I’m not joking. I wish someone had sat me down and said:

“Just so you know, building anything real will require you to let go of something you thought you’d keep.”

But they didn’t.

So here we are. Q1’s in the rearview. April’s nearly gone. You’re probably neck-deep in emails, pitch decks and a calendar that won’t quit.

Meanwhile, I’m over here trying to earn a few minutes of your time - trying to stay one step ahead of where your head’s at. Trying to keep your trust as someone worth staying subscribed to.

This month, I’ve explored innovation through emotion (Edition 22), follow-through (23), and meaning (24). But let’s end on something deeper.

Scott Galloway nailed it:

That’s the part no one talks about. The bit after the brainstorm, after the rebrand - when you realise: something’s gotta go.

This isn’t about innovation anymore. It’s about honesty.

Here’s What We’re Talking About Today:

Lorraine Lotts spent three weeks painting a single marble. In a world obsessed with scale, her work reminds us: the future belongs to what feels real - and sometimes, that means making space for small, slow and honest.

Audience Insights & Future Trends: Innovation Fatigue is Real. Authenticity is the Antidote.

You’d think by now we’d have figured this out. But instead of feeling energised by all the “new,” most people I speak to feel worn down by it.

Because the real issue isn’t that innovation is hard - It’s that we’re being sold shortcuts.
Shortcuts that replace humans with templates. Stories with stock content. Connection for “scale.”

Leaders told to “innovate” with no time to think. Brands optimising their way into sameness. Creatives churning content they don’t believe in.

And the cracks are showing.

📈 What the data’s telling us:

• 73% of Gen Z say they’re tired of keeping up with trends. They want what feels personal. (Fox Insights, 2025)
  

• 79% of consumers believe a human understands them better than AI (SurveyMonkey, 2025)
  

• Nearly half say AI-generated content lacks authenticity.
  

• 28% say it lacks creativity entirely.

👁️ And we’re seeing it play out:

📉 Coca-Cola’s AI ad? Spectacular flop. (NBC News)
📉 Filterworld, as Kyle Chayka calls it - flattening culture one algorithm at a time. (The Verge)

It’s not just tech fatigue. It’s trend fatigue. We’re optimising ourselves out of originality.

🌟 The insight:

The more curated and efficient our world becomes, the more people crave the messy, unpredictable brilliance of real humans.

This isn’t a rejection of tech. It’s a recalibration.

Not either/or.
What for?

💡What this means for you:

Don’t start with the tool. Start with what matters.

Don’t scale what no longer resonates.

Authenticity isn’t a campaign - it’s a leadership decision.

Case Study of the Week: Adapt - Rebuilding After the Burn

Most case studies? A rebrand. A pivot. A platform swap.

But the most powerful story I’ve seen lately? Came from architecture.

After the LA wildfires, a design collective launched Case Study: Adapt - a response to the 1940s Case Study House movement.

But this wasn’t nostalgia. It was a reset.

What they did:

• Rethought scale. Smaller footprints. Human-scale. Liveable > showy.
  

• Prioritised function. Designed for resilience, not Instagram.
  

• Made it public. Process, sketches, models—all shared openly.

They didn’t rebuild. They unlearned. And instead of rushing back to normal, they questioned what belonged in the future.

That’s what we’re all trying to do right now, isn’t it?

Behind the Scenes: Turning the Agency Inside Out

You’ve heard it: “The agency model is dead.” But when you’ve worked inside it long enough - you know it’s not just talk.

Clients need agility, not dedicated teams playing catch-up. Procurement needs efficiency and expertise. “Full-service” rarely means what it says.

I’ve seen it firsthand: Once the pitch and process is complete, the brief has changed. Every penny invested needs a return. AI can deliver so much, agencies used top charge for. White labelling and outsourcing. Tradition over innovation.

So we stopped patching it. We rewrote the playbook - and rebuilt from the inside out.

Here’s what we’re doing now:

• Strategy as a collaboration. It’s the agencies role to bring the innovation, as well as the creativity.

• Creators in the room. No white labelling, we have to work with external partners, because no one can say they can do everything.

• No layers. Just clarity, trust, and good work.

Some days it feels uncomfortable. Some are magic. But it feels honest and it’s certainly moving forward, not static. And that’s something worth building around.

Mood Board: What Our Community Is Sharing

Final Reflection:

When I titled this “Why Didn’t You Tell Me It Would Be Like This?” - it wasn’t a punchline.
It was an acknowledgment. That most of us are figuring this out in real time.

We don’t need all the answers. We just need to stay honest - and stay human.

Here’s to building what matters and letting go of what doesn’t.