A new year approaches, and with it the inevitable season of reflection. Marketing is no exception. It enters 2026 in a state of profound rebalancing, not due to sudden insight, but because of accumulated fatigue. After a period marked by obsession with volume, acceleration, and omnipresence, it is increasingly clear that differentiation no longer lies in excess, but in subtlety. The market is finally beginning to tire of those who speak the loudest and to value those who speak best. This change does not come from external imposition, but from emotional exhaustion: consumers saturated by constant stimuli begin to favor brands that provide clarity, simplicity, and some meaning in an ecosystem that, for far too long, confused intensity with relevance.
We are therefore witnessing a clear shift in assumptions that reflects a new reality for marketing in 2026. Several forces are at play, but without exhausting the reader, it is important to highlight those that most clearly signal this paradigm shift. Slow marketing, for example, asserts itself as an almost natural reaction to the incessant noise that has dominated the last decade. Instead of mass-produced content, careful, relevant, and purpose-driven creation is prioritized. Brands adopting this approach invest in longer narratives, more sensible cadences, and messages that compete not obsessively for attention, but for understanding. Depth, long treated as a dispensable luxury, reasserts itself as a competitive argument.
In parallel, we observe the return of authorial creativity. The past years consolidated processes, automation, and predictable formulas that, while efficient, drained part of marketing’s personality. The sector now responds with a renewed emphasis on singular voices, recognizable styles, and approaches that break the mold. Audiences are again drawn to campaigns with signature, aesthetic courage, and a clear perspective. Standardization is finally beginning to give way to creative differentiation, even if it requires accepting some risk along the way.
The notion of active reputation is also gaining ground, surpassing the comfortable logic of merely declarative social responsibility. The consumer of the new year expects brands that participate, intervene, and take a stand with purpose. It is no longer enough to communicate values or announce future commitments; it is necessary to demonstrate, in real time, how these principles translate into concrete decisions. Brands are increasingly evaluated less on what they proclaim and more on what they uphold when coherence is no longer convenient.
The relationship between brands and communities is evolving significantly as well. Instead of merely accumulating audiences, companies seek to create spaces of belonging where people recognize themselves as part of something larger. These communities no longer function as simple message amplifiers and become contexts of co-creation, where consumers influence products, decisions, and narratives. Participation shifts from symbolic to structural, even if it means relinquishing some control.
Finally, but no less important, a trend emerges that alters how impact is measured: the economy of depth. After years of valuing metrics such as reach, volume, and impressions, brands are beginning to focus on the quality of attention, the consistency of relationships, and the meaning of interaction. Quick conversions give way to longer-lasting bonds, and effectiveness is measured by the ability to transform perceptions, not merely generate momentary clicks.
This new cycle of marketing is thus marked by less noise and more substance, less speed and more direction, less automation and more intention. Brands that understand this movement find space to grow not through the incessant repetition of their voice, but through the quiet relevance of their presence, which leads to an ironically revealing insight: this has always been marketing’s central goal, before we all started speaking at once. As Peter Drucker wrote, “The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous,” a simple idea, almost uncomfortable in its clarity, but one that continues to withstand all fashions, platforms, and cycles of collective enthusiasm.
André Alves, Brand & Digital Marketing Diretor da CATÓLICA-LISBON