CMOs on their biggest priorities for 2026—excluding AI

The end of one year and the beginning of the next is a time for reflection. What worked last year? What didn’t? And what can be improved upon to make this year the best one yet?

Last year wasn’t an easy one for marketers. Budgets got squeezed amid continued economic uncertainty, and marketing campaigns got dragged into the culture wars again and again. But some of the same marketing opportunities and challenges remained.

To kick off 2026, we asked several CMOs and marketers what they are prioritizing in the new year—and lasered in on some of the non-AI related answers. (Since the ongoing push to put AI at the center of everything continues to be inescapable, we also rounded up marketers’ AI-related priorities.) Take a look at their answers, and after that, be sure to read the biggest challenges they expect to face.

How culturally attuned is my brand?

Kristyn Cook, CMO, State Farm: Our focus is squarely on owning our role in culture—not just participating in it, but actively shaping it. With shorter attention spans and a fragmented landscape, everyone is fighting for a second of focus. Our edge is knowing what’s resonating (and what’s not) and showing up in ways that are unmistakably us. Sports will continue to be a core part of our strategy…But we are just as focused on the unexpected in terms of where and how we show up.

Craig Brommers, CMO, American Eagle: American Eagle is entering 2026 with serious cultural momentum. Our biggest priority is to accelerate that momentum with continuous “plot twists” that keep us at the center of the conversation. That means taking creative risks, moving with conviction, and trusting our instincts on where culture is heading.

Manu Orssaud, CMO, Duolingo: In 2025, we experimented with new formats and new ways of showing up. In 2026, we want our creative to feel more connected across everything we do. A key focus for us is balancing the work that creates cultural moments with the work that responds to them. That means investing in bigger, proactive ideas that shape how people think about our brand, while also keeping the speed and instinct needed to react quickly when it matters. We’re sharpening how we gather cultural insights so we can identify opportunities early and act in a way that feels relevant and authentic to our brand.

Greg Guidotti, CMO, Ferrara: Our focus at Ferrara is to continue fueling the exponential success of the Nerds brand, building on its incredible success with innovations, like our new Nerds Juicy Gummy Clusters candy, to drive continued portfolio strength.

Additionally, we are focused on realizing the full potential of our brand portfolio by bringing exciting news to iconic brands, like Jelly Belly and the Black Forest gummy portfolio. Lastly, we will continue to drive cultural relevance at scale, keeping Ferrara brands joyful and connected to evolving consumer values, whether through major partnerships like US Soccer or everyday moments that move at the speed of culture.

George Felix, CMO, Chili’s: I’m excited to keep the momentum for Chili’s going. Celebrating Chili’s 50th birthday [in 2025] was a huge milestone, but what’s struck me most is that the brand feels more energized and culturally connected than ever. That doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of a world-class marketing team that moves at the speed of culture, takes creative risks, and genuinely loves the brand.

As we head into 2026, my priority is not getting bored with the strategy that has gotten us here: sustaining that energy, continuing to show up in culturally relevant ways, continuing to win in value, and delivering great experiences in-restaurant. When you stay true to who you are while evolving how you show up, you leave a lot of runway for growth, and that’s where we’re headed.

Data and dollars working smarter, harder

Sid Malhotra, VP of SMB, Snap: It’s really table stakes to make your dollars work smarter for you. So what that means in the advertising space is bringing your data such that the platform that you’re choosing can show the right ad to the right person at the right time. This is tedious, and many platforms don’t offer that support today, and it befuddles me. What we’re doing at Snapchat is, if you are a business that’s chosen to start advertising with us, we will actually help you set up that data pipeline, just to make sure your ad dollars work harder.

Larry Allen, VP, global strategy, data, measurement, and addressable, Comcast FreeWheel: My two biggest priorities going into 2026 are to enable automated outcome measurement to fuel planning, optimization, and activation, and to increase the use of reliable deterministic data to activate audiences and measure campaigns accurately.

Brand experience

Josh Hackbarth, CMO, MGA Entertainment: We’re really going to be focusing on experiences. We’re working on really bold, shareable, creative that allows our fans to participate in the conversation. But ultimately, our priorities are, “How do we build our brands and franchises into long-term, sustainable ecosystems?” So we’re always looking at new ways to reach fans. You’re going to see a lot of things from us [this] year that we’ve never done before, that I think will build a much more, much deeper emotional connection with some brands. I mean, we have brands like L.O.L. Surprise celebrating its 10th anniversary next year…and Bratz is turning 25, if you can believe that.

Chris Brandt, chief brand officer, Chipotle: We’re looking at new and creative ways to emphasize our value proposition while increasing the benefit of our offerings through improved in-restaurant execution, menu innovation, and amplification of the Chipotle Rewards program.

Andy Rebhun, CMO and Chief Experience Officer, Cava: For every in-person, digital, and social media experience our guests have, we want them to feel that there is one clear voice that they can connect with. We’ve been deepening our first-party relationships with our guests, and this year we launched an updated experience for our loyalty programs that features a tiered platform to our CAVA fans to earn even more with us. Moving at the speed of culture is a challenge, but leaning into cohesive brand experiences that reward our loyal guests and invite new guests to our table will continue to be a key goal for our brand.