A ‘linchpin’ of business: How marketers’ jobs might change over the next decade

It would have been almost impossible to successfully predict the events of the last 10 years, between a global pandemic, political upheaval and the advent of generative AI, this decade has thrown up many unexpected and unprecedented events.

Given the unpredictability of the past 10 years, many might be reluctant to forecast what’s coming in the next decade. However, it’s a marketer’s job to look to the future and anticipate change. Marketers must think about preparing for the future, as well as the present.

We asked our 2026 Future Marketing Leaders, how (and why) the job of a marketer might change over the next 10 years.

Future Marketing Leaders on the opportunities marketers should be embracing

AI was, predictably, a prevalent theme. Widespread use of generative AI is only a couple of years old, and yet, for many, it has already radically changed ways of working and customer interactions with brands. It is difficult to predict how the next decade of the technology will go; with the ways AI is used evolving rapidly.

While AI is a very common theme, opinion is more divided on how it will change the role going forward.

Rebecca Turnbull, senior brand marketing manager at Rightmove, notes there is “no established best practice playbook”. That means that marketing teams are still very much in a process of learning and defining their approach, she notes, making it hard to predict what will happen in the next 10 years.

AI and creativity

One of the biggest questions for marketers in the future is how generative AI will impact their creative work. With the ability of AI to generate video, imagery and audio becoming more and more sophisticated as months, never mind years, go by, the question of what marketers creative roles look like in a decade’s time has a great deal of uncertainty attached to it.

When it comes to creativity, there may be a tendency to see AI as something of a “threat” for marketers, notes KFC UK senior brand manager, Phoebe Syms.

“Something I believe won’t change in our jobs is that the most creative, heart-led people will always come out on top,” she says.

The marketer will evolve into a ‘creative architect’, directing fleets of AI agents rather than building individual assets by hand.

Ozgur Kirazci, Google

However, AI will inevitably change how creativity is performed by marketers, notes Google senior marketing director Ozgur Kirazci, who says the ability of AI to execute creative faster than humans ever could will change a marketer’s role.

“The marketer will evolve into a ‘creative architect’, directing fleets of AI agents rather than building individual assets by hand,” he predicts, adding that it will be the “input”, defining the purpose of a campaign and its “emotional architecture” where marketers will be able to make their mark.

Workspace brand and marketing director, Cherry Tian also believes the way marketers work will change.

Creative people will be at the heart of marketing’s AI revolution

“Technically, we will shift from managing a series of one-off campaigns to architecting integrated, real-time customer experiences by leveraging AI and data, to make their entire experience with your brand feel smooth, helpful and relevant, not just noisy,” she says.

Far from replacing creativity, AI could actually enable marketers to do more of it in their everyday jobs, predicts Cambrionix director of marketing and communications, Emma Price.

“AI is an exciting opportunity to remove marketers from monotonous repetitive tasks, freeing us up to think more creatively and strategically,” she says.

Marketing as the ‘linchpin’ of the business

As factors like AI rapidly change how some tasks in marketing are performed, marketers can and indeed must become more strategic in how they work, say many of our Future Marketing Leaders.

Going forward, strategic thinking will be expected of marketers earlier in their careers, says Compare the Market director of performance marketing, Julia Klein.

“As automation handles more tactical tasks, marketers at all levels will need to combine creative thinking with commercial and technical acumen,” she says. “I expect the entry-level roles of tomorrow to require the kind of strategic decision-making that used to sit several levels higher.”

Marketers will have to adapt their own skills to become more strategic earlier, is the prediction for the next decade. However, marketing itself may also benefit from being seen increasingly as an overall driver of business strategy.

Most marketers believe strategic expertise ‘underrated’ by business

“As more routine tasks become automated, marketers’ roles will shift towards strategy, experience design and influencing business impact, placing marketing firmly at the forefront of business transformation,” says EY marketing manager Negin Niroomand.

That marketing may actually become more influential as a result of shifting times is a view shared by Valeo Foods marketing manager Heena Shah.

“Marketers will increasingly operate as business linchpins, responsible for connecting brand growth, product effectiveness, operational efficiency and commercial impact,” she says.

Same as it ever was?

Making precise predictions can sometimes feel like setting yourself up for a fail, but it is important to be prepared for what is to come.

“Ten years is too long to predict and too short to ignore,” says Lenovo marketing director Wahid Razali, adding that automation could enable easier and more effective work, or it could go the other way and end up meaning that many impactful tasks end up in only the hands of a few.

Technology, regulation and changing media will be among the shifting factors impacting marketers, say Burger King UK head of brand and communications, Suzi Hoy. However, it’s worth noting that, while the industry has seen many changes over the years – with more expected, there are central tenets that stay the same.

“Similar to how it’s evolved so far, there will be many elements at the core that will remain consistent,” says Hoy.

So, while much will change over the next decade, there are certain things that will not.

“Know your target audience and where they are inside out, help build the right proposition, embed data-driven decision-making across all layers of the marketing activity and be creative,” adds Cem Ernaz, senior manager for search engine marketing at Hiscox.