Martech will play a pivotal role in driving business growth over the next 12 months, according to Insighten founder and director Gagan Batra.
“Martech is becoming a focus again for businesses in 2026, which is being driven by the volume of data organisations are producing,” he told Mediaweek.
“Businesses are generating more data than ever before; however, organisations are still struggling to understand the best way to structure and leverage it to help propel business growth.”
To address these challenges, more brands are expected to outsource cross-functional marketing and technology expertise to support the creation of data-based strategies.
Batra said the marketing landscape is evolving, with traditional roles giving way to hybrid positions that combine marketing and technology skills.
“We’ll see the death of traditional marketing titles, and more combined marketing and tech titles will emerge as skill sets grow and cross-collaboration between marketing and tech teams continues,” he said.
“I’m expecting to see more roles focused on ‘AI strategist’ and data governance becoming more mainstream, especially within medium- to large-sized organisations.”
Brands forced to rethink data
Privacy-first marketing strategies are also set to gain prominence.
Much of digital marketing relies on both first-party and third-party data for targeting and personalisation, with AI-driven initiatives like Meta’s Lookalike Audiences and Google’s Customer Match depending on these sources.
While privacy regulations apply, enforcement in Australia has historically been less strict than in markets with frameworks like the GDPR, but that is changing quickly.
“With major privacy reforms underway, the privacy conversation is set to further accelerate significantly in 2026,” said Batra.
“Companies need to be proactive and adopt a privacy-first data and marketing strategy now rather than waiting for regulations to be fully enforced.
“Strengthening consent practices, increasing transparency and building marketing strategies around first-party data will help organisations stay compliant, reduce risk and maintain customer trust as the regulatory landscape evolves.”
Batra also predicts a shift towards total transparency across brands, agencies and consultancies.
“There’s growing frustration with big-ticket engagements where the people sold in the pitch aren’t the ones actually working day-to-day, and where scope creep quietly replaces accountability,” he said.
“Clients will expect upfront clarity on budgets, resourcing, capability and deliverables, not buried in contracts, but addressed openly from the outset.”