By: Manisha Bhatia : Head of Strategy and Planning (KSA), IMPACT BBDO

One Defining lesson of 2025 Taught us that when creativity becomes self-expressive before it becomes useful, it stops working.

One Bold, grounded prediction for 2026 The most successful brands will move creativity out of the spotlight and back into service designing ideas that earn their place in people’s lives, not their feeds.

The defining lesson of 2025 wasn’t about AI, platforms, or pace.

It was about focus. 

As creative output became easier to produce and faster to distribute, it also became more personal. 

Ideas carried signatures. 

Opinions turned into content. 

Visibility became a proxy for value. 

In most cases, the work reflected the people behind it more than the brands it was meant to serve.

Arrogance? No. More likely a symptom of an industry under pressure. 

Speed rewarded reaction. 

Algorithms rewarded presence. 

And somewhere along the way, creativity slipped from being in service of people to being performed at them.

2025 taught us this: when creativity prioritises self-expression over usefulness, it stops creating impact.

This lesson sets the stage for what comes next.

In 2026, the most meaningful shift will be a return to responsibility. 

As AI removes friction from making, judgement becomes the differentiator. 

Fewer ideas will ship, but the ones that do will be expected to work harder, last longer, travel deeper, and contribute something real to people’s lives.

This won’t look like restraint for restraint’s sake. It will look like confidence; brands that know when to speak and when not to. Ideas that don’t just launch, but live. 

And so, the bold prediction for 2026 is this

The industry will stop rewarding the loudest voices and start valuing the clearest intentions.

Because when attention is unlimited, meaning becomes scarce.

And the brands that win won’t fill the feed.
They’ll earn the absence.
If this idea disappeared tomorrow, who would miss it?