🔮 The 2026 Forecast: Creative + Media Trends Brands Should Prepare For Now
Media Strategy, Creative Strategy James Lorden Media Strategy, Creative Strategy James Lorden

🔮 The 2026 Forecast: Creative + Media Trends Brands Should Prepare For Now

The 2026 Forecast: Creative + Media Trends Brands Should Prepare For Now

If 2024 was the year of experimenting with AI and 2025 was about rethinking budgets, then 2026 will be the year of integration. Creative and media aren’t just colliding — they’re converging into something leaner, faster, and more audience-first than ever. For small and mid-sized brands, seeing what’s around the corner isn’t a luxury. It’s the difference between running to catch up and running out in front.

Here’s our forecast: six shifts already in motion that will define the creative and media landscape of 2026 — and what you can do today to prepare.

Read More
🔎 Demystifying Media Buying: What to Look for in a Media Partner
Media Strategy, Media Buying James Lorden Media Strategy, Media Buying James Lorden

🔎 Demystifying Media Buying: What to Look for in a Media Partner

Media buying doesn’t have to be a mystery.

For many small businesses, the world of media buying feels like navigating a maze blindfolded. Buzzwords, acronyms, opaque budgets—it’s no wonder decision-makers sometimes feel more confused after meeting with a media agency than before.

At Whirr Media, we believe in frictionless flight, not foggy promises. So let’s break it down and empower you to choose the right media partner with confidence.

Read More
AI in Media Strategy
Media Strategy James Lorden Media Strategy James Lorden

AI in Media Strategy

The promise of AI in advertising isn’t just hype—it’s already rewriting the rules of planning, buying, and optimization. From smarter bidding to predictive targeting, AI is offering brands sharper tools to fly faster and higher. But as with any new flight path, there’s turbulence too.

AI gives us Speed. Precision. Scale. But it also introduces black boxes, measurement gaps, and accountability questions that savvy marketers can’t ignore.

At Whirr Media, we’re not anti-AI—we’re anti-blind trust. We believe in harnessing the tech and asking the hard questions. Here’s a bird’s-eye view of where AI is lifting us up—and where it’s still grounded.

Read More
🚫 Principal Media Buying: Who Really Wins?
Media Strategy James Lorden Media Strategy James Lorden

🚫 Principal Media Buying: Who Really Wins?

The term “principal media buying” might sound harmless—even efficient. But scratch beneath the surface, and you’ll find a practice that’s quietly reshaping the client-agency relationship, often to the detriment of transparency, trust, and long-term media performance.

At Whirr Media, we think it’s time to call it what it is: a conflict of interest masquerading as scale.

Read More