Happy New Year. Happy Old Year.

Enough already.

Enough of death. The death of the customer. The death of the agency. The death of the big idea, the small idea. The death of brand and the death of performance. The death of creativity. The death of TV, ATL and now social too. The death of production. The death of research. The death of independents. The death of the network. The death of the CMO, CTO or C-whatever-O. Enough of the declaration of the death of everything apart from some semantic reframing of exactly what we put on the LinkedIn funeral pyre just moments ago.

Enough of this miserable race to be the first one to declare the death of whatever has most recently been birthed with celebration and fanfare. We risk becoming an industry of media morticians getting our rocks off by declaring the premature passing of the very industry that gave us life. The industry that still gives us life, that gives businesses life, and crucially gives real people life through economic growth, employment, taxes and all the stuff that matters. An industry whose pulse beats with so much rigour that it literally returns those who choose to invest in it £3.80 for every pound spent (at its most mediocre)

And enough too of the claimed transformation of everything. Just as we are quick to close the coffins, so too are we quick to declare the total transformation of our world. A world we are meant to understand with cool heads so that we can sell to it. It might be hot stuff to claim experience is now the driver of everything, but it means turning a big blind eye to the very material queues outside Primark and Supreme. It might get a few clicks to share the decline in per capita drinking chart without context, but it means wilfully ignoring the Buzzball ballpit that a Saturday night traipse through every town and city centre has now become. It might feel righteous to claim that nobody has got money to spend in the cost-of-living crisis but that means negligently ignoring some of the biggest pockets of untapped wealth languishing in savings accounts this country has ever seen.

But enough too of the heads in the sand. The wistful ostriches. Just as dangerous - yet clouded in tempting virtue.

Enough of cheering on the hope of an AI bubble bursting, wrapped up in the wish of simpler times and cosy reversal back into comfort zones and control. Change is not a choice for us, just as it is not a choice for media brands who have woken up to depleting traffic because their value generating content is summarised before the click. Or for service brands who have found themselves out in the cold, unfavoured by GEO rankings they were not ready for. Or retailers who are caught short as their ecom products are buried when agents can only make sense of clear descriptions, not flowery ones. For today, at least.

Enough of lamenting the decline in second lengths when we could be celebrating the volume of content and range of formats to play in. Enough of holding on to brand guardianship jealously dismissing everything we may not make ourselves as lower funnel content. Or disparaging the genuine creativity of creators instead of welcoming an army of new maker talent into the heart of our industry. The core of the game may not change, but the rules do. And that is life. You can complain to the ref, but it’s better to adapt your play.

The truth is we need the long view. And we need the short view. We need the deep conviction that comes from knowing people and categories inside out, and the thrusting, nimble play that wants to take advantage of precisely what has altered in the last 24 hours to keep client’s number one. What we don’t need is ostriches. What we don’t need is morticians. They both have an agenda that clouds our judgment, and our strategies.

Deep down, the strategist knows that the warm take is the best take. Because in every aspect of business, technology, culture, and life, everything has changed and everything is the same: Sex. Pride. Christmas. Brand. Trust. Transport. Hotels. Holidays. Cars. Dieting. Men. Women. Being a parent. Being a teenager. Fame. Identity. Politics. Status. Festivals. Payment. Loans. Alcohol. Fun. The body. Coffee. Racism. Antisemitism. The truth. Gold. Diamonds. In all of this, and all that is in between, everything has changed and everything is the same.

So in my column this year, I will unpack both sides of all these coins and more. Because it is only with both eyes open, to what is new and to what is not, that we will help our brands, help our people and help our industry to win in 2026.

Is that enough?

Matt Waksman is the head of strategy for Droga5 London