From the rise of agency-owned AI platforms to the resilience of independent agencies and the growing importance of human creativity, several clear trends emerged, Johanna McDowell tells Glenda Nevill.
After six days, 22 agency visits and conversations across Toronto and New York, AdForum 2026 revealed an industry moving rapidly into a new era. According to Johanna McDowell, CEO of the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company, artificial intelligence dominated discussions, but it was far from the only story.
McDowell highlighted five key learnings from her trips to AdForum in Toronto and New York.
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AI has moved beyond experimentation
The most significant shift was the maturity of AI adoption among global agency groups.
Meetings with agencies including WPP Creative, Dentsu, Monks and Critical Mass showed that AI is no longer a future ambition but an operational reality.
“They’re not just talking about it,” McDowell said. “They’ve done it. And the investments they’ve made are huge.”
The major networks have built proprietary AI infrastructure, integrating data, technology and automation into systems that support campaign planning, content creation, customer experience and media optimisation. Case studies demonstrated that many agencies are already deploying these tools at scale.
“We saw some very interesting case studies relating to this infrastructure,” said McDowell. “It’s showing us what the future is going to look like.”
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Agencies are ahead of their clients
While agencies have embraced AI aggressively, many marketers are still working through governance, privacy and implementation challenges.
“The agencies are definitely ahead of the curve,” McDowell observed.
Many of the solutions presented can be customised for individual clients, but adoption remains uneven. Financial services brands, in particular, are moving cautiously because of regulatory requirements and data concerns.
This creates a new tension for agencies. Having invested heavily in AI capabilities, they now need clients to catch up in order to realise returns on those investments.
“The clients can either use it or not, depending on their budgets and depending on where they are in terms of their own AI infrastructure,” she said.
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Creativity remains the ultimate differentiator
Despite the industry’s AI obsession, the strongest consensus across both cities was that technology alone will not create competitive advantage.
“The differentiator is going to be creativity,” said McDowell. “It’s not going to be the technology.”
Agency leaders repeatedly emphasised that while AI can improve efficiency and automate tasks, it cannot replace human understanding of culture, emotion, trust and judgement.
McDowell pointed to conclusions drawn by AdForum founder Hervé de Clerck after the New York meetings: “The agencies navigating this moment best are not choosing between AI and creativity. They are using AI to do more of what only humans can do.”
Rather than replacing creative talent, AI appears to be elevating its importance.
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Independent agencies continue to thrive
One of the surprises from AdForum Toronto was the strength of Canada’s independent agency sector.
While the major holding companies remain influential, many of the agencies visited were established independents with strong client relationships and impressive creative credentials.
“It was interesting to meet the independents,” McDowell said. “These are not necessarily new independent start-ups. They are well-established agencies with serious clients and long-term commitments.”
Many have no interest in being acquired and see independence as central to their culture and creative output.
The Canadian market also demonstrated how smaller budgets can drive innovation. Compared with their US counterparts, Canadian agencies often operate with fewer resources and have developed a reputation for delivering highly creative work efficiently.
“The way they see themselves is that their budgets are small,” McDowell said. “As a result, they’re clever with how they spend their money.”
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Local relevance matters more than ever
The contrast between Toronto and New York highlighted another important trend: successful agencies are becoming increasingly shaped by local culture and context.
Canada’s bilingual market requires agencies to navigate both English- and French-speaking audiences, while Toronto’s multicultural population creates a uniquely diverse communications environment.
For McDowell, Canada’s openness and international outlook stood in stark contrast to the scale and confidence of the American market.
Yet both markets demonstrated the same underlying reality: technology may be global, but effective communication remains deeply human and culturally specific.
What it means for South Africa
The encouraging takeaway for South Africa is that local agencies are not falling behind.
“South Africa is not behind the curve at all,” McDowell said, pointing to recent global pitches where agencies presented AI-enabled solutions comparable to those seen internationally.
The bigger challenge may be helping clients navigate adoption while maintaining the creativity and human insight that drive effective brand building.
If AdForum 2026 revealed anything, it is that the future belongs neither to technology nor creativity alone. The winning agencies will be those that combine advanced AI capabilities with the distinctly human skills that machines cannot replicate.
As McDowell concluded: “The differentiator is still going to be creativity.”
