Our Monthly Round-up of the key marketing pieces for May includes: – six articles, a podcast, an AI & media section, the Work, & our Back to Henley chapter. May 2026 was a foundational month for marketing leadership, heavily marked by the structural shifts announced at major summits (like Google I/O and the HBR Leadership Summit) and reports tracking the practical evolution of “Agentic AI.”

Our May highlights:

1. Our top pick comes from the IPA this month. A new report, written by Les Binet and Will Davis and published by the IPA, argues that advertising effectiveness is being undermined by short-termism, narrow metrics and underinvestment, and calls on the industry to “think big” again to unlock real business growth. In Go Big or Go Home, Les Binet, Author, Consultant and Visiting Professor at Ravensbourne University, and Will Davis, Chief Data Officer and Co-Owner of Medialab, outline the state of marketing effectiveness today, identifying where they think the key problems holding it back lie and offering practical solutions designed to restore long-term growth. It’s free and a good read.

Here is the link: https://ipa.co.uk/news/go-big-or-go-home-2026/

2. Secondly, we turn the pages of the Harvard Business review and we came across this piece completely re-framing data privacy from a legal compliance headache into an aggressive commercial differentiator. It outlines how forward-thinking Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are using rigorous privacy frameworks to win customer confidence at a time when data-scraping anxieties are at an all-time high. The editors argue that trust has graduated from a “soft corporate value” into a hard, measurable growth driver. They argue that strict data privacy is a competitive advantage.

Here is the link: https://hbr.org/2026/05/data-privacy-is-a-growth-strategy

3. Thirdly, we have for a long time been an admirer of Dept. which sits at the intersection of technology and creativity. Isabel Perry writes this excellent piece this month. By 2028, the customer journey will be split into two: The human and the AI. Consumers won’t navigate their own way to your brand’s checkout window. Instead, trusted AI systems will assemble journeys on their behalf by identifying needs, narrowing options, personalizing experiences, and facilitating transactions in real time. The Agentic Web is happening now.

Here is the link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-b2c-b2a-how-ai-rewriting-rules-customer-journey-deptagency-r3jce/

4. Fourthly, it’s Rishad Tobaccowala – The future does not fit in the containers of the past Edition 302. this month discusses the effectiveness of business meetings. A majority of the time at work is spent in meetings. Many are a waste of time. In a recent episode of What Next? Rebecca Hinds discusses her book “ Your Best Meeting Ever” We discussed when one should schedule a meeting, how best to run meetings and why AI is likely to create even more useless meetings.

Here is the link: https://rishad.substack.com/p/making-meetings-suck-less

5. Fifthly, we liked this article by Kate Fridley of Gartner. Most CMOs miss out on real business gains. Only one in three CMOs are seeing the returns they expect from AI investments. Most focus on efficiency — measuring time saved and speed — but high-performing CMOs take a different approach. They prioritize business outcomes, not just productivity.

Here is the link: https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/ai-in-marketing

6. Sixthly, Sir John Hegarty has his weekly substack, and it’s one to sign up to if you haven’t already. His piece this week is – ‘Who is the hero?’ There was a time when the simplest rule in advertising was also the most effective: the product is the hero. It seems an oddly unfashionable idea now, particularly in the luxury sector, where brands appear increasingly convinced that the quickest route to desirability is through borrowed fame.

Here is the link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whos-hero-sir-john-hegarty-zsxje/

Podcast: A brilliant podcast this month – ‘After work’…with more work! – by Lucy Jameson, (produced by Wildwood talent) – Lucy is one of the three Founders of Uncommon Creative Studio, two key takeaways – laughter and love what you do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXvuU0uAGg4

AI: Google I/O and Google Marketing Live (GML) both landed this month, and they arrived with tons of new AI innovations. A piece comes from Jump Fly this month. This breakdown analyzes the massive shift from Google Marketing Live 2026. It highlights that Gemini is no longer just a layer on top of Google Ads—it is now the underlying operating system, completely changing modern paid search layout. https://www.jumpfly.com/blog/ai-in-online-advertising-5-key-trends-from-may-2026/

Media: The ANA published this report this week. ‘10 Years Later, ANA Finds Transparency Concerns Remain Acute.’ https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/415377/10-years-later-ana-finds-transparency-concerns-re.html?edition=142744

Time for the Work: A tough choice this month, so we’ve pick two pieces of work and let you decide which will be more effective. It’s Adidas v Nike who says storytelling is dead. First off the block Adidas, Backyard legends – brilliantly executed by Lola, a 5 minute film, with 3.4m views in first 7 days. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJJY53qhJe0 Then next, Nike arrived, directed by Burnermunde through Stink, the campaign leans into the patriotism of supporting England while reclaiming the St. George’s flag. https://www.creativereview.co.uk/wayne-rooney-shakespeare-nike-palace-world-cup-campaign/ Let the football begin.

Back to Henley: The booms are going up and it’s beginning to feel a little like Regatta. Our fortnightly feature in the Henley Standard continues where we interview local entrepreneurs. It’s called Let’s Get Down to Business. We were delighted this month to interview Paul Clerehugh, is the Owner and Executive Chef of the Crooked Billet Stoke Row. https://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/let-s-get-down-to-business/706177/chef-who-is-curious-playful-and-adventurous.html

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Kind regards,

Will