Our Resolutions for 2026: A Year of Big Change

Digital channels continue to converge, and we’re looking to lean into this. 

In practice, a ‘T-shaped’ approach means every specialist will retain deep expertise in their core discipline, while also being fluent enough in adjacent disciplines. They’ll be able to collaborate more effectively, spot cross-channel opportunities, and avoid siloed decision-making.

The relationships between channels are everywhere: Organic Social impacts Paid Social. AEO now has a significant impact on both SEO and Paid Search. Display impacts all Search. Everything is impacted by good data and by CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation). A ‘net’ of T-shaped marketers with a variety of specialisms will enable us to catch more opportunities across different channels.   

Uprise Up is well-positioned to make a seamless transition. We significantly increased our investment in training throughout 2025, keeping our skills and techniques cutting-edge. Last year, Dan became a dedicated Trainer to oversee processes, training and development plans. This move has more than paid off, as seen in the speed with which our team has been able to learn new skills and adapt to change.

Now, I want to further leverage -and even expand- our training to support this T-shaped, cross-disciplinary approach. This is one of our boldest resolutions for 2026; it will reshape how we work day-to-day. It will also enrich the work our team does, while allowing clients to collaborate directly with channel experts and benefit from broader, more joined-up thinking.

Expanding on the theme of channel convergence, we believe that Organic Social media is now highly connected with other channels. It’s more integrated with Paid Social, and can be used to inform ad creative, shape retargeting, and provide high-performing content that can be ‘boosted’. 

At the same time, it is becoming more closely linked with SEO and AEO, helping to generate the social signals and visibility that are critical in an evolving Search and AI-driven landscape.

To support this, and our wider channel mix, we are looking to bolster our content development team to two, built around utilising AI efficiencies. This will enable us to be more agile, making rapid changes to creatives, testing variants, and iterating efficiently (and economically). It will also allow us to be more hands-on with developing landing pages and video, tackling rising misinformation, and creating more ‘hero’ content for new channels and publications, while further strengthening link acquisition and SEO.

I want to significantly expand our Data services, doubling Data Team commissions over the year.

This reflects both the scale of investment we’re making in this area and the growing need we see across the charity sector for stronger data foundations.

We’re already ahead of the curve. We made a bold move two years ago to invest in this capability, and I’m glad we did. Our digital media Data services are now second to none, covering tracking, data engineering, visualisation (dashboarding), and analysis. This includes specialist support with cookie banners, data privacy, first-party tracking, and CAPI (Meta’s Conversion API), as well as a range of bespoke data projects.

Our most recent new client in this area is Cancer Research UK, which gives a real sense of the doors this capability is opening – it is currently our fastest-growing service.

There is still much to be done across the sector. In particular, many large charities still don’t have server-side tracking in place. In 2026, this should be considered a must-have. Even against relatively modest media spend, the optimisation and measurement benefits can quickly outweigh the cost. I’m hopeful this is an area where we can help deliver a significant step-change for many charities this year.

I want Uprise Up to be known for giving our clients best-in-class access to data, insight and knowledge. This will empower them and enable us to take their digital strategies to the next level.

We’re already taking real steps to act as a conduit for learning. We manage the Charity Digital Benchmark, which brings together insight from Google Analytics accounts and compares media performance across the sector. In 2026, our aim is to grow the Benchmark from 45 to 70 members, while continuing to deepen and improve the quality of the insight it provides.

Alongside this, we invest in paid tools such as Ahrefs and Waikay to strengthen the insight we can share with clients. We started the year by adding a competitive research tool, Neilson, and we’re not done yet.

I also sit on the Insight in Fundraising committee and participate in the 20-20 webinar programme, giving me access to first-rate expertise that I’m keen to pass on to our clients.

This sits alongside our carefully recorded campaign data, focused on the charity sector, so that we are able to offer detailed recommendations and projections.

In 2026, we want to ensure our clients have the data and expertise they need to make better decisions, faster, and with more confidence.

The divide between the role of the agency and the role of charities is becoming blurred. Many charities are becoming more involved at the coalface of media, and need to upskill and strengthen that capability.

I’ve already mentioned how much we’ve put into our training programs. Our specialist Trainer also oversees the training we offer to clients, including AI and automation, data tracking, data visualisation, SEO, paid channel management, and strategy. 

We’ve become very good at it, and there’s clear value for our clients. I now want us to be proactive at spotting where we can support clients with training more. Our target is to increase the amount of training we provide to clients by 200% over the year.

I believe this reflects the future direction for agencies. There will always be a role for agencies to deliver media, particularly large budget, multi-channel campaigns. We need to understand where clients want to grow and help them build capability. In some cases, that will include providing in-housing and skills development.

Now is the time to embed AI and automation across the agency, including further refining our AEO (AI Engine Optimisation) specialisms. 

AI and automation are already driving meaningful efficiencies in campaign management. Where we get the balance right, automation can free up time and budget to add value elsewhere, connecting channels more effectively, reviewing competitor performance, and supporting a stronger overall strategy.

(We’re embracing this, but with our eyes open. At this stage, much automation benefits platforms more than advertisers. Performance Max, for example, isn’t a magic bullet but is improving fast and does have a place.)

AI Search is growing considerably. The Charity Digital Benchmark shows that traffic from AI Search has increased more than fourfold in the last year. Our SEO team has made this a core focus, integrating specialist tools and a dedicated AI section in all monthly SEO reports.

While I’ve detailed lots of actions we plan to take, we still need to speak with clients directly – to hear their perspectives and understand what they need in 2026.

Over the next three months, I’ll personally speak with every client to hear how things are going and what they need from Uprise Up.

I want to understand how changes in digital media, audience behaviour and data regulation are affecting charities, and hear about their wider pressures.

The cost of living (and giving) crisis continues to have a profound impact, and the demands on charity teams keep growing. I’m sure there’s more that Uprise Up can do. Efficiency gains in how we deliver digital media through AI and automation are creating a real opportunity to add value, and I’m keen to explore how those gains can be put to best use.

This is our most important resolution for 2026. Listening carefully, adapting how we work and strengthening partnerships underpins everything that follows.

We will roll out Satisfaction Guarantees across all client agreements, making this a standard part of how we operate.

We’ve already trialled them with a number of clients, and they’ve worked brilliantly.

We always aim to deliver our best, but a Satisfaction Guarantee means we have real skin in the game. It pushes us to be proactive, take ownership early, and focus on what matters most, rather than simply reacting as issues arise.

Most importantly, it helps build trust from the very start of an engagement, which is essential for the kind of partnerships needed to do our best work.

2026 will be a year of rapid change for charities across the digital landscape.

Our clients are involved with some fantastic work and I’m thrilled to be supporting them through this exciting period. We want to develop the partnerships further, hearing what they need from us and tailoring what we do to better reflect their individual journeys and ambitions.

The immensely talented team at Uprise Up is ready for the challenge. Exceptional campaigns will be delivered as we stay on the cutting edge of Data, Paid Media, SEO and AI. Orchestrating these channels to meet the expectations and ambitions of our clients.

Together, we look forward to a transformative 2026. It will bring a new set of unique challenges, but it’s time to rise up!