The marcomms trends shaping 2026

2025 was a rollercoaster. We’ve experienced big highs as well as big lows. We responded to technology, economic and geopolitical forces that felt like they all hit at once, from all sides. The key takeaway is remembering how adaptable we are as a team, and as a business. As an independently-owned firm for almost 30 years, Mahlab has navigated periods of uncertainty and volatility before. 2025 was a year of rapid change that impacted the clients we work with, the work we do for them and the skills we needed. For our Australian clients, this saw us delivering more strategy work, supporting our clients to address the complex organisational challenges they’re facing whether that’s DEI, customer and member retention and acquisition and how to communicate with an increasingly complex stakeholder mix that’s everharder to reach and get attention with.In Asia, we’re working with B2B organisations who need to communicate with diverse, multicultural audiences. Doing this well at scale is hard but our proprietary AI tool, CampaignScaler is enabling us to scale global content-led campaigns, producing high quality, multi-language content more accurately and 4x faster than a traditional production workflow.Some things haven’t changed. The Mahlab team continues to show up every day for our clients pushing themselves to deliver work that works. They’re asking the right questions to deeply understand their challenges and applying their critical and strategic thinking to transform how they communicate and I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved.

Reflecting on the past year, one of the biggest shifts I’ve seen in my work with associations is that more organisations are really doubling down on strengthening their member value propositions. What stood out to me is that many associations are now much further along in their digital transformations. They’re no longer just talking about plans or intentions—they’re actually able to take action, backed by better systems and clearer strategic priorities.When it comes to attracting, engaging, and retaining members, this improved access to data has opened up a huge opportunity. It’s allowing associations to think much more holistically about the entire member lifecycle. Instead of looking at individual segments and responding with standalone tactics, they’re starting to ask much deeper questions about what members need and value at each stage of their career journey.I’ve also noticed a real push to break down silos across teams, which is making it easier to create connected experiences that build brand synergy across the whole lifecycle, not just at isolated touchpoints.Looking ahead to 2026, the opportunity is really clear: helping associations make the most of this momentum. How can they use their growing digital maturity to shape member experiences that feel cohesive, personalised, and genuinely compelling?

The most valuable discovery this year wasn't about technology. It was about measurement. Specifically, the difference between what's easy to measure and what actually matters.We've all been caught in an interesting trap. Every decision looked sensible in isolation: tighter budgets, more efficient processes, better dashboard metrics. Yet many of us weren't seeing the growth we expected. It reminded me of the old management principle, you get what you measure, not necessarily what you want.The insight came from revisiting first principles. Marketing fundamentally changes behaviour, and that's never been a cheap or simple task. When we optimise primarily for efficiency, we risk optimising away the very elements that make the work effective. It's like improving a restaurant by reducing ingredient costs, technically rational until you taste the food.AI's arrival crystallised this for me. It's brilliant at execution and optimisation. Which means the real value increasingly lies not in doing things efficiently, but in knowing which things are worth doing at all; the judgement, the strategic risk-taking, the understanding of human behaviour.Moving forward, we're being more deliberate about what we measure and why. Balancing efficiency with effectiveness. Investing in capabilities that complement AI rather than compete with it. Focusing on outcomes that matter: genuine brand growth, not just activity metrics.Sometimes the most profound technology shifts reveal truths that were always there

Audience-led communications will be at the forefront of thinking in 2025. It’s so important to make sure you’re talking to the right people, at the right time and in the right place, and not rely on a ‘spray and pray’ approach, which no longer works.As the media landscape continues to evolve and shrink (not just in Australia but around the world), building relationships will be crucial as well as looking at new ways people are telling stories. Whether it’s through new social media sites like BlueSky or through publishing platforms like SubStack - these are impacting where audiences are getting their news from.

As we reflect on 2024, one reality stands out: the growing complexity of bridging Asian market dynamics with global organisational frameworks. If you're like me, you've experienced and seen the challenge of explaining to global headquarters why a successful campaign in the US might need complete reimagining for Jakarta or Seoul.But here's what's fascinating: this challenge has become our greatest opportunity. We're not just adapting global strategies anymore—we're pioneering new approaches that are reshaping how multinational organisations operate in Asia.What I've learned is that success isn't about better translation of global initiatives. It's about becoming master storytellers of Asia's unique market dynamics. When we support our market insights with robust data and real customer narratives, we transform scepticism into understanding.Looking ahead to 2025, I see Asian marketing leaders taking a more pivotal role in global strategy development. We're not just executors of global plans—we're architects of new approaches that can drive success across diverse markets.The future belongs to those who can expertly navigate this balance: honouring global frameworks while championing local market needs. This isn't just about adaptation. It's about leading the way in creating truly global-local marketing strategies that deliver results.

In my work with associations and member organisations, I’ve witnessed a strong urgency across the sector to rethink how value is communicated to members. It’s been a tough year for many—difficult economic conditions and rising costs make memberships feel increasingly discretionary for many. This has introduced a level of risk that many associations haven’t had to grapple with to this extent before. The challenge they are increasingly facing, and which has come to the forefront this year, is: are we meeting the diverse needs of our members enough for them to renew their memberships when their budgets are tighter than ever?To tackle this, many associations are now realising that they need to move away from a one-size-fits-all value proposition. Instead, they’re exploring how they can become hyper-relevant, meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse and discerning membership base. For many, this means introducing a more nuanced offering and value proposition.Another emerging priority for many associations this year was engaging student members more meaningfully. Associations are beginning to see that pipelining future members is not just a recruitment strategy but must be made a strategic priority and that this segment must be better understood in order to reach them. Student members need different things than those members who are already working in their profession. Showing relevance to their specific needs means associations can position themselves as career partners right from the beginning, but this means investing in a different approach—which many struggle with due to limited resources, and lack of insights and research into this cohort.Looking to 2025, I hope to see more associations adopting a more nuanced approach to how they communicate with their members, and that communications will be elevated within these organisations to make them a bigger strategic priority.

By far, the year’s biggest challenge was balancing generative AI adoption with human connection, commercial realities and a growing sea of sameness.Generative AI emerged as a transformative tool, enabling B2B marketers to create content, automate processes, and personalise interactions at unprecedented scales. However, it introduced challenges, including concerns about misinformation, ethical use and the erosion of brand authenticity. While AI is effective in scaling operations, its limitations in creativity and emotional nuance highlighted the continued importance of human-led storytelling and relationship-building; two things Mahlab is a supreme master of. Next year, I think we will need to focus on balancing AI capabilities and client expectations for its use, with human creativity, and seek to maintain or re-build trust and authenticity with audiences. For me, an example would be simply blending AI-assisted efficiencies with human-led content that can create scalable yet emotionally resonant campaigns​.I think our work as a business communication house will increasingly see us helping our clients establish ethical guidelines and oversight mechanisms for the use of AI. Transparency in AI use will be a critical differentiator​ and it’s something Mahlab has always been at the forefront of. We will need to help our clients embrace adaptable strategies, prioritise ethical practices, and demonstrate how to blend AI and human expertise in an optimal way.

The economic and geopolitical uncertainty of the last 12 months has increased focus on driving real and measurable impact. I think this is a great thing. It drives deep curiosity into how we’re doing things and makes us constantly ask if there’s a better way.It also means that being able to engage and influence different people has never been more important, particularly in the complex B2B businesses that we work with. Boards and executive teams are scrutinising business decisions even more closely, needing to understand the value that they will create before investment is approved. This means leaders need to be able to engage and influence decision-makers inside and outside their business to get things done. Understanding who you need to influence, clearly articulating your direction and explaining why it matters will be a key part of any successful leader’s strategy in the year ahead.

This was a transition year in many ways, both macro and micro. 2024 was the biggest election year in human history. Half of the world’s population – some 3.7 billion people had the opportunity to go to the polls, many for the first time. It meant that much of the world was operating with a heightened level of uncertainty. The hope is that we’ll be operating with more confidence in 2025.On our micro level, at Mahlab, 2024 has been an inflection point. It was a year in which we expanded our operations to Asia and one in which we cemented our positioning as an organisation that applies relentless curiosity and critical thinking to transform businesses and how they communicate.In 2025 we’ll be working to expand the relationship with our clients and support them navigate an ever increasingly complex environment and create positive impact.