Inside the Future of Brand 2026 report with Motto’s co-founders

When Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger founded Motto in 2005 with $250, brand was largely understood as an outward expression – voice, visuals and campaigns. Two decades later, Bonnell and Hansberger have watched that definition shift through their work with executive teams at at the world’s most iconic brands. Brand has moved from something you launch to something you run a business on. The Future of Brand 2026 report, released to mark Motto’s twentieth year, articulates this evolution. With over 10,000 downloads from leaders at Nike, Spotify and UNICEF, the report offers frameworks for navigating what Bonnell calls “unprecedented acceleration.” In our conversation, Bonnell and Hansberger discuss why AI is infrastructure, how alignment has become the scarcest advantage, and what it means to build brands from meaning rather than momentum. TBI: Hey, Sunny and Ashleigh! Motto has turned 20 and you’ve marked the milestone by releasing the Future of Brand 2026 report. What prompted you to create it at this moment? SB: Over the last few years, we’ve watched leaders contend with unprecedented acceleration, AI reshaping execution, culture fragmenting and differentiation collapsing faster than ever. Many brands look polished, but fewer feel anchored. We created the report because leaders are searching for clarity. Motto’s Future of Brand 2026 is our attempt to name what’s actually changing beneath the surface and to offer a clearer way to think about brand as a strategic lever in uncertain times.