Working on Wurundjeri land
Working on Wurundjeri land
The pace picked up and platforms were never short of a new update. But underneath it all the fundamentals stayed steady. Brand still mattered, connection still won and strategy always beat shortcuts.
As we head into 2026, here’s what actually stuck, what we’re backing again, and what we’re changing out in the New Year.
No matter how far your reel shouts or your ad reaches, it only counts if it actually resonates. The content that performed best this year was recognisable from the first second, had a clear voice and served a purpose.
Contrast that with AI-generated content flooding feeds. Jarring hooks and misleading openings might grab a view, but they don’t build trust, loyalty or real engagement.
Take our Preston Market content as the perfect example of high engagement done right, without wasting anyone’s time or disrespecting the people who choose to follow you.
In a world of AI written-email responses, audiences continue to crave moments (big or small) of human connection. Have something important to say? Gather your audiences around arresting content, tastes, sights and surprises that stick.
That’s what keeps AIME leading the charge as APAC’s most influential business events industry exhibition, and what draws outstanding results from rich experiences like this Innocent Bystander Brand launch we planned and executed in November.
In October, we brought together some big names in influencer engagement — Genevieve Day of Day Management, content creator Sarita Holland, and littleBIG’s Head of PR and Content, Jarryd Pentony — and the takeaway was clear. The time for one-dimensional influencer engagement is over.
That means fewer long hashtag lists, and more focus on social generative engine optimisation. Think: how does this content respond to an audience’s question? Get that right, and you can drive results on par with what we’ve seen across Melbourne Airport Retail, or our highest-ever-reaching season of influencer content for the Winter Night Market.
We delivered two tactical campaigns for Visit Grampians, Big Deal Energy and Cheeky Midweeky, and their performance came down to more than a strong offer. Success was underpinned by a clear understanding of the audience, genuine operator involvement and messaging that stayed true to the brand while still giving people a reason to act.
This is what balancing brand building with tactical wins looks like. Cheeky Midweeky, designed to entice midweek travel, drove more than 38,000 direct booking page clicks and lifted website traffic by 84 percent across the campaign period. Without an already strong understanding of the destination among our target audience, that just would not have happened.
Media famils are worth their weight in gold. Our February Devil’s Corner famil is a clear example, delivering standout coverage across Urban List, TimeOut, Australian Traveller and more.
Famils create space for colour, interpretation and genuine relationship-building, giving media the freedom to experience a brand properly and tell richer stories that continue to pay off long after the initial coverage.
Want marketing that cuts through the noise in 2026? Let’s make it happen.
