Marketing in 2026 seems to be broken and big business will struggle, in this blog I try to understand the reasons why…

I’ve just had a clear-out – complete top to bottom inventory of my StuDio and its tools, tech and trash.

The biggest space saver was letting go of my business books. Many of the classics and some rarer reads have helped me massively over the years, all full of the latest and best business guidance of the time.

Whilst reviewing my collection, I noted this pattern, “HEY!” I’ve got a great idea”… idea gets adopted, market adjusts to new idea, idea becomes less effective as mass adoption/awareness of idea becomes mainstream. New book pops up “HEY!” I got a great NEW idea”… rinse/repeat.

Marketing seems to be the same since Claude Hopkins’ 1923 classic, Scientific Advertising, which explains evidence-based advertising techniques that make sales measurable and predictable. Dan Kennedy, arguably the godfather of modern direct marketing; Tony Robbins? Yeah, he’s a product of Dan Kennedy’s work so are many other famous household brands and it’s broadly based on Hopkins’ earlier work.

Marketing hasn’t changed; make a big promise, sell that promise whilst fresh, market becomes saturated/bored, make a NEW BIGGER PROMISE! Eventually the consumer becomes wise to the pattern and switches off completely. Right now, people are at overload, their cognitive bandwidth is full and shouting louder isn’t breaking through any more.

Big business has a problem, because the only way to reach the customer at this point is to create authentic connections, and mega-corps? Not great at genuine concern for anything other than shareholder value. They have “AI” answering calls, they aren’t building genuine connection, we humans thrive when we’re connected. That’s where smaller, local businesses will win, plus small businesses don’t off-shore their profit and onshore the risks, but that’s a topic for another rant…

Be kind. Go buy something from someone local. Stay Awesome.

Morrison out.