Despite years of predictions that media would be absorbed into some vague blob called growth marketing, the latest Dentsu CMO Navigator Media Edition makes it clear that media and advertising remain the bread and butter of the CMO job. In other words, media buying is still where the money goes, the pressure lives and the questions start.
The difference in 2026 is that media is no longer treated as a line item. CMOs increasingly see it as the glue between brands and consumers in an algorithm-driven world.