More channels. More data. More technology. But not always more growth.
Marketing Effectiveness in 2026 looks at where marketing value is being lost and what you can do about it, with lessons from our work with some of the UK’s best-known brands.
The guide focuses on eight areas where senior marketers can improve decision-making and reduce wasted spend, including how to:
1. Build visibility beyond Google as AI changes discovery
2. Create around audience behaviour rather than channels
3. Identify where paid media activity is duplicating spend
4. Optimise media towards lead quality and commercial value
5. Make CRM more relevant through better use of customer data
6. Reduce reliance on discounting to drive growth
7. Measure incrementality rather than channel performance alone
8. Connect data, creative, media, CRM and measurement around shared outcomes
The guide includes a CMO action plan and six boardroom questions to help you identify where spend is being wasted, where measurement needs to improve and where marketing can create more value.
The guide includes examples from:
• Euro Car Parts: How paid and organic search were integrated leading to a saving of 34% in potential ad spend.
• Shawbrook Bank: How connecting media performance to offline CRM data increased applications by 200%.
• Yorkshire Tea: How creative work was built around a simple human truth to reach 20 million + people.
