It won’t be the bloody year of anything. Not AI, nor some pimped up make-believe version of B2B marketing. Not Walton Goggins, nor those irksome small plates restaurants.

In the realm of effective marketing, Occam’s razor remains king. That is to say, when you have the choice of multiple possible theories or solutions, the simplest one with the fewest unnecessary complexities is usually the best bet.

So instead of going up our own fundament with the usual predictions, we wanted to focus on the importance of the old. Yes, shiny new things are exciting but excitement doesn’t equal usefulness or effectiveness. Quite often those boring old things are what’s holding the show together.

So what’s staying the same in 2026 as it has done since time out of mind? Here are some selected highlights from the LS hive mind…

You can stack the odds of winning customers in your favour.

Deciding on a supplier in B2B is as much about risk mitigation as it is finding a better or different solution. This was the case in 2025, as it was in 2024, 2023, 1953, 1803 and so on.

Which means familiarity with a brand goes a long way, and in turn that’s something you can look to game in your favour. According to Bain & Company, making sure you’re top of mind with potential buyers could improve the chances of winning from 10% to 90%.

This addresses one of the big paradoxes in B2B marketing – how can you engage potential buyers if they’re just not in market, and so don’t give a fig about being your next MQL, let alone giving you any money? To get this right brands need to build mental availability with their audience. Getting them familiar to the point that when Derek comes to need an oscillating widget it’s your Acme Oscillators brand that first comes to his mind. Whack, straight on the shortlist.

Hollow brands lose out.

The rebalancing of marketing activity towards brand activity and away from an unhealthy obsession with demand will continue apace this year. But it’s underpinned by a fundamental truth that’s not changed: if you want to be good at brand marketing, you need to be memorable.
Years of too heavy a reliance on short-term demand activity has left many brands hollowed out. They’re set up to facilitate ever increasing volumes of MQLs and serving them to the giant sandworm maws of the sales team. That needs very little in the way of brand architecture – nice looking visual identity, nice worthy purpose, job done. Crack on with the keywords, yeah?
Effective brand marketing needs more. It needs assets that will build and reinforce memory structures; distinctive things that stick in the mind like characters or music or a tone of voice. The stuff Ehrenberg-Bass people get all frothy about on social media.

Good stories get attention. And get remembered.

Make good news and you’ll reap the benefits. The world is full of enough landfill content and non-events masquerading as news. This isn’t going to change, if anything a whole new waste disposal facility will be needed just for the onslaught of AI slop.

It’s a very real problem for your audience and it could be hampering your prospects rather than helping them. Some studies reckon as many as 65% of B2B buyers feel overwhelmed by the volume of content they’re served. For editors and creators that’s likely to be more like 100%.

All of which creates opportunity for brands that can hold the line. Take a journalistic view – focus on stories with a genuine news angle, tell them clearly and substantiate them. Because this is where the value is for your audience and it’s what will help you to stand out in a sea of slop.

Looking to get the B2B fundamentals nailed down for your business? Get in touch – and let’s talk.