Simon Cetin, Partner at iPROM and Founder and Head of the Retoba Laboratory, has outlined seven key trends for the Slovenian Marketing Association that will decisively shape marketing, brand building, and product development in 2026. His analysis is grounded in shifts in human behaviour and decision-making, changes that have been accelerated in recent years by artificial intelligence.
He emphasises that 2026 will not be a turning point because of new tools, but because of a deeper understanding of how people now make decisions: a move away from traditional information search toward the expectation of immediate, clear answers; the growing importance of explainability as a competitive advantage; and the central role of first-party data as the fuel for the effective use of artificial intelligence.

Simon Cetin, partner v družbi iPROM ter ustanovitelj in vodja laboratorija Retoba, je v Marketing magazinu v okviru pregleda leta 2025 in pričakovanj za letošnje leto izpostavil ključne premike, ki bodo zaznamovali digitalno oglaševanje in širšo digitalno ekonomijo. Njegov prispevek je del vsebinskega pregleda, v katerem sogovorniki osvetljujejo projekte, pristope in strateške usmeritve, ki bodo pomembno vplivali na leto 2026.

Simon Cetin, Partner at iPROM and Founder and Head of the Retoba Laboratory, highlighted key shifts shaping digital advertising and the wider digital economy in Marketing magazin as part of its 2025 year-in-review and outlook for the year ahead. His contribution forms part of a broader editorial overview in which contributors examined projects, approaches, and strategic directions expected to have a significant impact in 2026.

In a fragmented digital environment, traditional identifiers are losing reliability, meaning that mere presence across multiple channels is no longer sufficient. The key challenge in marketing has become the coordination of all user touchpoints, as siloed channel activities lead to audience overlap, inefficient budget allocation, and communication that appears effective but fails to deliver real impact. The answer to this challenge lies in multichannel orchestration, which is grounded in an understanding of user journeys and the role of each touchpoint in achieving business objectives.

V razpršenem digitalnem okolju tradicionalni identifikatorji izgubljajo zanesljivost, zato zgolj prisotnost na več kanalih ne zadošča več. Ključen izziv marketinga postaja usklajevanje vseh stikov z uporabniki, saj ločene kanalne aktivnosti vodijo v prekrivanje dosega, neučinkovito porabo proračunov in navidezno, ne pa dejansko učinkovito komunikacijo. Odgovor na to predstavlja večkanalna orkestracija, ki izhaja iz razumevanja uporabniških poti in vloge posameznega stika pri doseganju poslovnih ciljev.

Simon Cetin, a partner at iPROM and head of the Retoba laboratory, commented for Marketing Magazine on how data practices have evolved over the two decades since the digital world embraced the notion that data is the new oil. In the article, he reflects on the key shifts that have shaped the modern data economy and outlines the direction in which the field is likely to evolve over the coming years.

Simon Cetin, partner v podjetju iPROM in ustanovitelj in vodja laboratorija Retoba, je za Marketing magazin komentiral razvoj podatkovnih praks v dveh desetletjih po tem, ko je v digitalnem svetu prevladala misel, da so podatki nova nafta. V prispevku se ozre na ključne premike, ki so oblikovali sodobno podatkovno ekonomijo, in oriše smer, v katero se bo področje razvijalo v prihodnjih letih.

Marketing today is no longer merely a matter of communication, creative solutions, or brand visibility. It is increasingly becoming one of the key drivers of business growth. At a time when the economy is slowing, markets are fragmenting, and consumers have higher and more clearly defined expectations, it is becoming evident that competitive advantage will belong to companies that no longer manage marketing manually, but instead manage it systematically, supported by data and technology.

Marketing danes ni več zgolj vprašanje komunikacije, kreativnih rešitev ali vidnosti blagovne znamke. Vedno bolj postaja eden ključnih vzvodov poslovne rasti. V času, ko se gospodarstvo umirja, trgi drobijo, potrošniki pa imajo vse višja in bolj določena pričakovanja, postaja jasno da bodo imela konkurenčno prednost podjetja, ki marketinga ne bodo vodila ročno temveč bodo znala voditi sistematično, podprto s podatki in tehnologijo.

At this year’s MIXX Awards Europe 2025, iPROM and its partners received three silver awards for projects carried out in collaboration with Fraport Slovenija, SPAR Slovenija, and Kotányi Slovenija, as well as the Retoba laboratory. The awarded projects – Ljubljana Airport FLY 2.0, SPAR Tailormade and Kotányi AI Chef – showcase advanced applications of first-party data, artificial intelligence methods and technologically independent advertising solutions.