Navigating the complexities of effective brand strategy is a challenge in today’s fragmented media landscape.
In this insightful Q&A, Chris Moody, the Head of Strategy, and Sam Bradshaw, the Head of Media at AgencyUK, share their perspectives on the evolving nature of media strategy, the influence of AI on planning processes, and the common pitfalls brands encounter in their marketing efforts…
What does effective brand strategy look like in today’s fragmented media landscape?
Bradshaw: We’ve talked about ‘fragmentation’ for a while, but a lot of it is created by how we buy and report media (as recently reported by the IPA).
We label it CTV, OTT, BVoD, but the audience aren’t thinking in acronyms like we are. They’re thinking, “I’m going to watch TV.”
There are more channels, but people still build memory the same way. They watch, listen and scroll in steady routines.
Effective brand strategy is about being easy to recognise, and present often enough to come to mind when people get to the point of making a purchase.
The real problem isn’t fragmentation; it’s brand ideas that look like disconnected bursts instead of one consistent story repeated over time.
Where do you see the biggest strategic mistakes brands are making right now?
Moody: After pouring great effort into a short-term stunt, it’s easy to believe that one campaign has had more effect than the time it’s alive. People used to talk about newspapers being tomorrow’s fish and chip paper.
The truism holds, and today’s digital/social version is even more cruel. Algorithms are designed to promote endless content, not preserve longevity.
Brands need to focus on showing up consistently and creatively with similar messages, so each short-term stunt contributes to a larger ‘whole’ and creates lasting impact.
How has the role of media strategy changed over the past few years?
Bradshaw: The job has moved from picking channels to designing a system. Media strategy now needs to think about how channels or touch points work together to influence behaviour and support growth.
Grace Kite’s “lots of littles” idea is useful here. Effectiveness builds as channels or touchpoints are layered in, but only if activity is consistent and recognisable.
The fundamentals haven’t shifted. Build brands people can distinguish, use distinctive assets and repeat them consistently over time. What has changed is the expectation that media strategy can explain how that translates into commercial results.
How is AI changing the strategic planning process?
Moody: With careful use and thoughtful techniques, AI will make strategy faster.
Currently, the main efficiencies are in research: AI can quickly gather information and explore it for overall themes and ideas.
It’s really important to maintain human judgement and insight, because AI’s tendency toward confirmation bias is enormous – it WILL be positive about almost any idea you throw at it.
Strategists must also be careful not to ask AI questions they should be asking clients.
Understanding a client’s viewpoint on the business, brand and customers, what they think they do well, and what they are afraid of, will give better insight into the problem that needs solving.
In the end we must sell our ideas, so we need to know who we’re selling to.
Are brands making the most of their data, or are there still major gaps?
Bradshaw: The granular data of each touchpoint and interaction may not be as essential as we might have thought 10 years ago.
Most brands now have more data than they can realistically use, but the challenge is turning that data into decisions.
Dashboards are common, but clear interpretation is still quite rare, I think.
Strong teams define what success looks like first, then use data to guide action.
Too often reporting describes performance without changing behaviours.
What makes a campaign strategically strong as well as creatively effective?
Moody: If you have one of these things but not the other, my question would be how it got made.
Effective creative should achieve strategic goals.
And a strategy that can’t be brought to life in new, interesting ways to change behaviours isn’t very well thought out, or indeed useful.
Bradshaw: It starts with a clear objective and a defined barrier to growth. The work then needs to be distinctive and emotionally engaging, not just optimised for clicks.
Strategically strong campaigns reach enough people, show up consistently and are measured against business outcomes.
Creative strength and strategic discipline reinforce each other.
What pressures are shaping marketing decision-making in 2026?
Moody: Since the world emerged from pandemic lockdowns, it has been a rocky road.
Costs are still rising, economies are volatile and fragile.
Confidence is almost desperate to recover but it’s not easy. Business is under pressure to do more with less, except its consumers can’t always square that circle.
Bradshaw: Short-term performance pressure remains strong. Teams are expected to demonstrate return quickly, while costs increase and platform complexity grows.
The tension is protecting long-term brand investment while delivering near-term results.
Most media decisions are made inside that constraint.
Which emerging trend do you think is being overhyped – and which is being underestimated?
Moody: The marketing press and a large part of LinkedIn would have you believe that AI is the only thing that matters.
But people are still people and marketing and comms principles still mostly apply, so clearly, it’s not the be all and end all.
Bradshaw: The belief that new tools automatically make media more effective is overhyped and is just not true.
Tools help, but they don’t replace clear positioning or disciplined media planning.
Though not necessarily a trend, I think the power of consistency is significantly underestimated.
A steady presence and distinctive brand assets drives growth more reliably than constant reinvention.
What has been the biggest change in your role as Head of Strategy?
Moody: With around 30 people in our integrated teams, AgencyUK is the smallest agency I’ve worked for, but with a far more diverse range of clients than in my previous roles. So, this is challenging and inspiring.
I know that we punch above our weight in our ability to think and deliver strategically sound and creatively effective work for our clients, whether they’re a scaling local business or an international scientific research partner.
I think when agencies have too many clients that are similar, they can get stuck into those mindsets and behaviours.
Having to be more agile and adaptable has been challenging and inspiring for me.
What’s the one question every brand should be asking their strategist right now?
Bradshaw: What is actually stopping us from growing? Until that constraint is clear, the plan becomes a list of activity.
Activity should be interrogated against the answer to the above question, and anything superfluous should be stopped.
Media only becomes useful once you have a clear direction on what needs changing.