How Indonesia's agencies are reimagining creativity, intelligence, and growth in 2026

As 2026 approaches, Indonesia’s advertising industry stands at a pivotal point - where human creativity, technological intelligence, and adaptive strategy must coexist more seamlessly than ever. Agency leaders agree that the year ahead won’t just be about harnessing artificial intelligence, but about rethinking how intelligence itself - human, artificial, and emotional - can work together to deliver beyond efficiency.

Across the board, leaders foresee a shift from fragmented digital strategies to intelligent orchestration. Whether it’s connected TV transforming viewing habits, or AI-native tools reshaping media planning, the focus is moving toward integration - of data, creativity, and commerce - within a single, adaptive ecosystem. From Omnicom Media Group’s real-time intelligence platform to Future Creative Network’s AI-designed tools, the ambition is the same: to create systems that think, learn, and elevate human creativity rather than replace it.

Budget philosophies are also evolving. With unpredictability now the norm, agencies are adopting adaptive, scenario-based models - balancing prudence and ambition, short-term efficiency and long-term brand building. AI-driven productivity gains are being reinvested into distinctive creative work, sharper analytics, and experimentation that fuels growth.

Don't miss: How Malaysia’s agencies are reshaping talent, tech and creativity in 2026

Anne Mutia Ridwan, COO of Future Creative Network

I believe the next big wave is the move from platform dependence to screen orchestration. In Indonesia, connected TV (CTV) will rise significantly - not just because smart TVs are more affordable with Chinese brands flooding the market, but because consumers themselves are seeking more premium, controlled viewing environments as digital spaces become increasingly crowded.

AI will continue to reshape our industry. But a real shift will come from AI-native media formats, AI-augmented audience planning, and dynamic content based on generative personalisation. We’ll also see growth in commerce-integrated video and hybrid creator-retail media ecosystems with YouTube recently declaring Indonesia as area of growth.

In 2026, our tools will focus on raising both creativity and strategic intelligence across the entire network. Moving from AI-assisted to AI-designed - tools that elevate creativity and strategic decision-making. We’re building AI capabilities in two tracks: one for operational intelligence to remove inefficiencies and multiply human creativity, and another for strategic intelligence to strengthen our consulting companies, especially in research synthesis and insights generation.

2025 taught all of us that market behaviour is no longer as predictable as it used to be. Consumer sentiment fluctuates quickly, and economic indicators shift faster than before.

So in 2026, we’re taking a more adaptive planning approach. Our budgeting model is built on prudent ambition, protecting the fundamentals in the first quarter while allocating room for strategic investments as the year progresses.

Dinakar Das, chief investment officer and COO, media, dentsu Indonesia

In 2026, brands will need a unified voice. With media and channel fragmentation increasing, stronger and more consistency across every touchpoint must be in place to maintain a borderless presence. 2026 will also usher in an era that bridges how the industry plans, creates, buys, and measure.

This is where agentic, interoperable AI will stop being an add-on and become the connective tissue of the entire ad and marketing stack.

The disappearance of cookies will accelerate this as brands will need richer consented data, smarter zero-party to third party signals, privacy-centric design and attention planning that values brand impact instead of mere click efficiency. Additionally, we can expect to see retail media, connected TV, and commerce signals converging, while AI-driven media and creative optimisation will reshape how campaigns are built in real time. Affiliate models too will expand exponentially, blurring the lines between marketing and trade initiatives, resulting in the formation of separate sales outcome business. This will mean lesser brand ethos in affiliate content and more liberty for creators.

Budgeting will adopt a scenario-led approach, which balances brand investment with AI-driven productivity, rationalising tools, and putting more into experimentation, geo-tests, and outcome-based commercial structures. Any “AI efficiency and enabler dividend” will be reinvested into distinctive creative, share-of-wallet growth, and analytics.

Joo Hwan Kim, CEO of Cheil Indonesia

Many functions within agencies will inevitably evolve or be replaced through automation, yet people will remain the most valuable asset. What will differentiate great agencies is not how much AI they use but how human their creativity remains. In 2026, we’ll continue to strengthen how AI and human intelligence work together to create impact.

A key priority will be to explore tools that bridge the gap between online and offline experiences, ensuring brands can deliver consistent engagement from awareness to purchase.

At the same time, we’re investing in predictive analytics that help us anticipate behavioral shifts early - maximising opportunities while optimising resources.

2026 will be a challenging year for the industry, requiring a sharper focus on efficiency and accountability. While we expect greater emphasis on the bottom line and lower-funnel performance, we also recognise the continued importance of building brand equity at the top of the funnel. Balancing both is essential for sustainable growth. Our approach will be to prioritise investments that directly contribute to business outcomes, supported by smarter resource management and a data-driven mindset in every decision we make. At the same time, we aim to expand our client portfolio beyond current categories.

Rajat Basra, CEO and president director of Omnicom Media Group Indonesia

Intelligent orchestration is the next big wave shaping Indonesia’s media landscape, where data, creativity, and context converge within a single ecosystem. Through Omni, Omnicom’s advanced intelligence platform, we connect audience behaviour, media activation, and measurement in real time, transforming campaigns into adaptive, self-improving systems.

We take this a step further by localising intelligence for Indonesia’s 270 million consumers, blending cultural empathy with algorithmic efficiency.

Three technologies anchor our 2026 focus: Omni, which unifies growth decisions; ArtBotAI, which fuses automation with culturally resonant storytelling; and responsible and inclusive AI, aligned with Indonesia’s Sovereign AI vision to ensure intelligence that is ethical, transparent, and locally grounded. We believe in achieving excellence through the union of humanity and technology, underpinned by OMG’s agency-as-a-platform model.

Our budgeting philosophy balances performance, productivity, and progress; every rupiah must build capability and multiply future advantage.

Too often, markets like Indonesia are viewed solely as consumption markets. Our shared vision with clients is to help Indonesia evolve into an infrastructure market that creates intelligence, not just imports it.

Woon Siew Hoh, chief creative officer of Hakuhodo International Indonesia

Everyone talks about data, AI, and creativity like they’re separate things. But the real game is when they blend. When an idea has heart, backed by data, powered by tech, that’s when people actually care. I think we’ll see less noise and more meaning.

I’m also into tools that make data feel more personal - and platforms that let stories move and change with people. The fun part is figuring out how tech can make our work feel more alive, not more robotic.

Budgets are tight, so we’re being smart. We’re cutting anything that doesn’t add real value.

We’re focusing on ideas that can travel further with less. I’d rather have one strong idea that works everywhere than ten small ones that go nowhere. We’re also using AI to make production faster and cheaper, so we can keep the focus on the craft.

The key area of focus is still the same - make life brighter with ideas that lift people up.

Related articles:
By 2026, can agencies rewrite the playbook fast enough to survive?
Next in digital: How agencies in SG are staying ahead in 2026
Media in 2025: What does the future hold?