#expert-opinion

#expert-opinion

Design is a strategic lens—a way of seeing systems, solving problems, anticipating consequences, gleaning insights, and making decisions to ensure better outcomes for all stakeholders. As a function truly custom-built to navigate complexity, design trains its practitioners to synthesize competing inputs. It translates abstract goals into tangible outcomes and considers the needs of diverse user groups.

Recent data from The TalentLMS 2026 L&D Benchmark Report reveals a 19-point perception gap on AI learning support. 83% of HR leaders believe they actively support AI learning, but only 64% of employees agree. This extremely polarized viewpoint raises an uncomfortable question: If leaders are this far off on AI skills support, what else might they be misreading about their teams' capabilities?

An AI agent is simply a model that receives input, follows defined goals and rules, makes step-by-step decisions, and uses tools to take actions. Instead of viewing AI agents as autonomous digital workers, break it down. First principles thinking says this definition captures the essence of how AI agents function and operate within business workflows.

Data science and artificial intelligence are fundamentally redefining what constitutes skill in investment management, shifting the sources of sustainable competitive advantage in ways most firms have yet to comprehend. This is not about automating existing workflows. It is about reconceptualizing which analytical tasks can be systematized and which genuinely require human judgment, then rebuilding investment processes around that distinction. Firms that fail to recognize this depth are not simply adopting tools more slowly. They are misunderstanding the nature of the change itself.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark-(BUSINESS WIRE)- Caliber, a stakeholder intelligence platform helping organizations build and protect trust, released its inaugural Stakeholder Intelligence Report, revealing global trends in brand, reputation, and data-driven communications. As economic anxiety, AI disruption, and geopolitical uncertainty intensify, leaders across industries are making higher-stakes decisions under conditions of compressed trust and heightened reputational risk. This report equips executives with data and actionable insights to support decision-making in 2026 and beyond.

Traditional thought leadership is losing impact. Long reports and gated content no longer capture attention in today's zero-click world. As a result, thought leadership is entering a new phase - experiential thought leadership. Engaging formats like interactive webinars, immersive events and podcasts make ideas felt and memorable rather than just consumed. Success depends on cross-team collaboration, testing and building experiences around real audience understanding.

Pencil's experiment focused on written copy in Facebook product ads rather than big-budget creative. Despite widely held concerns that the tech could cannibalize copywriting jobs, that doesn't mean professional creatives are ignoring the tech. Shruthi Subramanian of Serviceplan Munich (above) was named the most-awarded copywriter in the world in The Drum's World Creative Rankings. She says the tools can be put to good use, albeit with caution.

Does the strength of relationship between marketer and agency correlate with more effective work? Using two unique and robust sets of data we have, for the first time, answered this question with an emphatic 'yes' The implications of our latest report are profound for marketers and their agencies, and arguably for any business relationship. Our analysis of winners of effectiveness awards over a 9-year period discovered that award-winning client and agency teams had better relationships than the average.

Business Insider teamed up with Plant-A Insights, a leading insights and technology company that publishes business rankings in cooperation with world-class media brands, to find the 300 top management consulting firms in America. The list includes giants of the industry as well as a slew of more specialized and boutique firms. The list is based on a large-scale survey of around 25,000 professionals who have worked with consulting firms, who evaluated them on factors like industry and practice area expertise, as well as client satisfaction.

Imagine you're selecting an influencer to work with on your new campaign. You've narrowed it down to two, both in the right area, both creating the right sort of content. One has 24.6 million subscribers, the other 1.4 million. Which do you choose? Now imagine you could find out the first had 8.7 million unique viewers last month, while the second had 9.9 million. Do you want to change your mind?

Winning a prestigious award, such as our recent Gold at The Drum Awards for PR in the Entertainment category, is always a proud moment for us as an agency. It validates our expertise, builds credibility, and sets us apart in a competitive market. We leverage awards as a key part of our marketing and business strategy in various ways. Sharing the win with clients reinforces their choice to work with us - after all, everyone wants to partner with a winner!

With everyone navigating this macroeconomic omnishambles, it's high time we look at the agency-brand pitching process and finally make some changes to level the playing field between the two sides. A recent JFDI/Opinium survey found the average pitch cost agencies more than £11k and withdrawn budgets are responsible for 33% of lost pitches. This all becomes even more complex and frustrating when pitching creative ideas due to the expectations of those ideas and the subjectivity of that audience.

The consulting giant questioned 4,454 chief executives across 95 countries and territories about their strategic priorities and outlook in the year up to November 2025. More than half of the CEOs surveyed, 56%, said AI hasn't produced revenue or cost benefits for their businesses to date. Some reported benefits for either revenue or costs: around a third said their revenue was up in the last year, and 26% said they were seeing lower costs from AI.