TLDR Marketing 2026-01-23

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2026 is shaping up as a year of fracture, where the “middle” has collapsed. The average customer no longer exists. Markets are splitting into clear extremes with different needs, resources, and behaviors. AI is commoditizing speed and efficiency, making trust the only real moat. Influence is moving from public platforms to private, owned channels. The winners are decisive operators who pick a side and act while others keep hedging.

Over half of Instagram ads ran on Reels last year. Reels accounted for 46% of time spent on Instagram. Advertisers are following users to short-form video, even as monetization lags behind the main feed. Amid competition with TikTok and YouTube Shorts, Reels drives user retention and a $50B annual run rate across Meta's platforms.

After a customer has refunded or cancelled an order, send a survey email asking for the reason. Provide the most common answers that are simple to decide between, and use links to collect the response. Once the user clicks a link, save that option under their profile. From that, create a Cancelled/Refunded Order Winback Flow with personalized emails based on the survey answer they selected.

Focus on fixing what is already broken instead of sending more campaigns. Identify where customers drop off, which products drive churn, and what delivery or support issues create friction. Lock in core flows like welcome, post-purchase, abandoned cart, replenishment, and winback before increasing broadcasts. Simplify segmentation and sharpen messaging so value is clear. Use post-purchase email to reduce regret and set expectations. Maintain a tight learning loop where every send drives a clear decision.

Instead of educational or polished brand content, Modern Animal shifted to filming veterinarians mic'd up during real appointments, capturing candid conversations and behavior that viewers normally never see in veterinary clinics. Led by a two-person creative and social team, the strategy relied on multi-angle footage and minimal editorial framing, which helped a single post break out to 25M+ views and accelerate follower growth. The visibility translated into higher site traffic during viral periods and increased comfort among potential customers who said the content reduced anxiety about what happens when pets go “in the back”.

Superside interviewed creative and marketing leaders at industry-leading brands like Airbnb and Microsoft to see how they prevent AI slop, set realistic expectations, and build thoughtful AI workflows. Hint: the problem often isn't a lack of ideas. Learn how to use AI as a force multiplier.

This post introduces 7 infographics that translate common 2026 marketing challenges into execution frameworks, including system-based planning, integrated inbound-outbound motion, and content mapped to how buyers actually progress. It highlights practical shifts such as broadening audience scope without chasing empty reach and prioritizing existing customers as a growth lever through offer expansion and pricing strategy. None of these approaches work without an annual review of marketing foundations, where fresh customer research directly informs positioning decisions and budget allocation.

YouTube distribution is shifting toward Shorts, which is cutting long-form reach for many creators. Analysis of more than 500 channels shows average long-form views fell from about 150,000 to about 60,000 per upload, and the top 100 YouTubers saw a roughly 50% view drop in one week. Homepage space for long-form videos shrank from about ten slots in 2024 to two or three in 2025, while Shorts visibility from homepage and search roughly doubled versus 2024. Older Shorts now lose promotion after about 30 days, and AI-generated channels add pressure by capturing 63 billion views and an estimated $117 million in annual revenue. These shifts concentrate long-form views among fewer channels and raise sustainability risks since Shorts earn less revenue and require higher output.

AI weakens the ecosystems it relies on. Models trained on human content extract value without attribution or revenue for creators. This accelerates the decline of open source and publishing. The result is a broken incentive loop that risks a long-term content collapse. A proposed fix is pay-per-use AI, with source citations and revenue sharing, so creators, users, and AI companies all benefit.

A new generation of creators is redefining influence by embracing mystery instead of full transparency. They use anti-engagement strategies like erratic posting, faceless profiles, and selective disclosure. This makes audiences actively seek them out. Followers form devoted, idea-driven communities rather than casual fans. Influence is based on a worldview or aura, not lifestyle visibility. By resisting algorithms and controlling access, these creators make their presence compelling through what is withheld.

Post UGC daily, track saves and comments, and turn the top 10% into ads.

YouTube is adding creator-controlled likeness features alongside generative clips, stickers, auto-dubbing, and new safeguards that let creators remove unauthorized AI-generated uses of their face or voice.

My First Million replaced the standard “like and subscribe” prompts with a recurring bit called the Gentlemen's Agreement, which framed subscribing as a humorous mutual contract after a listener's first episode.