Veronica Cremen.
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
Veronica Cremen, Managing Director, Vonnimedia.
When we entered 2025, everyone was watching social, waiting to see what the platforms would become. Creators were having their golden age and AI content was the new rookie arriving on the field. Fast forward a year and the rookie has absolutely taken off. You only need to look at Jake Paul with Sora or scroll LinkedIn to see how quickly people have embraced it. It is exciting. It is messy. And it is only just beginning.
As we look forward into 2026, there’s three areas we are betting big on that we believe will be the stage that social stands on. I think the last one might surprise you.
Going shopping is social, so why can’t we shop in social?
We have seen early signs of this overseas, but I believe 2026 is the year Australia catches up fast. It will feel a bit like when TikTok took off in 2020. One minute we thought it was an app for teenagers dancing in their rooms, and the next, it became the heartbeat of culture.
Live social shopping is on the same path as the cultural phenomenon that TikTok has been. Asia has lived this for years and Australians are finally ready for it. We are already shopping on our phones every day. Moving that experience inside the app is not a big leap, it is a better one.
And that is what excites me. Live social shopping feels fun. It feels human. It feels like you have a personal shopping assistant in your pocket. You can ask about fit, fabric, colours, styling, and get answers in real time from someone who actually uses the product. It makes shopping feel joyful again. That is what social should be.
If anyone can make content with AI, your story becomes your magic
Instagram began as a home for art. Beautiful, thoughtful, crafted images. Now anyone can create something stunning in seconds. But it does not feel the same because the story is missing. The meaning. The heart.
This is going to be even more profound in 2026. Stories will stand out even more strongly as content syndication from AI floods our algorithms. We’ve already seen the first iteration of this with creators in 2025, but in 2026 I think we’ll see more brands move from “x posts per week” to social-first storytelling. Storytelling will glow even brighter. Connection will become the differentiator.
I love this shift. It makes social feel more real again. More honest. More creative.
The quiet giant in the room is your existing customers
Among all the excitement about reach and new audiences, we often forget something simple. Your existing customers already love you. They want to hear from you. They want to feel part of your world. They want a relationship, not a transaction.
And in 2026, this is where social becomes truly powerful. In 2026, retention content will not be an afterthought or a quarterly campaign, it will be one of the highest leverage activities in your entire marketing mix. Think about it. Every platform is pushing personalisation, private messaging, and tighter community loops. The cost to acquire a customer keeps climbing, while the cost to re-engage one is almost free. Yet most brands still build their content calendars almost entirely for strangers.
Your existing customers want to hear from you. They want the updates, the behind-the-scenes moments, the product launches, the honest reflections, and the small touches that make them feel part of your world. And with AI making content production easier than ever, there is no reason not to communicate more often and with more intention.
The brands that win in 2026 will treat their customers as an audience, not a transaction. Content made for them will drive loyalty, repeat purchase, advocacy, and the one thing every business now needs more than ever, trust.
I genuinely cannot wait to see what brands create next year. As AI comes into play, great social is about to get more human, more creative, and more exciting than it has been in a long time.
See you in 2026!
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