With those questions already on marketers’ minds, Ad Age asked executives who are taking the stage at the 2026 Ad Age NextGen Marketing Summit to share their perspectives: What’s one “best practice” you followed two years ago that you no longer believe in—and what made it stop working?
Their answers, lightly edited for length and clarity, point to a broader recalibration underway. Rather than chasing the next tactic, leaders are weighing a set of trade-offs that increasingly define modern marketing: signals over trends, systems over one-offs, participation over polish and presence over volume.
Trend-chasing isn’t cultural fluency anymore
Key takeaway: Speed used to signal relevance. Now it often signals you’re late.
Sydney Stanback, senior manager and global head of trends and insights, Pinterest
I used to think success meant quickly reacting to every type of trend, but as social media has sped up, our best practice is to continue to prioritize reading early signals and highlighting what’s next. By the time something is trending with Gen Z, they’re already moving on. Because of how people use Pinterest, trends on our platform can capture what’s relevant now, but they also signal what will matter in the future.
Gia Lee, co-founder and chief strategy officer, NinetyEight
Two years ago, jumping on every trend worked because it signaled cultural fluency. In reality, it became a shortcut to relevance that Gen Z now sees right through. In practice, we’ve seen that fewer, more intentional ideas with real value outperform constant posting with nothing original to say.
Seamless experiences aren’t the goal by default
Key takeaway: In an AI-saturated world, friction is where meaning shows up.
Libby Rodney, chief strategy officer, The Harris Poll
One best practice marketers should abandon? The obsession with making everything hyper-seamless; cut every point of human interaction and get out of the customer’s way. But in a world now overrun by AI slop and synthetic relationships, our research is showing us 2026 is the year of “Peak Human”: people want to rub shoulders with strangers, see the imperfection of human-made design, and friction-max their way back into a better balance of efficiency and real connection. We spent 20 years eliminating friction, and now we’re realizing friction is where the feeling lives.
One-off creator deals are getting replaced by creator systems
Key takeaway: Reach scales better through recurring creator partnerships than isolated posts.
Olamide Olowe, founder and CEO, Topicals
Influencer paid partnerships; it’s something we felt like we had to do as a brand that was growing in size. That’s what everyone else in the industry does, but now we have switched from just direct paid partnerships (although we do them sometimes) to owned content—programmatic or serialized content with creators. For example, our Topicals Hotline series that features creator Victor Kunda: casting him as the lead of our short series works a lot better than one video of him talking about us on his feed.
Heidi Browning, senior executive VP and chief marketing officer, NHL
The NHL Creator Program has evolved considerably with the growth and maturation of the category. Two years ago, we focused entirely on hockey creators to engage audiences who are passionate about our sport. While we had incredible engagement with the hockey creator content, we were not reaching new audiences.
We now expand beyond our core hockey creators to activate sports, fashion, food, lifestyle and local creators at our tentpole events. This has increased our reach and engagement with new audiences that are important to our fan growth strategy.
Rigid targeting and rigid brand control can backfire
Key takeaway: Over-optimization limits learning—and brands are loosening the reins.
Bridget Evans, global head of advertising business marketing, Spotify
Years ago, like many other marketers, I spent a lot of time building very specific audience segments and matching each one with its own “perfect” creative. Now I focus on making the strongest creative, and let the automation of machine-learning, algorithms and AI find the right people for your brand’s message and objective. Why? Because overly rigid targeting can backfire. It shrinks your reach, slows learning and can have negative media efficiency consequences.
For example, on Spotify for B2B campaigns, I do not make hard and fast assumptions and target rigidly. Instead, I build the strongest assets possible across formats, not just audio, and give the platform room to test and optimize. The result is faster learning, better performance, and fewer assumptions upfront.
Reid Litman, global director, Ogilvy Consulting
A few years ago, we believed consistency meant rigid brand guidelines, polished calendars and tightly controlled messaging. Today, that mindset can kill a brand. The brands winning with Gen Z act more like studios—testing formats, building worlds and letting narratives evolve in public. Youth loyalty now comes from consistent participation and opportunities for belonging, expression, and impact.
Short-form video can’t carry the whole relationship
Key takeaway: Entry points still matter, but depth is what sustains connection.
Tamika Young, chief marketing and communications officer, Hinge
I’ve always believed that connecting with audiences requires an understanding of where and how they want to show up based on their interests. That’s a best practice that’s shaped my approach to marketing and communications.
Two years ago, short-form video was an effective entry point for brands, but over time it’s become clear it shouldn’t carry the full weight of building meaningful relationships. Today, it’s more about how thoughtfully you show up. Long-form storytelling and shared experiences give people a chance to explore their interests. Whether in print, like Hinge’s No Ordinary Love, or in-person—I think what Netflix is doing at Netflix House is interesting—showing up as a brand in 2026 is less about viral moments and more about intentionally encouraging people to come together.
Source: adage.com