AI agents, hyperpersonalisation, AI-supported creativity and the end of trendjacking have occupied space in global reports on the future of marketing for months. The same topics move from one document to another, often with the assumption that they will very quickly become part of everyday business.
IAB Croatia decided to examine how closely such predictions reflect the reality of the Croatian market.
The new document Hype Check: Global Trends & Local Reality, prepared by the Predictions & Trends Hub working group, provides an assessment of seven global trends from the perspective of the local industry. Instead of offering another overview of what could transform digital marketing in the coming years, the authors analysed what can already be implemented in Croatia, what has potential for development and what still lacks sufficiently developed conditions for wider adoption.
The assessment comes halfway through 2026, after global trends have already had enough time to move beyond presentations and begin demonstrating their practical value. The document’s central question is therefore not how much a particular trend is being discussed, but whether companies and agencies have a realistic opportunity to introduce it into their operations.
Implementation does not depend solely on the availability of technology. It is influenced by the quantity and quality of data, the maturity of infrastructure, the regulatory framework, willingness to invest, the level of knowledge within companies and user habits. A trend that is already becoming standard in a large market may therefore remain limited to individual experiments in Croatia or represent only a possibility for future development.
Each of the seven trends was analysed using the same methodology. The assessment covered the breadth of adoption, potential for further development, added value, existing limitations and the level of understanding within the local market.
The result is not a ranking of trends or a division into winners and losers. The document is intended to help companies, agencies and other participants in the digital industry distinguish between changes that already require attention and ideas whose implementation still depends on further market development.
Hype Check: Global Trends & Local Reality was developed by members of the IAB Croatia Predictions & Trends Hub working group: Katarina Exle from Cvoke, Antonio Karlović from WPP Media Croatia, Marko Mikeš from Aleph, Lara Stolnik from Selotejp and Boris Vukić from 404. Other experts from the Croatian industry also contributed to the preparation of the document.
The document is publicly available to everyone who wants to assess global trends according to the capabilities of the local market, rather than the amount of attention they are currently receiving.
