Alessandra Alessio.
The AdNews end-of-year Perspectives, looking back at 2025 and forward to next year.
And see the AdNews 50 plus page state of the market report, Forecast 2026
Alessandra Alessio, Marketing Director APAC, StackAdapt.
If I had to sum up 2025, I would say it was a year where excitement about the evolving martech landscape was really noticeable. Over the last 12 months, particularly through our Conversion conferences across Sydney and Singapore, we’ve seen many in the industry embracing the opportunity to elevate their technical capabilities when planning their campaigns.
But on the other hand, there’s still some trepidation out there about a tech space that’s clearly changing very quickly. From some quarters we hear that programmatic advertising still feels too complex.
Given this mix of enthusiasm and uncertainty, many businesses are sticking with legacy technology or putting modernisation in the too-hard basket. The current economic climate is also leading to some cautious decision making, which is understandable. And when budgets tighten or uncertainty grows, the pressure mounts to justify every dollar. The instinct is often to freeze or retreat, playing it safe with tech stack investment - or to stick stubbornly with what you’ve got, even if it’s inefficient and holding you back.
That said, I think there’s plenty of reasons for marketers to be optimistic as we move into next year. We believe the most successful will be those who embrace simplification and streamline their operations - reducing their overheads and sharpening up their campaigns in the process.
This optimism is driven by the fact we’ve never had such advanced tools and such rich data available. Which is why in 2026 I expect even more brands will be searching for solutions that are intuitive and straightforward. Technology should make things easier, and the best operators are removing siloed workflows and working with platform technology that offers everything in one place. Leaders should be able to make smart, data-informed decisions across an entire omnichannel strategy without jumping between multiple dashboards.
That’s why our focus will remain on helping brands consolidate their tech stacks. That means showing the value of ditching the ‘Frankenstacks’ and instead embracing the benefits of a single environment where programmatic advertising, forecasting, measurement, and high quality creative co-exist together. Brands that can bring all these elements together will be putting themselves in a really strong position.
But while functionality is the cornerstone, 2025 has also illustrated the importance of ensuring your advertising turns up in all relevant channels, not just a few. More and more businesses we talk to are seeing the value of true omnichannel campaigns; where advertisers can plan and orchestrate across native, display, video, CTV, audio, in-game environments, digital out of home and email.
Another prediction for 2026 is that with AI taking on even more grunt work marketers will be expected to deliver much more than in years past. And that means finding the right AI-powered, time-saving tools will become even more important to help them do their jobs effectively. The best of these will answer questions in plain language – like how your best performing campaign is tracking – as well as providing audience recommendations, campaign setup support and predictive insights.
Instead of digging through multiple reports, these cutting-edge tools provide clarity in seconds. Like many businesses in our sector, we are working towards providing marketers with solutions of this nature. This year, for example, we released Ivy, our AI-powered marketing assistant, which helps cut out the time-consuming tasks and focus on devoting more time to strategy, creative thinking, and client relationships.
As we look to 2026, I believe unified platforms will continue to emerge as the essential architecture, allowing teams to move past complexity management while dedicating their focus to effective campaigns.
It’s now the role of businesses like ours to make life easier for marketers and to support genuine growth for brands. My hope for next year is that any trepidation around the complexity of martech gives way to optimism. With the technology now in our hands, there’s plenty to be excited about.
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