By: Adam Yansick
Enhanced Offerings
Over the past year, the MayoSeitz Insights Team has been working to integrate select clients into the InMarket 360 Platform—a unified measurement system that empowers more sophisticated media mix modeling. By deepening our collaboration with InMarket, we’re strengthening our ability to deliver richer measurement, clearer performance visibility, and more actionable insight for our clients in 2026 and the years to come.
2026 Predictions
In addition to our work with InMarket to advance measurement capabilities, the team also provides regular insights into trends across key categories and the broader marketing landscape. These updates help our team stay ahead of emerging shifts and remain focused on the changes that matter most to our clients’ industries. Most recently, InMarket surveyed nearly 1,000 marketing professionals to uncover their biggest challenges and investment priorities heading into 2026. Below is a brief overview of their findings—and what these insights signal as we look toward the year ahead.
Top Challenges for 2026
Marketers are entering 2026 with three primary concerns: limited growth in marketing budgets, ongoing economic uncertainty, and the rapid rise of AI—particularly how to effectively integrate it into their strategies.
2026 Investment Priorities
When asked about their top investment areas for the coming year, 51% of marketers cited Attribution and Measurement—making it the leading priority overall. Closely behind was Performance Media, where advertisers invest in channels and tactics tied directly to guaranteed outcomes.
Top Brand KPIs for 2026
Looking ahead to next year, marketers identified Awareness as their most important KPI, with 48% ranking it at the top—an unexpectedly strong showing in an increasingly performance-driven environment. ROAS and Sales Lift followed closely, reflecting continued pressure to connect marketing efforts to tangible business results.
2026 Focus: Ad Formats
Display, CTV, and Social emerged as the ad formats marketers expect to prioritize in 2026. This aligns with recent spending trends, where Paid Social and CTV have consistently led year-over-year growth across the industry.
Why It Matters
Many of the takeaways from this survey echo themes we’ve seen in recent years. Concerns about limited marketing budgets and the ongoing pressure to justify advertising expenditure are certainly not new. However, today’s mix of political and economic uncertainty—combined with the rapid rise of AI and questions around its real impact—has only intensified that pressure.
As a result, a focus on outcomes has never been more critical. Tools like InMarket’s 360 Platform, along with other attribution solutions, will play an increasingly important role in helping marketers validate performance and guide smarter investment decisions. Channels such as CTV and Social will likely continue to see strong budget growth, but with that growth comes heightened scrutiny and an even greater demand to prove their effectiveness.
As we often say: your measurement strategy is just as important as your media strategy. That has never been truer than it will be in 2026.
