Understanding the Marketing Trends That Matter in 2026
This talk was also delivered in Milan in January at the Randstad Box. For the first time in our Community, one member had the opportunity to present the same talk in two different cities. This represents one of our goals: opening new markets for our members.
The era of "launch and wait" has ended, giving way to a discipline of "test and learn" where AI is not an added function, but the core infrastructure.
AI as Infrastructure: The End of the Debate Over Its Use
One of the most critical points addressed by Roberto is the obsolescence of the question "Should we use AI?".
In the current context, questioning the implementation of artificial intelligence is as anachronistic as asking if a company should have a website. The professional focus has shifted toward where AI sits within the workflow and what human quality standards are imposed to supervise it.
AI has consolidated itself as the operational infrastructure that determines the speed and efficiency of any team. Organizations that integrate it as their foundation achieve:
Testing Speed: The marginal cost of creating content variations (adaptations, translations, and formats) is reduced to nearly zero, allowing for massive experimentation.
Hyper-scalable Personalization: Landing pages, emails, and advertisements are no longer static; they adapt in real-time based on intent signals and user behavior.
Predictive Marketing: Systems now identify purchase intent or churn risk before they happen, triggering automatic actions based on customer readiness rather than a rigid promotion calendar.
Agentic Automation: Campaigns That Manage Themselves
The workshop delved into a fundamental role shift for marketing professionals. We have moved from manually "babysitting" every campaign to defining objectives and constraints. In this agentic automation model, the system receives the budget, brand rules, and target audience, then generates combinations, discards losers, and reallocates resources toward winners at machine speed.
This efficiency extends to customer service. In 2026, instant response on channels like WhatsApp or Instagram DMs is a basic expectation, not an added value. However, the key to success lies in designing these conversations as fluid experiences that balance automation with empathy, avoiding rigid scripts that erode brand trust.
Real Case Study: Incremental Efficiency in the European Market
To illustrate these concepts, the strategy of the brand Valentina Giorgi was analyzed. Faced with rising costs in traditional channels during critical periods, the strategy pivoted toward intelligent diversification. The technical data shared by Roberto revealed a striking performance comparison in the Italian market:
Meta Ads: Showed an average cost per acquisition (CPA) of €25.18 during November 2024.
TikTok (Retargeting): Managed to reduce that CPA to €7.79, representing an efficiency 69% higher than Meta.
The lesson for the community was clear: native, spontaneous, UGC-style (User-Generated Content) on TikTok is not just for brand awareness; it is an incremental performance engine when other channels become saturated.
The Community Perspective: From SEO to GEO
A subject of intense debate was the evolution of positioning. With the rise of models like Gemini or Perplexity, users no longer just look for links; they look for synthesized answers. This is where GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) emerges.
The community concluded that the strategy must shift: we no longer write just for crawlers, but for language models that prioritize context and credibility. Optimizing for GEO involves structuring information in question-answer formats and leveraging advanced structured data (Schema.org) to ensure the AI recommends the brand as the ultimate authority.
The Value of the Human in an Automated Environment
The session closed with a vital reflection: although technology drives speed, human authenticity remains the defensive "moat" for any brand. In 2026, professional success will come from the ability to use these tools without losing one's own voice, centering human value on narrative definition, data ethics, and aesthetic taste. Applying these intelligence systems is not a technical option; it is the key to survival and growth in today's industry
This piece was first published in DMK Tribe Magazine, issue 19, written by the DMK Tribe community after the workshop it reports on.
