Ash Dharan.
Ash Dharan, Head of Paid Media, NP Digital.
For years, brands have approached paid media like a tap. They twist the handle, the ads turn on, and the results flow. If they needed more sales, they just turned the handle a little further to increase the quantity.
But as we move into 2026, this approach is proving much less effective.
Investment in paid channels might be rising overall, yet many marketers are seeing higher costs, softer returns and campaigns that look promising at first glance but struggle to deliver true profitability. The issue isn’t usually the budget, but the ‘turn on the tap’ mentality, which ignores the complex environment the ads now inhabit.
This friction exists because the old linear funnel of awareness, consideration and conversion no longer reflects how people buy. The new customer journey twists and turns.
These days customers read reviews from multiple sources, browse websites, watch videos, compare competitors, seek recommendations and explore social content before they purchase.
This non-linear behaviour is being accelerated by one of the most powerful forces in marketing ,AI.
The arrival of Google AI Overviews marked a critical turning point, and in 2026, that influence will only grow. As more users rely on instant, AI-generated summaries to answer questions directly, traditional clicks to websites are declining. Discovery now begins earlier and spreads across more moments.
AI-guided experiences favour brands that show up consistently and feel familiar before a search even begins. Consequently, brands that depend purely on lower-funnel tactics are feeling the squeeze, while those using a full-funnel approach are successfully training the AI to recognise them as the best answer.
When brands accept that discovery happens everywhere, the role of the ad itself changes. With platforms now automating much of the technical targeting, creative strength has emerged as the major differentiator.
NP Digital’s data found that 43% of marketers used non-AI video for their content in 2025, but as AI-generated formats improve, they are becoming a vital tool for keeping up with demand.
However, regardless of how it is produced, the creative must answer the core questions of a skeptical audience: does this feel trustworthy? Does it feel distinct?
Rethinking creative and experience in the modern marketplace
As these expectations for creative and user experience rise, marketers are also broadening where these stories live and how they're told.
Brands are discovering that success in 2026 requires a fundamental shift in how they conceptualise creative assets, from isolated advertisements to interconnected narratives that flow across multiple touchpoints.
The fragmentation of attention across platforms means that one-size-fits-all creative strategies are increasingly ineffective. Successful marketing now requires modular creative systems, core brand narratives that can be adapted, remixed, and repurposed across different platforms while maintaining consistency and recognition.
Many leading brands are moving beyond standard ads to environments that foster genuine connection and build lasting relationships with audiences.
Reddit, for example, has emerged as a trusted space for authentic opinion and peer-to-peer recommendations, where heavily branded content often underperforms compared to genuine, community-driven conversations.
Podcasts build affinity through host-led recommendations that carry the weight of personal trust built over months or years of listener engagement. Connected TV combines broad reach with digital precision, offering the storytelling power of traditional television advertising combined with the targeting capabilities of programmatic buying.
Whether it is short-form video that captures trending cultural moments, immersive AR experiences that allow customers to interact with products before purchase, or native content that integrates seamlessly into editorial environments, the goal is consistent: to stand out in memorable ways that transcend the transaction.
The investment required to build this kind of creative ecosystem is substantial, but the alternative – continuing to pour budgets into generic, platform-agnostic creative, is more costly in terms of wasted spend and missed opportunities.
This approach requires a different skill set within marketing organisations: partnerships between creative teams and media strategists, closer collaboration with platform experts, and willingness to learn from failure at a faster pace.
Don’t forget the post-click experience
It’s also worth remembering that ad creative only earns the click, but the experience beyond it shapes the outcome. Algorithms can find the right audience, but a slow, confusing, or unconvincing landing page weakens the signals that guide the prompt. Improvements to speed, alignment between message and page, and clarity of value help campaigns convert more efficiently and this is the area where brands hold the greatest level of control and influence over their results.
Building the foundation for sustainable growth
Ultimately, it's time to stop waiting for the advertising tap to flow automatically and instead start building a strong ecosystem that transforms paid media built on three foundational pillars: authentic creative that resonates with audience values; strategic presence across the channels and platforms where target audiences actually spend their attention; and seamless user experiences that convert interest into action.
The difference between brands that thrive and those that merely survive in 2026 won't be determined by budget size, but by the sophistication and authenticity with which they connect with their audiences. The tap is no longer the answer, the ecosystem is.