[Marketing Week] Bob Koigi: The new rules of marketing

Global marketing is entering 2027 amid declining optimism, tighter scrutiny of advertising effectiveness and rapid technological change. WARC’s Marketer’s Toolkit 2027 identifies five emerging trends that could reshape how brands reach consumers, allocate budgets and drive growth.

The first is the rise of AI-powered shopping agents, with agent-facilitated consumer spending projected to reach $3.4 trillion by 2030. This will require brands to appeal not only to consumers but also to the AI systems increasingly influencing purchasing decisions.

Second, social media is shifting towards algorithm-led engagement, forcing marketers to rethink content strategies as traditional approaches to platform advertising face questions over effectiveness. Closely linked is the growing clip economy, where short-form video, creators and audience-led distribution are changing how brands capture attention.

Climate change presents another challenge, disrupting seasonal consumption patterns and creating demand shifts that require more flexible marketing strategies. Meanwhile, growing consumer concerns about AI-generated advertising are exposing the tension between technological efficiency and brand trust.

These developments come against a mixed economic outlook. WARC forecasts global advertising expenditure will grow by 8.4% to $1.46 trillion in 2027, despite marketer optimism declining for the third consecutive year.

Marketers must move beyond simply adopting new technologies and platforms. Competitive advantage will increasingly depend on understanding changing consumer behaviour, building trust, diversifying creative content and adapting to environmental realities. The brands that translate these shifts into practical strategies will be better positioned to turn uncertainty into growth.

Campaigns of the week

Disney has launched A Disney Holiday Short: The Invisible Horse, a Christmas film directed by Dougal Wilson, as the centrepiece of its global Make the Holidays Magic campaign.

Serviceplan has developed a campaign for Lufthansa’s latest First Class loungewear collection, created in collaboration with Swedish design label CDLP and Berlin-based artist Jorinde Voigt.

KFC has launched A Taste of What's Next, a regional brand platform designed to reshape its customer experience across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Agencies and accounts

Global Spain has secured the advertising contract for 210 urban buses operated by EMT Málaga and 36 digital screens at Málaga Bus Station.

Horizon Global has won Harley-Davidson's global media account following a months-long review, securing responsibility for media strategy, planning, investment and measurement across four international regions.

Ocean Outdoor has been appointed the official Digital Out of Home (DOOH) supplier to the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL), establishing a partnership aimed at increasing the visibility of women's football.

Partnerships and acquistions

Global has agreed to acquire UK digital out-of-home (DOOH) media owner Alight Media, in a deal aimed at expanding its national advertising network and strengthening its position in the Outdoor advertising market.

VIOOH has partnered with US media network GSTV to give programmatic advertisers access to digital out-of-home (DOOH) screens across more than 29,000 fuel and convenience retail locations nationwide.

Coca-Cola has partnered with fashion label Alice + Olivia on a capsule collection that combines the beverage brand's advertising heritage with contemporary womenswear.

Other major news of the week

RTL AdAlliance is opening its AdManager platform to advertisers of all sizes, bringing its self-service solutions together in one environment.

Ogilvy has launched ECHO, a consent-first artificial intelligence platform that enables brands to turn celebrity and ambassador production shoots into scalable, real-time advertising content.

Neptune BidCo US Inc., an affiliate of Nielsen Holdings Limited, has priced a $1.4 billion offering of senior secured notes to help finance its planned acquisition of DoubleVerify Holdings.

Bob Koigi is the editor-in-chief of Marketing Report.One

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