Dentsu Report: 78% of Consumers Reject Generic Messaging

Dentsu has released its third Consumer Vision report, titled Mothers of Reinvention. The study surveyed 30,000 people across 25 countries and consulted 20 experts in fields ranging from AI law to cultural sociology. Its central finding: consumers expect brands to help them grow, navigate change, and adapt to a world being reshaped by AI.

The result is a framework of four forces that Dentsu says will define the consumer-brand relationship over the next five to 10 years.

For marketing and communications teams still running traditional broadcast campaigns, the numbers in this report are a warning sign.

Consumers Show Lower Tolerance for Generic Messaging

The most urgent data point: 78% of global consumers already have lower tolerance for generic messaging. Not in the future. Now.

At the same time, 87% say the brands they will remember most are the ones that help them grow. That's a significant pivot from the old model of selling features and benefits. Consumers are increasingly asking: what does this brand do for me as a person, not just as a buyer?

Alex Jena, Chief Strategy Officer at Dentsu MENAT, told the brand berries: "Consumers are already starting to integrate AI into everyday decision-making and creativity. They are using it for instant evaluation and second opinions, visualizing 'what if' scenarios before making choices."

Four Strategic Forces From the Dentsu Data

Dentsu organizes its findings into four strategic forces:

APAC Brands Build AI Production Systems as Access Becomes Commodity

APAC brands winning by building AI production systems and workflows.

Mission MediaMission Media

• Symbiotic Systems. AI is no longer a background tool. Consumers are using AI agents to search, evaluate, and even shop on their behalf. Brands now need to think about how they show up to machines, not just people. Globally, 77% of consumers expect brands to build products tailored to their AI agents. In Saudi Arabia, that figure hits 91%.
• Ingenuity Awakened. As AI floods the internet with generated content, originality is becoming more valuable, not less. Consumers want human creativity and expect brands to champion it.
• Infinite Reinvention. People are no longer buying to satisfy a need. They're buying to become who they want to be. 51% of consumers now turn to AI to answer questions they used to ask friends and family, a sign of how deeply AI is embedded in personal identity.
• Wayfinder Brands. The most valuable brand role going forward isn't selling. It's guiding. Brands that help consumers navigate uncertainty and make better decisions will earn the deepest loyalty.

APAC Adoption Rates Signal Urgency for Regional Teams

The report carries a specific message for Asia-Pacific teams. Markets in the region are moving fast. In APAC, 39% of consumers already use generative AI in online shopping, with another 40% open to adopting it. In China, India, Indonesia, and Thailand, more than half of consumers are already using AI in their purchasing decisions.

Deloitte's research on APAC commerce adds further urgency: only 29% of consumer businesses in the region have adopted agentic AI today, but that figure is expected to nearly triple to 76%. The window to build these capabilities before competitors do is narrowing.

Ahmad Haider, Managing Director of Dentsu KSA, noted that consumer expectations in highly connected markets are "rising quickly," with brands needing to adapt across media, creative, and customer experience simultaneously.

Dentsu's track record on forecasts is worth noting. In its 2021 report, the agency speculated that brain-computer chip implants could happen before 2030. Neuralink announced human trials in January 2024, three years ahead of that projection.

The forces in Mothers of Reinvention aren't theoretical for APAC marketing leaders. The consumer shifts are already underway. The brands that start adapting their messaging, creative strategy, and technology infrastructure now will be better positioned when these forces hit full velocity.