Key Takeaways:

Petcare goes beyond just getting the best products; it’s about a deep loyalty pet parents buy into for their routines, rituals and communities built around the love people feel for their furry family members. As social platforms became more crowded with sponsored content and short‑term influencer partnerships. That was the challenge facing Petmate, the parent company behind trusted pet brands like Chuckit!,With decades of trust built among pet parents, Petmate knew their social partnerships needed to reflect the same values their products already stood for: play, connection and real relationships with pets. Petmate faced a familiar question: how do you scale social advocacy without losing credibility or consistency?

For the past year, AI regulation has been framed as a looming threat—a force poised to slow productivity and stifle creative momentum. Something to fear or ignore until it becomes unavoidable. In reality, AI laws aren’t a future problem; they’re a present-day reality—and a competitive advantage for marketers who understand them. 

We’re proud to introduce our 2025 Impact Report.  As culture sped up in 2025, people leaned in—asking more questions, seeking connection and showing up with intention. We followed that shift in partnership with our clients, delivering 4,100+ hours of pro bono expertise to organizations driving real change. We are proud of the collaboration from our entire team across seven nonprofits to amplify impact where it matters most.  This report brings that impact to life—where strategy and creativity come together to move communities forward. 

If SXSW 2026 had a headline, it would be this: we are standing at the epicenter of a marketing revolution.   

Gen Z has proven that they are a fundamentally different kind of consumer. When it comes to their views on financial wellness, they are not looking for a financial institution that tells them what to do–they are searching for one that “gets” them.  

For two decades, “search” meant: open your favorite search engine, type in a few keywords, scan a page of links, click what looks promising (usually found on page 1 of results, let’s be honest), and get your results. That model and the discoverability of brands shaped an entire industry — SEO strategies, content calendars, paid search budgets and measurement frameworks.

For many brands, cookie compliance may feel like old news. With privacy laws in place for nearly a decade, it can seem like the box has already been checked. But as new laws emerge—and interpretations of old ones evolve—cookie compliance isn’t a one-time fix. It’s an ever-evolving strategy. And in 2026, it’s back in the spotlight.

For years, Connected TV (CTV) was the shiny new object in marketers’ media plans—a space for testing, learning and seeing what stuck. Fast-forward to 2026: The experiment is over. CTV has proven itself a key player in digital-first strategies, commanding more dollars, more data and more expectations than ever before.

The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer paints a stark picture: Trust in major institutions is collapsing, and it’s reshaping how people evaluate the companies they buy from. Globally, 61% of respondents report a moderate or high “sense of grievance,” believing that government and business make their lives harder while benefiting the wealthy. Many believe that institutions like government, media and even nonprofit organizations are not operating in the public’s best interest. In the U.S., this fracture is even more pronounced as confidence in media and government continues to erode across every channel. In this landscape, business emerges as the most trusted institution at 62%, but that trust is highly conditional and easily lost. For brands, this means the bar has never been higher.

This isn’t your average recap. It’s a montage of some of our team’s favorite moments of the productions we created in 2025. Each frame is a powerhouse of creative excellence, a testament to the work we do at Hiebing, every day.

As 2026 approaches, it’s the perfect time to look ahead and prepare for what’s next in the dynamic world of marketing. With so much change on the horizon, building a strong strategy can feel overwhelming. That’s why we’ve tapped our team of specialists to highlight the trends and insights that could make the biggest difference for brands in the coming year. Here are our top marketing predictions to guide your planning for a successful 2026.