European Marketing Agenda 2025

EUROPEAN MARKETING AGENDA 2026 BEYOND THE HORIZON: AI ADOPTION, CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, AND OMNICHANNEL EXCELLENCE AS DRIVERS OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Dr. Ralf Strauss Chairman of the Board European Marketing Confederation (EMC)

5 9 European Marketing Agenda 2026 ... The Search of Excellence Between Steady Transformation And Resilience Market Strategy: Data-Driven Customer Intimacy And Product & Service Differentiation Leading Strategic Focus in 2026: 11 19 25 27 29 Orchestrating AI-Driven Intelligence and Custome

The Future Will Be Agentic AI Agents As The Next Evolutionary Leap Customer Experience And CRM 37 43 ... Leave The Last Dance To Me? When Omnichannel Vision Meets Reality: How Data Fragmentation and Rigid Processes Hold Back Seamless Customer Experiences Retail Media At A Crossroads: Navigatin

A EUROPEAN MARKETING AGENDA 2026 ... THE SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE BETWEEN STEADY TRANSFORMATION AND RESILIENCE In the coming years, we will continue to experience Moore's Law on steroids in the marketing and sales function: speed (agile) leadership dominates strategy in the AI age and heralds the end

Our ambition as marketing associations in Europe, Asia, and Africa in 2026, will be to complement and lead this change and present and discuss current and forward-looking concepts. We are very pleased that the survey has also been rolled out to colleagues in Africa (African Marketing Confederation,

A European Marketing Agenda 2026 ... The Search of Excellence ... 7

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B MARKET STRATEGY: DATA-DRIVEN CUSTOMER INTIMACY AND PRODUCT & SERVICE DIFFERENTIATION LEADING In a world defined by constant AI-based acceleration, traditional strategic models of incremental differentiation are giving way to a new paradigm: speed leadership. Competitive advantage is no longer se

In the companies of tomorrow, marketing transcends its traditional role and becomes the orchestrator of value creation, guiding organizations to anticipate and shape the future rather than merely respond to it (Figure 2). It acts as the lens through which customer needs and customer centricity (68%)

C STRATEGIC FOCUS IN 2026: ORCHESTRATING AI-DRIVEN INTELLIGENCE AND CUSTOMER-CENTRIC GROWTH, BUILDING MENTAL AVAILABILITY FOR THE BRAND As 2026 approaches, marketing and sales are entering a decisive phase in which strategy is defined by speed, intelligence, and customer relevance rather than scal

50% Percentage Focus on Sales and Performance Marketing (Lower Funnel) 43 Usage of AI in Marketing 43 Focus on Brand Management & Reach (Upper Funnel) 38 Focus on Marketing Operations (Execution), e.g., improvement of websites, E-Commerce, CRM-Systems, Data Analytics 20 Increased focus on

Equally critical is the transformation of internal capabilities and marketing operations (20%) breaking down silos, modernizing data and technology foundations, and empowering teams to execute with agility. Together, these focus topics signal a move from optimization to orchestration, positioning ma

Strategic Priority 2023 2024 2025 2026 No. 1 Digital Marketing (in total, 41%) Brand Management & Reach (Upper Funnel, 49%) Usage of AI in marketing (44%) Usage of AI in marketing (43%) No. 2 Customer Experience Mgmt (34%) Marketing Operations (Execution, 49%) Brand Management & Reach (

Strategic Priority Austria Hungary Netherlands 1 Focus on Sales and Performance Marketing (Lower Funnel, 52%) Focus on Sales and Performance Marketing (Lower Funnel, 48%) Focus on Brand Management & Reach (Upper Funnel, 46%) 2 Usage of AI in marketing (38%) Usage of AI in marketing (44%)

With sales and performance management being on the winners podium, also SalesTech is growing with 15-17% per year. The challenge as of today: instead of being an (inter)active platform for customer interaction, it is predominantly used as a pure system of records for internal process management & co

Across all senior marketing executives, at least 4 distinct clusters emerge: Cluster 1: Balanced Growth Marketers (53%): While AI is already being explored and applied by many organizations in the Balanced Growth cluster, it is not framed as a primary strategic driver. Instead, AI is treated as an

D OPERATIONAL FOCUS IN 2026: EMBEDDING AGILITY, INTELLIGENCE, AND EXECUTIONAL EXCELLENCE Consequently, the operational focus of marketing will centre on agility, integration, and executional excellence. Organizations will need to break down silos across functions and channels, enabling seamless co

Due to the demise of classical search engine optimization, content management is at the heart of digital marketing, essentially attempting to address target groups in a targeted manner with relevant information and encourage them to interact (inbound). Currently the shift to GenAI search (Artificial

30% Percentage 28 23 19 19 15 15 14 12 11 9 9 8 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 D Operational focus in 2026: Embedding Agility ... Digital Marketing (in total) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Cost Reduction Customer Experience Mgmt. Innovation & Product Development Brand

AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation), LLMO (Large Language Model Optimisation), or GAIO/GEO (Generative AI Optimisation) will overtake traditional search by 2027 at the latest. AI-based search systems (Zero Click) evaluate content more strongly based on depth of content, understanding of context and use

can engage with customers en masse, personally, in real time and in a relevant context.6 The objective: to generate up to 40% more revenue compared to competitors. Aspect Personalisation Hyper-Personalisation Definition The practice of crafting experiences or content to suit the needs of a speci

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E CRISIS? ... WHAT CRISIS? STABLE MARKETING BUDGETS IN 2026 Despite all the doom and gloom, inflation concerns and political risks, the majority the marketing budget remains stable or increases for around 75% of companies, in particular in Africa (Figure 9). The gloom that is often celebrated in p

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F HURDLES AND CHALLENGES IN 2026: NAVIGATING COMPLEXITY, SPEED, AND THE FIGHT FOR RELEVANCE If we once again aggregate the most important challenges for marketing & sales in 2026 across Europe, Asia, and Africa, the challenge Lack of understanding and knowledge of how AI will change the way we do

Marketing challenges in Asia, Africa, and Europe reflect three distinct realities shaped by economic maturity, technological infrastructure, and consumer behaviour: In Asia, the primary challenge lies in managing scale and speed ... operating within hyperdigital ecosystems where innovation cycles a

G AI AS THE NEW MARKETING INTELLIGENCE BACKBONE: 2026 MARKS THE SHIFT FROM AUTOMATION TO ANTICIPATION With ChatGPT as an application in the field of large language models and supervised/reinforcement learning, the use of AI in marketing and sales is no longer embryonic ... and is triggering a real

In most cases, the campaign of excitement is caused by a lack of fundamentals ... terminology and application scenarios are unclear. Many AI pilots have been launched (and some companies now have more pilots than some airlines)... but only a very few are already in a productive phase and integrated

The use of AI in marketing and sales varies markedly across Africa, Asia, and Europe, shaped by differences in market maturity, infrastructure, regulation, and business priorities (Figure 13): In Asia, AI adoption is highly advanced and deeply embedded in digital ecosystems, enabling realtime perso

80% Percentage Reduce the time spent on repetitive, data-driven tasks 71 Gain and implement insights from data more quickly 44 Reduce costs 39 Implement automation for recurring processes (AI agents) 35 Improve quality in manual/error-prone tasks 27 Generate added value and ROI from tech

The use of AI in marketing and sales spans a growing set of interconnected sub-areas that extend far beyond automation. At a strategic level, AI supports market analysis, demand forecasting, and decision-making by transforming large volumes of data into actionable insights. In content production, AI

Beneath aspirational headlines and explosive technical advances, AI projects have a poor track record as of today. The most important challenges on the company side are: A lack of detailed application expertise (45%). Insufficient knowledge about business benefits and AI application scenarios as we

As before, the multitude of available IT applications means that the functions and possible application scenarios in the field of AI cannot be overlooked. Due to a lack of knowledge of the detailed possibilities and fit into the existing process and application landscape, a hot-blooded, albeit irrel

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H THE FUTURE WILL BE AGENTIC AI AGENTS AS THE NEXT EVOLUTIONARY LEAP AI agents will shape the next evolutionary development phase of AI, with the ability to act autonomously and solve more complex problems. With the rise of AI agents, we are witnessing a seismic shift in the way we approach work,

Flexibility, autonomy, logical thinking: they are capable of drawing complex conclusions and making context-based decisions. They can adapt to unforeseen situations, respond to changing data and adjust in real time (such as Agentic RAG), while prompt engineering is geared towards predefined rules an

Al Agents (Buyer-Side) AI Agents (Customer-Facing) AI Agents (Employee-Facing) Al Process Automation Al Agent Orchestration & Governance DXP SFA CSP BI interact Custom APPS DSP UCaaS CEP context MAP Ecomm platforms enabling context-specific agents & automations (may also host them)

Currently, application scenarios are primarily expected in the areas of automated content creation (54%), A/B testing and optimisation, automated email delivery (65%) and customer service automation (Figure 19). Comparatively higher-value data-based and analytics scenarios such as marketing mix mode

Area Task Lead generation & qualification Personalisation Marketing Social Media Management & Monitoring Campaign Optimization Lead-Nurturing & Follow-Ups Sales Quotation creation & sales documents Application Scenario (Use Case) In % Lead generation & qualification 49% Automated capture

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I CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND CRM ... LEAVE THE LAST DANCE TO ME? Customer Experience Management (also known as Experience Design) is a concept (since around 1998) that focuses on creating high-quality, consistent interactions with customers across all touchpoints and throughout the entire customer or

Even though customer experience management has been presented as a key focus for the work of CMOs/ marketing managers in the coming year, it is rarely possible to bring the concept to life in reality (beyond an atmospheric PowerPoint showcase) the lion's share is assigned to the structuring and opt

18% Awareness phase 15% Foundation phase 24% 100% Structuring phase 19% Optimization phase 7% Integration phase 9% Innovation phase 7% Transformation phase Figure 20 Status of implementation of customer experience management (in percent, n=943) In a nutshell, while customer centricity is a

The tectonic shifts in consumers' needs and values are contributing to individual expectations and desires becoming increasingly important culminating in the moment of truth across all touchpoints. As a result, customer experience minstrels usually end up on the pyre of practical implementation, su

J WHEN OMNICHANNEL VISION MEETS REALITY: HOW DATA FRAGMENTATION AND RIGID PROCESSES HOLD BACK SEAMLESS CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES Reasons for implementing an omnichannel approach include broader market coverage and the more cost-effective targeting of a wide variety of customer segments at precisely the

With the growing number of channels through which customers can interact with retailers retail, online, call centers, kiosks, smart TV, mobile shopping consumer demands are also increasing. Consistency across all channels affects not only the choice of channel and the interaction mechanisms offere

Omnichannel maturity varies widely across European countries, influenced by differences in digital infrastructure, consumer behavior, retail landscapes, and regulatory environments. Northern and Western European markets tend to exhibit higher omnichannel sophistication, with seamless integration of

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K RETAIL MEDIA AT A CROSSROADS: NAVIGATING COMPLEXITY, FRAGMENTATION, AND THE RACE FOR SCALABLE AND MEASURABLE IMPACT The hype surrounding retail or commercial media will continue unabated in 2026+: IAB forecasts that spending on retail media advertising will increase to €25 billion by 2026 in Eur

The attempt to transform retail media into an economic low-energy zone is hardly in harmony with the movements currently observed among market participants (Figure 24):20 Emergence of retail media networks (RMNs): Non-retailers are also building media networks and causing disruption in the retail m

Full-funnel advertising tool: Expansion of position towards offsite to serve the full-funnel marketing goals of brand manufacturers. In the upper funnel, maximising reach means reaching the 95% who are indifferent and/or outside the (existing) buyer base. Retail media and first-party data: supports

The more expertise companies have built up in implementing data-driven customer interaction, the more likely they are to cite a lack of synergies between online and offline Retail Media. Newbies tend to complain about a lack of in-house knowledge and cannot assess Retail Media really, in combination

Retail Media adoption and usage differ significantly across Europe, Asia, and Africa, reflecting varying levels of market maturity, digital infrastructure, and consumer behavior: In Europe, Retail Media is driven by established omnichannel retailers and strong data governance frameworks, with a foc

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L ORGANIZATIONAL REALITY VS. TECHNOLOGICAL SPEED: LINEAR THINKING IN AN EXPONENTIAL ERA According to Steve Jobs, Great things in business are never done by one person, but by a team of people. This highlights the advantages of (cross-functional) organisational structures, such as:22 Teamwork: Abi

The challenge: organizations tend to evolve in a linear and incremental manner (if at all), shaped by established structures, processes, and governance models, while technology advances at an exponential pace (Figure 27). Change Technology changes exponentially, ogranizations change logarithmicall

Capabilities are classified into non-overlapping levels, such as core vs. non-core, differentiating vs. commodity, in-house vs. outsourced, strategic vs. tactical vs. operational, or customer-, partner- and employee-related.24 Across the world, when asked for critical capabilities, customer insights

27% 23% 22% 17% 11% No dedicated program, but we allow our colleagues to visit external conferences and seminars Yes, via Training on the Job and Learning by Doing, or Supervision Yes, via Blended Learning (trainings in physical presence, paired with computer-based training) Yes, alongside a g

M WHY PROJECTS FAIL ... THE ROCKY HORROR PROJECT SHOW CONTINUES The Kafka parable Before the Law is about a great opportunity in life that is wasted because of a lack of courage to recognise it and therefore seize it. Before the law (or project success) stands a gatekeeper. Only: today's guardian

HOWEVER, IT STILL FALLS SHORT OF EXPECTATIONS, WITH 54.9% OF RESPONDENTS REPORTING DISAPPOINTMENT IN ITS (MARTECH) PAYOFF, A 6%+ INCREASE FROM SPRING.32 The problems with implementation and use are more likely to be a projection of other challenges, such as inadequate project planning, imbalances in

35% Percentage Too many projects tackled at once (spreading yourself too thin) 33 Missing/unclear objectives 22 Insufficient (functional) expertise 22 Lack of management support/leadership 21 Lack of cross-functional teamwork 21 Different levels of knowledge (skills, abilities) 20 Insu

BOARDMEMBERS 64 Carlos Sá President, APPM (Portugal) Chris Daly Chief Executive CIM (United Kingdom) Chris Pozzoli President SwissMarketing (Switzerland) Claudio Montanini President BVMC (Germany) Florian Möckel Managing Director BVMC (Germany) Francesca OBrien Apelgren Managing Director Svem

Niklas Fröberg President Svemarknad (Sweden) Willy Lehmann President AMC (Austria) Ralf Strauss Chairman of the Board EMC (Germany) Rob Overduin Director, NIMA (Netherlands) Shane McGonigle Chief Executive of MII (Ireland) Teresa Lopes Diretora Executiva, APPM (Portugal) Sanna Laakkio Managing

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