Launching Think Forward 2026: Building Brands at the Speed of Social
Thought Leadership
Think Forward 2026: Building Brands at the Speed of Social has landed! In this blog, we give you a preview of The Cultural Loop – a strategic framework created to demonstrate how brands are built in social, and a sneak peak at some of this year’s trends. Read on to learn more and download the full report now.
According to the Think Forward 2026 survey of global marketers, 95% identify social media as a critical tool for brand building, and 30% use social media through the full marketing funnel, from building awareness to direct sales. However, getting a social strategy right is not a simple task. The social landscape is shifting: usage is plateauing, attention is fragmenting, and AI-generated content is flooding feeds.
Despite these challenges, social media is now marketers’ number one channel for driving emotional connection and cultural impact, ahead of TV, print and more. And, alongside social’s potential for brand building, it’s also increasingly being used for commerce: 63% of marketers are already engaged in social selling, with another 17% set to begin this year.
To help brands succeed, We Are Social has introduced The Cultural Power Loop, a strategic framework created to demonstrate how brands are built in social. The four forces within the Cultural Power Loop – Presence, Proof, Power and Participation – inform the key trends brands can tap into for 2026 to maximise their impact.
2026’s Trends
The report outlines eight cultural trends that will define the next year of social. These include:
Cringe Confidence: As AI-generated content floods feeds, the pendulum is swinging hard toward the human, the awkward, and the earnest. Brands can resonate in everyday culture by embracing, and enabling unfiltered sincerity.
Radical Subjectivity: People are gravitating toward voices who embrace subjectivity rather than hide it. Brands can build trust by foregrounding distinctly human perspectives — imperfect, personal, and impossible to automate.
Rethinking Reality: Marketers are fast adopting AI tools – 81% already use them as part of the creative process, and 17% plan to start this year. With AI encroaching on creative expression, prestige now comes from imagination that can’t be automated: visions that feel human, original, and impossible to replicate.
Fandom Architects: 73% of marketers believe fandoms will be critical to their social strategy this year as fans move from passive observers to creative collaborators. Brands can build advocacy by recognising fans as creative collaborators who shape a brand’s cultural meaning
Thought Leadership
