“Future Of Brand Influence” Outlines How Brands Must Balance Human Connection and Machine Intelligence to Drive Growth

Omnicom Media, an Omnicom Connected Capability, released a new research report – The Future of Brand Influence – revealing how the dynamics of brand growth are being reshaped by a fragmented and increasingly complex influence ecosystem, where traditional advertising now represents just one of many forces shaping consumer decision-making – alongside influencers, peer commentary, retail environments, and AI-driven recommendations.

Supported by research ¹ conducted by Omnicom Media Intelligence, the report explores how the long-standing fundamentals of brand growth – physical and mental availability – must now be expanded to include emotional availability, as consumers exert greater control over how, where, and from whom they receive information.

“Influence used to be relatively linear and predictable,” says Joanna O’Connell, Chief Intelligence Officer, Omnicom Media North America and lead author of the study. “Today, brand messaging exists alongside everything from influencer opinions to AI-generated answers – and that means brands must earn emotional relevance and trust across a much broader set of touchpoints.”

The research provides context for several first-to-market collaborations between Omnicom and leading retailers and social platforms, which will be unveiled this week at CES. These partnerships are designed to help brands enhance influence at critical moments across the consumer journey—from discovery through purchase and loyalty.

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Who and What Really Influences Consumers

The study reveals a significant shift in how consumers form opinions and make decisions.

• 71% of respondents say what people are saying about a brand matters more than its advertising.
• Nearly half say AI (45%) and influencers (43%) matter more than advertising when shaping brand perceptions.
• 54% trust people—such as influencers or peers on social platforms—more than publications or institutions; among Gen Z, that figure rises to 67%.
• Only 32% of respondents say a brand’s advertising most affects their overall opinion of a brand, compared to 40% who cite what people online are saying.

“Trust is migrating from institutions to individuals, and increasingly to machines as well,” O’Connell says. “That shift fundamentally changes how brands need to show up if they want to remain relevant and influential.”

The GenAI Effect: Faster Paths from Curiosity to Action

Generative AI is accelerating the pace at which consumers move from inquiry to expertise to purchase.

• 70% of respondents say GenAI enables them to become an expert in any product or service category, from researching pros and cons to comparing brands.

At the same time, attention is increasingly fragmented:

• 63% of respondents say their attention span is just OK or not great.
• Nearly 4 in 10 report not noticing ads on social media, even in high-ad-load environments.
• Ad blockers, ad-free subscriptions, signal loss, and VPN usage continue to erode traditional advertising reach.

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Economic Pressure Is Competing with Emotional Loyalty

The report also highlights the growing tension between brand influence and economic influence:

• More than 30% of respondents now report buying cheaper versions of their usual brands, up from 19% earlier this year.
• 75% say brand relatability is essential when making purchase decisions – yet 72% believe brands care more about earning dollars than building loyalty.
• And 55% feel brands no longer try to connect with them the way they used to.

Summarizing the collective impact, O’Connell says, “These findings reveal a media ecosystem in which brand influence is either being blocked, deprioritized, diluted, or self-sabotaged.”

Implications: Rethinking the Rules of Brand Growth

While physical, mental, and emotional availability remain critical drivers of growth, the study finds that the paths to achieving them have fundamentally changed:

• Physical Availability now requires ubiquitous, frictionless products/services access across digital and physical channels.
• Mental Availability depends on cutting through unprecedented noise and dis-intermediation in a marketplace where reach and frequency are just table stakes.
• Emotional Availability has emerged as a decisive lever for building authentic connection at scale.

Says O’Connell, “These shifts are coming together to unveil a new marketing reality where brand influence is achieved by balancing the role of machines with the power of human connection in moments where brands are likeliest to capture people’s attention.”

Key Takeaways and Recommendations

To succeed in the new influence ecosystem, Omnicom Media recommends that brands:

• Market to humans by tapping into emotion at scale.
  • Leverage live experiences to capture elevated attention and emotional engagement.
  • Invest in influencers as authentic brand ambassadors and scalable media channels.
  • Lean into retail media to surprise and delight shoppers throughout the purchase journey.
  • Treat search as a behavior—meeting consumers wherever they are, on their terms.
• Market to machines by preparing for what’s next.
  • Adopt Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) strategies to prepare for AI’s growing role in shaping consumer decisions.

“The future of brand influence isn’t about choosing between humans and machines,” says O’Connell. “It’s about designing systems that serve both. Brands that do this well can turn discovery, consideration, purchase, and loyalty into a self-reinforcing growth flywheel.”