What media agencies are prioritising in 2027

As media agencies look towards 2027, AI is set to reshape how agencies plan, buy and optimise media. McKinsey’s 2026 research into AI and advertising found that three-quarters of agency and marketing leaders surveyed expect AI to increase total media spend, pointing to a growing role for AI across the media value chain.

But as more of the work becomes automated, the question is what agencies will need from their people, capabilities and leadership. Will AI free teams to focus on strategy and creativity, or fundamentally change how agencies operate and create value?

We asked agency leaders across Singapore what they think 2027 will look like.

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Prerna Mehrotra, chief client officer, APAC & incoming CEO, Singapore, dentsu

We should be prepared to give AI more decision-making authority, particularly where it can optimise at a speed and scale humans can’t match. But we need to be equally clear about where human judgement matters most.

AI can predict behaviour, process signals and optimise outcomes, but prediction is not the same as understanding. We will need people intelligence to understand what consumers value, what is shifting in culture and where the real growth opportunity sits. Creativity, judgment and ambition remain distinctly human advantages. The organisations that create the greatest value will be those that harness both: the power of AI to optimise and the power of people to innovate.

That’s the balance marketers need to get right in 2027: let AI perfect but let humans disrupt.

Jean Lee, managing director, Havas Media Singapore

AI is set to transform agencies by automating routine tasks, freeing teams to focus on strategy and real business outcomes instead of billable hours. This shift turns agencies into intelligence-driven businesses, where proprietary data and technology become key differentiators, pushing the industry toward greater transparency and value-based pricing.

But here's the catch: as AI becomes commonplace, it won't be the ultimate advantage. Human judgment will be - knowing what questions to ask, how to read the data, and applying the strategic and cultural insight that actually grows brands.

To stay ahead, agencies need to invest in proprietary data and tech, upskill teams for strategic work, and shift commercial models toward outcomes over hours. The winners will be those who successfully blend human ingenuity with AI.

Lydia Adlina, general manager, Starcom Singapore 

By 2027, more of the media value chain, from planning and buying to creative adaptation and optimisation, will be increasingly automated through AI. While this will undoubtedly improve speed and efficiency, the greater opportunity lies in how organisations apply human judgement alongside these capabilities.

As technology takes on more executional tasks, the industry's focus will shift towards governance, transparency, and decision quality: understanding which signals to trust, how success should be measured, and where human oversight remains essential.

For both brands and public sector organisations, confidence in outcomes will depend not just on the sophistication of the technology, but on the quality of the decisions behind it. And for the industry, it is a chance to use technology to make the work more intelligent, more meaningful, and ultimately more human.

Zachary Lim, managing director, UM and Initiative Singapore 

In 2027, I believe the agencies that lead will be those that can make complexity simpler. There will be more data, more platforms, more content and more ways to reach people. The challenge won’t be having access to these things, but knowing how to connect them and turn them into better decisions.

The role of the agency will therefore evolve from media planning and buying to bringing together the right people, technology and intelligence to solve bigger business problems. We’re already seeing this shift through Omni, Omnicom's advanced intelligence platform, where capabilities across data, AI, technology and specialist expertise are increasingly connected.

AI will undoubtedly make agencies faster and more efficient. But speed alone isn’t the answer. The real advantage will come from knowing what to connect, what to prioritise and when human judgement matters most. That, to me, is where the next generation of media leadership will come from.

Helen McRae, CEO, SEAPAT (Southeast Asia, Pakistan, South Africa and Taiwan), WPP Media

The creator population in Asia will hit 100 million, and marketers will have to engage with creators who, on average, work with 30 brands. The challenge will be to also inspire brand loyalty. Additionally, the sheer scale will require brands to access the right infrastructure that can manage matching, contracting, payment and reporting across hundreds of creators at any one time.

At the same time, as algorithms become the new attention gatekeepers, they will assess impact in five seconds and assess how far it will travel. Storytelling now has to accommodate both humans and machines, and it also has to be consistent to be effective.

Finally, as creators build their own channels, they are challenging platforms on direct relationships with consumers. As a result, you will see commerce platforms looking more like social platforms and social platforms embedding commerce.

Be part of Digital Marketing Asia Singapore on 22–23 September 2026 to discover the strategies, technologies, and real-world lessons helping brands scale AI and orchestrate predictive customer journeys. 

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