that out-of-home still works like magic. With the just-and-only posters, she went from a few followers to 10K+. 
   
• Allgemeiner Frankfurter Zeitung honors cultural icons, Oscar Winners, sports heroes, and Margot Friedlander, the 102-year-old last Holocaust survivor, in its Brilliant Minds campaign to celebrate its 100th edition and address the concerning political changes in the world around us.
   
• Johnny Walker honors the forgotten female founder Alaída Cosa of Bossa Nova, gives her a stage with modern technology, and buys a fat, big paid spread in the newspaper to give her the credit she deserves. 

This is about connection, not emotion

Please notice that this ‘human’ is not about emotion; it's about connection. And from the connection, inform and educate. Quote from WARC.

• "Informative and educational creative strategies have overtaken emotional strategies
  The last five years have seen the proportion of informative or educational strategies overtake that of emotional strategies. The dominance of purpose-led marketing over the same period may be a contributing factor.
   
• Awareness, sales growth and brand building are the dominant objectives
  Used by over half of the top 100 campaigns in 2024, these are the top objectives across all campaigns on WARC, but sales growth over-indexes against the norm in these very effective cases by nine percentage points."

4. Stand up, speak out, dare to be bold

This is what I love about brands nowadays. They are not afraid to address what matters and dare to be different. Not only on ethical topics, also in playing and having fun with their brand and logo.

Here are the Cannes Lions cases that inspire to do good and have fun. 

On ethics

• The Down Syndrome Association in Argentina uses data to tackle and debunk absurd political promises. As an alternative realistic and impactful promise, they propose a new law that no longer obliges people with Down syndrome to renew their disability certificate every year. And they succeed with 100% of the votes. 
   
• Dove stays true to their claim and turns their backs on using the ‘Bold Glamour’ filter in TikTok to stand up against the unrealistic, humanly impossible beauty standards on social.
   
• KPN in the Netherlands addresses the devastating consequences of forwarding very personal pictures and content to others. Think before you share what others sent you in private. It’s not about the sexting; it’s about the unsolicited forwarding of it to others and the huge impact that it has on girls’ lives. 
   
• AXA changes 3 little words in their terms and conditions in 3.5 million contracts in France with retroactive effect to enable women to escape domestic violence at home by giving them time and a safe place to stay to find a long-term solution. They provide emergency relocation when a home becomes inhabitable in the event of fire or flood, and domestic violence.

Play with your logo, and have fun with your brand and products

• Coca-Cola does what every brand despises: altering its logo. They play with the logo to promote recycling in a typical Coca-Cola way. Twisting and turning their logo in the ‘Recycle me’ campaign and in the ‘Thanks to Cola-creating’ where they turn self made Coca-Cola logos into cans and ads. 
   
• Heineken is doing the same to celebrate its 150th anniversary. ‘Heineken is the most misspelled beer brand in the world.’ Why not put those names on bottles and cans?
   
• Or Heinz, who celebrates fraud instead of hiding it. ‘Even when it isn’t Heinz, it has to be Heinz’. 
   
• And IKEA displays naughty furry pets and the IKEA products they demolished, broke, or just simply destroyed. ‘Don’t’ worry; you can afford it.’ 

5. Data and AI

By now, we all use data and AI, but this is at a different level.

But first, what's happening in 2024

AI adoption in marketing is 74% in 2023, and will be a must-have by 2030. 68% of marketers already see the benefits, with AI taking over routine tasks and freeing up space for more creative, strategic work. 57% of marketers feel pressured to keep up or risk falling behind. 

Content creation is getting a boost, with the realization that the human touch is still key.  

In summary, AI drives real productivity gains and sharper data insights, making marketing smarter and more effective. [Hubspot AI trend report 2024]

Embrace AI to do good – read, and learn

Now, in (almost) real-time, we can use data, from aggregation to analysis, and feed that back into the campaign. That’s something different and gives us and society a mirror of what’s going on.

• For AI, it’s the next step in creativity and using it for good. Pedigree ‘Adoptable’ is doing an excellent job in turning a scruffy picture of a shelter dog into advertisement-worthy images, including videos to get them adopted. Besides, this is perfectly in line with their love for our furry friends and playing with doggy face filters in ‘Stix’ (2018)
   
• This is mind-blowing. Usually, when women enter a company's board, the stock price drops (…). However, data, facts, and figures show that revenue grows when women enter the board, and the value rises in the long term. Pink Chip, ‘Invest in proof, not bias.’ 
   
• And more data for good. Mastercard's ‘Room for Everyone’ uses purchase data to prove that stores next to each other strengthen the business for both. Debunking the myth and aversion by Polish entrepreneurs for having a Ukrainian shop next door.  

Wrapping it up for 2025

This is what you need to know.

• We’re getting tired of the crappy content flood on socials. As a result, we spend less time and engage less, and seek more niche and personal channels.
• All you can do as a brand is upgrade your quality. Great content is not about you; it’s (still) about your audience. That becomes even more important to get reach, paid doesn't guarantee that anymore. 
• As a counterbalance against AI, we value human connection more than ever. And that shows in the ads to get awarded in the industry.
• Next to that, we finally dare again to stand up and speak out. On ethics and what matters to us. And we become more playful with logos and products. We break the unwritten rules.
• Lastly, we embrace data and AI in a different way. Not only for production, also as a direction and a reflection.

About me

A little bit more about me as I have a feeling to share some background information and credits with you – why what I see and think matters and why I humbly think that I have a point. 

I'm a content strategist with a university background in marketing, media, sociology, and psychology who fell in love with technology, creativity, and data. I have been around in the industry for 25+ years—yes, I started at a young age—and have worked for over 50+ top-notch brands and agencies. 

I've seen quite a lot. Made many mistakes. Learned even more. Now, I share all this with you to nudge and inspire everyone working in marketing, communication, and corporate to do an even better job. Let's be honest; there's already too much crappy content out there; no need to contribute to that, right?

Please check the sources before jumping to conclusions. Credit where credit is due: thanks to my coworkers from Dentsu Creative in Amsterdam, who helped me kickstart the overarching trends. I did the rest of the research and analysis myself. If I missed anything or made a mistake, please let me know. I'm only human, and hiccups happen. 

Sources and credits

• Dentsu Creative Amsterdam 
• NewCom Social Media Onderzoek 2024
• WPP Cannes Lions 2024
• Rockcontent Cannes Lions 2024
• LinkedIn algorithm secrets (monthly updated)
• LinkedIn algorithm secrets archive
• GWI usage of social media 2024
• Smart Insights global social media statistics 2024
• Social media data report 2024 (Meltwater, We Are Social and many others)
• Frankwatching and NewCom
• Datareportal 10 stats for 2024 (video)
• Datareportal extended 560 slides deck
• Datareportal social media 2024 details
• WARC Effective 100 2024
• https://medium.com/@johnkovacevich/case-studies-for-the-2024-cannes-lion-grand-prix-winners-36b314146b86
• https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/cmotalk/id1231349060?i=1000664207981
• https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/cmotalk/id1231349060?i=1000664207808
• https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/cmotalk/id1231349060?i=1000662813952
• https://offers.hubspot.com/ai-marketing

Need help?

If you need any help with all of the above—and I’m not biased at all—I’m thoroughly experienced, have ruffled many feathers, and have learned from my mistakes, drop me an email. If I’m not the right person to help you, maybe I can recommend someone or an agency from my network.

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