Marketing resolutions for 2026, according to brand marketers

If 2025 taught marketers anything, it was that going viral does not mean winning. Oxford University Press named ‘ragebait’ its word of the year after usage tripled, a reminder that much of the year was spent generating attention through controversy rather than connection. The same goes for brands. 

American Eagle sparked months of debate with Sydney Sweeney's jean campaign. Duolingo “killed off” its mascot with a Cybertruck. In India, brands like boAt drew backlash for a Republic Day campaign featuring tricolour swimwear. Samay Raina's India's Got Latent pulled in brand sponsorships from Bold Care, Vastrado, Spinny, Veeba, and Pop UPI, before an inappropriate joke went viral and forced a reckoning. The internet responded with fury, commentary, and millions of free impressions. Some brands claimed victory. Others watched their trust scores drop. Either way, the lesson landed hard: when algorithms reward outrage and platforms prioritise engagement over quality, the marketing playbook stops working the way it used to.

Now, as marketing leaders sit down to write their 2026 resolutions, the tone has shifted. The conversation is no longer about which platform to master next or which trend to jump on first. It is about building brands that people actually trust. 

Research indicates that 48% of Indian consumers are likely to spend more money (at least US$1,000 more each year) with brands they trust. In an era where AI slop is steadily taking over, and brands like Coca-Cola are facing backlash over prioritising AI over creativity, building trust matters.  

The resolutions emerging from marketing leaders across FMCG, beauty, spirits, and travel reflect this need. The emphasis is shifting from campaign volume to brand depth, from platform experimentation to owned ecosystems, from broad targeting to hyper-local relevance. Others are focused specifically on solving the ROI attribution problem, and there is also a clear movement toward hyper-localisation and authenticity. 

We speak to brand marketers about the biggest changes and priorities that will reflect their marketing in 2026.

Edited Excerpts:

Akshali Shah, Executive Director, Parag Milk Foods

Looking ahead to 2026, premiumisation and health-led consumption will increasingly shape category growth. Our focus will be on expanding our portfolio, strengthening nutrition- and quality-led narratives, and building marketing ideas that are consistent, credible, and sustainable over time. For us, the next phase of FMCG marketing is about depth, consistency, and earning consumer trust brand by brand, market by market.

Anmol Sahai Mathur, Vice President of Marketing, MARS Cosmetics

Digital & Performance marketing spend is evenly split in 2025 with a mid-funnel focus, scaled partnerships with creators and influencers, and Brand-led moments for product launches and seasons. In 2026, we'll want to focus more on our Owned Ecosystems, such as CRMs, communities, and repeat purchases, with a greater emphasis on prioritising quality partnerships with creators and working to connect our worlds of media, commerce, and content more intricately. Efficiency and quality of growth, rather than just growth, will fuel our scaling.

Ashutosh Valani, Co–Founder, Renee Cosmetics

Our focus for 2026 is to move from reach to relevance. We see trust-led storytelling, personalisation, community-driven content, and seamless online-to-offline journeys shaping the next phase of brand building in beauty.

Bonish Jain, Founder & Director, PAC Cosmetics

Our biggest marketing resolution for 2026 is to build a stronger on-ground presence by being part of more events and experiences where consumers and our community can interact with the brand first-hand.

We see a clear trend towards hands-on discovery in beauty—where consumers want to touch, try, learn, and engage before they buy. Blending these physical experiences with digital storytelling will be key, as brands move towards deeper, more meaningful consumer relationships rather than purely transactional interactions.

Ishwaraj Singh Bhatia, Co-founder, Simba Beer & ZigZag Vodka

Our single biggest marketing resolution for 2026 is to focus on building fewer campaigns but stronger brands. Increasingly, it’s clear that consumers don’t remember ads; they remember experiences and culturally relevant stories.

We expect community-led marketing, culture-first storytelling, and credibility-driven partnerships to play a much larger role in how alco-bev brands grow. For SIMBA and ZigZag, the emphasis will be on creating distinctive, authentic brand moments that encourage participation and build brand value over time, rather than chasing short-term visibility.

Manmeet Ahluwalia, CMO, EaseMyTrip

Our focus will be to lead with hyper-personalisation driven by AI and mobile optimisation, unlocking deeper engagement and conversion across diverse traveller segments. We expect mobile-first experiences to dominate, as mobile devices now account for over half of traffic and bookings, while AI tools and personalised recommendations continue reshaping the customer journey. Sustainability, local exploration, and experiential travel will drive demand, with off-the-beaten-path and culturally rich destinations gaining traction in 2026.

Mayank Shah, Vice President, Parle Products

Our biggest marketing resolution is to sharpen our digital focus while bringing far greater clarity to returns. While digital continues to grow in importance, one of the persistent challenges outside of pure performance marketing is clearly linking digital spends to brand impact. Improving how we measure and map ROI from digital advertising will be a key priority in the coming year.

Alongside this, we plan to focus more closely on high-growth channels that are seeing rapid adoption and influence on consumer behaviour. Another important trend for us will be the deeper use of AI and machine learning to improve precision. This includes sharper targeting and more hyper-localised communication, allowing us to engage consumers in a more relevant and effective way as marketing becomes increasingly data-led.

Nishant Kedia, CMO, Rebel Foods

●  Hyper‑local and regional focus across food, communication, pricing, and promotions to resonate deeply with varied audiences.

●      Leveraging social media even more effectively with great, culturally relevant content.

●      Exploring new ecosystem partnership formats, including co‑branding with content creators, other brands, and fresh influencer marketing approaches.

●      Being even more specific in digital reach and exploring newer channels that align with evolving consumer attention patterns.

In terms of trends shaping this approach, consumer eating habits are becoming both more diverse and exploratory. Hyper-regional cuisines such as Goan, Bihari, and Pahari dishes are growing significantly faster than mainstream options, while global flavours like Korean, Vietnamese, and Mexican are seeing remarkable adoption. There is also a strong rise in healthier choices and protein-focused meals, alongside growth in late-night food orders, reflecting evolving lifestyle patterns. These shifts highlight the need for smarter, relevance-driven communication and product offerings that meet consumers where they are, culturally and contextually, rather than relying on broad, high-spend distribution alone.

Siddharth Gupta, General Manager, Marketing, Britannia

Consumers are actively seeking a phygital experience of getting connected online for an offline experience, which will result in stronger communities being built for sustained engagement. Alongside this, immersive brand experiences will evolve beyond only emerging technology-led to more meaningful experiences that are integrated into relatable consumer moments. As a result, our campaigns will become more integrated and tech-forward, with immersive and culturally relevant storytelling at the core.

We will continue to modernise our core brands like Good Day, Bourbon and Milk Bikis, keeping them fresh, exciting and emotionally resonant. Platforms such as sports and content partnerships will remain important, while data, AI and newer digital ecosystems will help us deliver more personalised, immersive, intuitive and integrated brand experiences. Alongside this, our product narratives are evolving with changing lifestyles, where wellness and mindful choices coexist with moments of indulgence, ensuring our brands remain relevant across age groups.

Vidushi Goyal, Chief Marketing Officer, Swiss Beauty

The biggest marketing resolution for 2026 is to build stronger, more consistent brand salience while staying sharply aligned to where and how consumers are discovering beauty today. As Swiss Beauty continues to scale across categories and channels, our focus will be on creating clarity and consistency in our brand story across touchpoints from digital platforms to offline retail. 

In terms of trends, we expect digital and commerce-led discovery to play an even larger role, especially with the rapid growth of quick commerce and content-driven platforms. Short-form video, creator-led storytelling, and seamless integration between content and purchase will continue to influence how consumers engage with beauty brands.

At the same time, offline retail will remain critical, particularly in tier II and III markets where accessibility and visibility drive volume growth. This means marketing will increasingly need to work harder at the intersection of brand storytelling and retail execution, rather than treating them as separate silos.

Overall, 2026 will be about striking the right balance between investing in digital innovation and content while ensuring that our offline presence and brand fundamentals remain strong, efficient, and relevant to a younger, value-conscious consumer.

Vinay Joshi, Marketing Director, Brown Forman India

Our single biggest marketing resolution for 2026 is to become even more consumer-obsessed in order to be truly able to understand the needs and preferences of the dynamic Indian consumers and drive relevance for our portfolio with them.

Consumers in India are experimenting more than ever before in their flavour exploration. This is resulting in an expanding repertoire for consumers. They are also moving on from drinking more to drinking better, driving sustained premiumization in the spirits category. Today’s young LDA consumers are becoming more sophisticated in cocktails, evident in the growth of premium cocktail-driven bars.

We also expect Indian consumers to adopt global trends, global drinks, but at the same time proudly choose drinks and brands inspired by Indian ingredients and craft. These trends are here to stay and will continue to shape consumer behaviour in 2026.