Month: January 2026

Search has changed.

Not in a “marketing trend” way. In a commercial reality way.

More decision-makers are now using AI tools like ChatGPT to get clear answers, shortlist suppliers, and make choices faster often before they ever visit a website.

If your business relies on being “found on Google” or getting enquiries through word-of-mouth plus a decent website, this matters.

Because the old game was visibility.
The new game is being the trusted answer.

The uncomfortable truth: you can be great and still become invisible

In traditional search, buyers would browse:

• Compare websites
• Scan reviews
• Visit several pages
• Download guides
• Speak to a couple of suppliers

Now, the behaviour is shifting to:

• Ask AI a direct question
• Get a structured response
• Move straight to a shortlist

When the buyer gets one confident answer, they stop scrolling.

That means businesses sitting in the “good, solid, reputable” middle ground risk being overlooked not because they’re weaker, but because they’re not the clearest choice.

What business owners will notice first

This won’t always show up as a dramatic drop overnight. It’s subtler than that.

You’ll notice:

• Fewer warm enquiries coming through organically
• More leads who are harder to win because they’ve already decided who they trust
• More people asking sharper questions on calls, because AI has already educated them
• Marketing that feels like it’s working… but results that don’t match the effort

It creates a dangerous illusion:
You’re busy. You’re visible. You’re posting.
But you’re not being chosen.

AI doesn’t reward loud brands. It rewards clear ones.

Most marketing messages are vague:

• “We offer solutions”
• “Tailored services”
• “High quality, trusted, professional”
• “We pride ourselves on customer service”

That language doesn’t win in AI search.

AI platforms surface businesses that explain clearly, because clear explanations are easier to trust, easier to extract, and easier to recommend.

In the AI era, your marketing needs to do one job exceptionally well:

Make the decision easy.

Here’s the shift you need to make

Stop creating content that tries to sound impressive.

Start creating content that makes you the obvious choice.

That means your website and content must answer what buyers actually want to know:

• Who is this for?
• What problem does it solve?
• What’s the process?
• What does success look like?
• What affects cost?
• What mistakes should I avoid?
• Why do people choose you specifically?

Most businesses avoid answering these properly because it feels too direct.

But direct is what wins.

What to do this week (not “one day”)

If you want your marketing to perform in Google and AI-driven search, do these three things:

1) Fix your service pages so they convert, not just exist

Your main services should not read like a brochure.

They should read like the best salesperson in your business wrote them:

• Clear outcomes
• Clear process
• Clear proof
• Clear next step

If a buyer lands on that page, they should think:
“This is exactly what I need.”

2) Add FAQs that mirror real customer questions

This is one of the fastest ways to increase both trust and visibility.

Examples:

• “How long does this take?”
• “What results should I expect?”
• “What’s the biggest mistake people make?”
• “What do I need to prepare before we start?”
• “How do you measure success?”

These questions don’t make you look basic.
They make you look confident.

3) Create one piece of content that proves your authority

Not generic tips. Not recycled advice.

Something that shows your thinking, like:

• the real reasons marketing isn’t converting
• how to know if your strategy is broken or your messaging is unclear
• what “good” looks like when you’re buying a service like yours

A buyer doesn’t need more noise.
They need clarity.

The businesses that win won’t have the biggest following

They’ll have the strongest positioning.

The market is moving towards fewer clicks and faster decisions. The brands that get picked will be the ones that:

• Explain better
• Simplify faster
• Build trust earlier
• Remove uncertainty

AI isn’t killing marketing.
It’s killing vague marketing.

And that’s good news, if you’re willing to be clear be starts.

If you’re a business owner planning your marketing for 2026, it’s easy to assume the choices are simple:

• Spend more and push harder
• Or spend less and wait it out

However, the latest IPA Bellwether Report (Q4 2025) suggests a more accurate reality:

UK marketing budgets haven’t collapsed, they’ve stalled.

And that matters, because a “pause” isn’t the same as retreating. It often signals something else:

2026 isn’t a marketing recession. It’s a marketing reallocation.

What the IPA Bellwether Report says about UK marketing budgets

In the final quarter of 2025, total marketing budgets recorded no change overall (a net balance of 0.0%). 

That followed two quarters of growth earlier in the year, which means momentum softened.

In addition, most businesses kept budgets unchanged (57.4%), with the rest split between increases and cuts. 

This suggests one dominant behaviour in the market:

Businesses are being careful, not inactive.

Because while spend has held, confidence has dropped.

Confidence is down and that changes how marketing decisions are made

The report shows a sharp shift towards pessimism:

• Company financial prospects: net balance -19.0% 
• Industry financial prospects: net balance -30.1% 

When confidence is low, leadership teams start to behave differently.
They still want leads, brand visibility and customer growth but they want less risk.

As a result, the marketing question becomes:

“What can we prove, quickly, with what we spend?”

What’s growing in marketing right now (and why it matters)

Even in a flat market, budget movement shows what decision-makers value.

PR is still rising

PR budgets increased again in Q4, rising for a tenth consecutive quarter (net balance +3.5%). 

This is important because PR supports what most brands need more of in uncertain times:

• authority
• credibility
• reputation
• trust
• visibility that isn’t purely paid advertising

In other words, PR is becoming a commercial tool not a “nice to have”.

Events are still in favour (but they must perform)

Events budgets grew modestly in Q4 (net balance +1.4%) although this was a significant slowdown from the previous quarter. 

What does that tell us?

Businesses still value face-to-face connection and experiences but they are becoming stricter about what events are worth funding.

In 2026, events will increasingly be expected to deliver:

• relationships that convert
• quality conversations
• meaningful follow-up
• measurable ROI

Where budgets are being reduced

This is where the report becomes extremely useful for business leaders and marketing teams.

Direct marketing declined for the first time in three years

Direct marketing budgets fell (net balance -4.3%) — a notable shift after years of increases. 

This suggests many organisations are feeling the strain of:

• email fatigue
• declining response rates
• diminishing returns from “outreach-first” strategies

Direct marketing still works, but the bar is higher.
Generic sequences and low-value messaging are being exposed.

Market research is being cut (which is a risk)

Market research dropped again in Q4 (net balance -4.0%) and the outlook for 2026/27 predicts a sharper decline (-17.4%). GB_Bellwether_ENG_2601

This matters because brands still need insight.

However, many will be trying to operate with less formal research, meaning decisions may become more assumption-led.

The opportunity here is clear:

The most valuable marketers in 2026 will act like commercial intelligence partners, not just content producers

The main media picture: not “dead”, but harder to defend

Main media budgets were unchanged overall, but a closer look shows most sub-categories fell.

The worst affected areas include:

• Out of home: net balance -17.6% 
• Audio: -10.2% 
• Published brands: -6.5% 
• Video: -5.0% 

Meanwhile, the standout riser was:

• Other online advertising: +13.2%

This doesn’t mean “brand is irrelevant”.

It means businesses are prioritising channels that feel:

• measurable
• flexible
• responsive
• easier to justify under scrutiny

What this means for your marketing strategy in 2026

For business owners, MDs, and leadership teams, 2026 is likely to feel like this:

• marketing is still needed
• but every pound must work harder
• and every plan must be clearer

The winners won’t be the brands doing “more marketing”.
They’ll be the brands doing better marketing.

So what does “better” look like?

1) Prove the value of activity

This is the era of marketing accountability.

Even simple improvements can create confidence, including:

• clearer KPIs
• dashboards that link effort to outcomes
• stronger lead tracking
• conversion reporting by channel

Marketing doesn’t just have to perform.
It has to be explainable.

2) Build trust in parallel with performance

The Bellwether report’s PR trend reinforces something many businesses forget:

Trust is not separate from growth — it’s the multiplier. GB_Bellwether_ENG_2601

If your marketing creates attention but no confidence, conversion stalls.

Trust-led assets matter more than ever, such as:

• case studies
• testimonials
• credible founder positioning
• third-party visibility (press, podcasts, speaking)
• consistency of message

3) Use digital because it’s measurable but don’t become short-term obsessed

Online advertising is gaining budget share for a reason. 

However, this is where many brands make a mistake:

They build marketing that performs for 30 days, then collapses.

A better 2026 approach is:

• always-on content and visibility
• structured campaigns
• a simple sales funnel that can be improved over time
• clear re-engagement systems

This creates stability, not just spikes.

Marketing budgets for 2026/27: shallow growth, high scrutiny

Early budget-setting data suggests a small increase planned for 2026/27 total marketing spend (net balance +1.7%). 

In plain English:

Marketing budgets may rise slightly.
But expectations will rise significantly.

That means the opportunity is not simply spending.

It is:

Strategy, focus, measurement, and execution.

Final thought: marketing will not be “protected” in 2026 it will be earned

The biggest shift this report points to isn’t a drop in spending.

It’s a change in what marketing must represent inside a business:

Not an expense.
Not “nice to have”.
Not a set of tactics.

But a commercial function that drives outcomes.

If you want your marketing to grow in 2026, start by making it:

• more accountable
• more focused
• more trust-building
• more consistent
• more connected to revenue

Because in a cautious market, marketing isn’t judged by effort.

It’s judged by impact.

Want a stronger marketing plan for 2026?

If you want help building a measurable strategy that works in a cautious market, the starting point is simple:

We review what you’re currently doing, what’s working, what’s not, and where your biggest growth opportunities are.

Then we build a plan that delivers outcomes… not just activity.