Blog
AI is changing how B2B brand and communications teams invest, operate, and prioritize work. As companies look for practical ways to apply AI across marketing, leaders are reevaluating program investments, talent needs, and the capabilities required to drive growth. Forrester’s Brand and Communications Survey, 2026 reveals a more deliberate approach to these decisions, particularly in areas tied to digital engagement, brand visibility, and influence.
Blog
B2B marketers have long relied on agencies for scale, specialized expertise, and execution support across brand and communications. In fact, 93% of respondents to Forrester's 2026 B2B Brand and Communications Survey use agencies in some capacity. What is changing is the relationship itself, as AI-driven efficiencies enable teams to bring more work in-house.
Blog
The technology industry has always been immature compared with the manufacturing, automotive, telecommunications, and oil and gas industries. In those industries, tier-one suppliers are deeply embedded in the operations of the end producer, tier-two suppliers are embedded in the operations of the tier-one suppliers, and so on. Boeing planes would fall out of the sky […]
Blog
Agentic AI is moving fast. Enterprises are shifting from experimentation to real deployments — using AI agents to act, not just answer. This should put integration at the forefront. After all, an AI agent without integration is merely an answer engine, it cannot take action. Yet many organizations are repeating a familiar mistake: building AI […]
Podcast
Most organizations have journey maps, dashboards, and customer insight. Turning them into decisions that shape funding, priorities, and delivery is the hard part. In this episode, Host Martin Gill speaks with Joana de Quintanilha, VP, Principal Analyst at Forrester, about the shift from creating journey maps as assets to embracing a journey decision system that […]
Blog
Budget optimism is rising as 2027 approaches — but more spend alone won’t improve outcomes. Use this moment to reset your AI investments. Prioritize the readiness, governance, and context required to make it truly work.
Blog
Agentic development platforms (ADPs) move AI-enhanced development from experimentation to enterprise decision-making. As AI coding assistants evolve into platforms that can coordinate agents, manage context, and automate work across the software development lifecycle (SDLC), technology leaders need a clearer view of which vendors matter, how they differ, and where the market is heading. ADPs are […]
Blog
PlayStation recently made an announcement that, starting in January of 2028, it will stop producing physical game discs. Going forward, games will only be released as digital versions in both the PlayStation Store and at physical retailers. Sony claims that this is in response to “shifting trends in consumer preference,” but our data says otherwise.
Blog
Every B2B CMO I talk to right now is asking a version of the same question: What roles do I need on my team for the future? It is a fair question. It is also the wrong one to lead with. AI is not changing marketing by introducing a fixed set of new jobs to […]
Blog
Even as more organizations adopt advanced measurement techniques, the perceived actionability of that measurement hasn’t kept pace. According to Forrester’s 2025 and 2026 global marketing surveys, adoption of marketing mix modeling and incrementality testing increased substantially year over year, but 49% of B2C marketing decision-makers in 2026 still say that analytics findings don’t translate into […]
Blog
Last October, I published a blog proposing a different mental model for AI agents: Treat them as cognitive skills and products, not as digital employees. That framing has since resonated strongly with Forrester clients, particularly technology leaders building agentic capabilities inside the enterprise. But the concept of a cognitive skill in that blog was deliberately loose. […]
Blog
For the past two years, many AI stories have followed the same script: Automate work, reduce headcount, and cut costs. IKEA chose a different path, and its results offer an important lesson for leaders navigating the AI era. Even though this story is years old, it holds key insight into grappling with the workforce impacts of AI. What Happened At IKEA? […]
Blog
AI is accelerating the pace of product innovation and forcing portfolio marketing and product management leaders to rethink how they allocate resources, measure value, and bring offerings to market. To keep pace, Forrester’s new report, Budget Planning Guide 2027: Portfolio Marketing And Product Leaders Must Keep Pace With AI-Driven Innovation, emphasizes the imperative to shift […]
Blog
Customers can achieve the goal of their journey and still feel uncertain, frustrated, or less loyal afterward. Forrester launched an annual journey benchmarking study to understand what makes journeys so valuable to customers that they reward the brand with their positive emotions and loyalty. The study examines what drives customer perceptions of value across different […]
Blog
Net Promoter Score℠ (NPS) results from post-journey surveys most likely overstate customer loyalty, because most surveys include only customers who complete their journey and surveys are sent before customers know whether what they did worked. NPS Differs Vastly Depending On Goal Achievement And Confidence In Forrester’s annual journey benchmarking study, we found that goal achievement made a big difference in […]
Blog
In less than 12 months, wars escalated and reescalated, markets swung wildly, trade tensions intensified, and even rice prices elevated, causing chaos. The pace of change has been relentless, and that’s before considering the volatility facing security leaders from AI or cybersecurity threats. Also, less than a year ago, I published a blog on human […]
Blog
Growth momentum is one of the most sought-after objectives in business. When it builds, buying groups move with greater confidence, internal teams align almost effortlessly around common priorities, and individual successes compound into larger business outcomes. Many B2B organizations undervalue one of the strongest contributors to growth momentum: marketing. Marketing doesn’t build momentum by simply […]
Blog
We wrapped up a multimonth evaluation of 10 AI consulting service providers: Accenture, Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Capgemini, Deloitte, EY, IBM, KPMG, McKinsey & Company, and PwC. It’s available to Forrester clients as The Forrester Wave™: AI Consulting Services, Q2 2026. There are more than 10 AI consulting service providers, of course — […]
Blog
B2B marketing leaders entering the 2027 planning cycle must rethink traditional budget planning and shift toward focused, outcome-driven investment strategies. In an era of AI-driven disruption and market volatility, success will depend on where organizations concentrate spend, divest low-impact initiatives, and invest in resilience-building capabilities.
Blog
European marketers are rapidly adopting AI, but most applications remain focused on efficiency rather than customer value. New research reveals a growing gap between AI adoption and customer impact, highlighting the need to move beyond productivity gains and use AI to create differentiated customer experiences and competitive advantage.