Brands can no longer rely on traditional search alone. Consumers are increasingly discovering information through AI assistants, AI search experiences and AI generated answers.
Essentially, it means two very big challenges for marketers…
That second point is the one that really matters.
If people are discovering more through AI assistants, AI search and generated answers, then being known before the point of need becomes even more important. Brands need to be easy to remember and easy to recall when buying situations come up.
The evidence backs that up. Businesses that increase brand advertising see stronger long-term profit growth. Brands that invest in both brand and performance together can generate up to 90% higher ROI than performance activity alone. Short-term response ads can deliver quick returns, but long-term brand campaigns create more than double the business impact. People are also nearly three times more likely to convert when they already know the brand, proving awareness dramatically improves performance outcomes.
That is a powerful reminder that performance does not sit apart from brand, but instead, work best together.
This is not only true in B2C either. The same principles apply in B2B.Growth follows investment. Brand and activation need to be balanced and work side by side. Growth comes from reaching more buyers, not squeezing more from the same ones. Buyers choose the brands they remember with emotional response acting as a key driver of long term growth.
So where does that leave media?
Broad reach media still matters hugely for long-term growth. In fact, the data shared showed that channels like TV and out of home remain among the most consistently effective for long-term brand growth.
That matters, because while the “media landscape” has shifted, the role of TV has not wavered. Adults are still watching roughly the same amount of video content as they were in 2015. Viewing habits may have changed, but people are still spending significant time with the traditional broadcasters. Broadcast programmes are still delivering huge audiences, and British-made content continues to hold real value with viewers.
The TV set is also still at the heart of home entertainment. That point is easy to lose in all the noise around newer platforms, but it is still true.
And yes, YouTube is a major platform. But the simple idea that “everyone is watching YouTube” does not tell the full story. Kevin shared data at the festival that showed YouTube is still less than a third the size of TV, and that it takes a month for YouTube to deliver the same reach that TV delivers in a single day.
The key point is that AI is fragmenting discovery, it’s not replacing the need for strong brands. In fact, if anything, it’s making strong brands even more important. When answers are summarised, choices are narrowed and discovery happens before a click ever takes place, meaning brands need to already exist in people’s minds.
That is why awareness matters. That is why broad reach matters. And that is why brand and performance need to work together, not compete with each other.
The brands that win in 2026 will not be the ones relying on search alone or chasing short-term results in isolation, it’ll be the ones building awareness early, investing in brand alongside performance, and using the right channels to stay memorable before the moment of need arrives.
