The corporate ladder is bending, marketing is moving beyond spreadsheets, and AI is getting practical. Here’s what Simon Swan, Digital Marketing & Media Director at Karo Healthcare, thinks really changes over the next 12 months.

An alternative to the corporate ladder - As we move into 2026, a growing share of the workforce is no longer pursuing the traditional, linear corporate ladder. Instead, professionals are increasingly choosing what has become known as the squiggly career: a dynamic, non-linear path driven by skill growth, portfolio experience, and personal fulfilment rather than rigid hierarchical progression. I’m expecting employers to place higher value on cross-functional capability and specialised expertise; as well as younger talent prioritising development opportunities over titles.

From metrics to Signals - I’m hoping for the momentum continues as we’ve seen in 2025 towards  brand-led, long-term marketing and away from short term, spreadsheet based last-click metrics. But how? We will shifts to more marketing led through signals—i.e. time spent with content, share of search, uplift in branded search, growth in review volume and quality, and how often people return to or recommend a product—because these signals show whether audiences are genuinely interested, progressing through the journey

End of AI Hype - We will (hopefully!) see AI move from hype to practical, operational adoption. After a year of endless AI headlines and generic predictions, there has been very little evidence showing how teams are actually using AI to streamline workflows, improve marketing effectiveness, or solve real problems. That will change. Expect far more case studies, measurable examples, and real-world insights demonstrating how AI supports day-to-day execution—content operations, media optimisation, insight generation, and cross-functional productivity. The conversation will shift from “AI could…” to “here is how AI is delivering value inside marketing teams.”