WPP Media 2026 UK Trends Report

Welcome to WPP Media’s UK Trends 2026 report, which identifies areas of innovation to watch in media, marketing and tech for the year ahead.

This report is in it's 12th year, tracking approximately 20 trends, which we continuously refine and update to help inform and inspire future marketing strategies.

This year we are highlighting five feature trends across three different types of innovation – Platform, Experience and Operational Innovation.

Platform Innovation, focuses on evolving channels and formats including: 

• Game On - Gaming matures as an ad proposition

• Creators Unleashed - The power of creators has been unleashed and their role in the marketing mix is being reassessed

Experience Innovation applies cutting-edge AI, immersive, and conversational interfaces to deepen audience engagement, such as:

• Interfaces Reimagined – AI is re-writing the very fabric of how we interact with technology 

• Invisible Shoppers – AI agents are the stealth shoppers set to reshape marketing as we know it  

Operational Innovation leverages AI and data for unparalleled efficiency and insights for both our clients and teams, highlighted by:

• Marketing Superpowered – Data innovation and AI have combined with human smarts to create powerful new

Take a read - we hope you find it insightful!