Beet Retreat LA 2026: Convergence, Governance, and the Art of Reaching the Human Element
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIF. — Media and creative were split into separate disciplines decades ago. At Beet Retreat LA 2026, the dominant theme was their reunion. It’s part of what Tameka Kee, advertising futurist and Beet.TV contributor, described as the broader convergence of advertising channels and disciplines that have been siloed for years.
The conversations at Beet Retreat LA encompassed “everything from brands and performance to creators and social and commerce and CTV. Even more interesting, [these talks highlighted] the re-convergence of media and creative,” said Kee in her recap of the event. “AI is stitching together the customer journey in a way that is forcing agencies to break silos and really forcing different types of media to work together more effectively.”
That stitching is changing not just how campaigns get built but how agencies define their role with clients.
Agencies as centers of excellence
One of the more significant shifts Kee observed was in how agencies present their technology partnerships. Where agencies once white-labeled tools and kept vendors invisible, they are now bringing technology partners into the room alongside clients, assembling solutions transparently rather than obscuring the stack.
“There’s much more of an interest in getting all of the technology partners in the same room, with the agency as that cohesive glue, working with the client to say, here are all the different resources and solutions that we can assemble to help solve your problem,” Kee noted.
That openness is running in both directions. Clients, navigating AI’s effects on the customer journey, are becoming more willing to experiment, collaborate, and trust their agencies in ways they previously weren’t.
Governance, not just experimentation
The tone around AI at this year’s retreat has shifted from cautious testing to active infrastructure building. AI is embedded in workflows across planning, buying, and optimization. The question is no longer whether to use it but how to govern it.
Kee referenced one speaker’s call to action: “It’s up to us to define what the agents are going to do for us, not to let the agents define you or be a victim.”
Kee identified curiosity as the professional quality teams are actively looking for. The willingness to experiment and to admit uncertainty about AI is what companies are prioritizing in hiring, because that openness is what productive human-AI collaboration actually requires.
The art that data can’t replace
Technology and science have transformed advertising’s mechanics. The goal hasn’t changed.
“At the end of the day, we’re still trying to reach other humans,” Kee said, “and we’re still trying to reach people who are emotional. We need human insight and intuition to be able to do that.”
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIF. — Media and creative were split into separate disciplines decades ago. At Beet Retreat LA 2026, the dominant theme was their reunion. It’s part of what Tameka Kee, advertising futurist and Beet.TV contributor, described as the broader convergence of advertising channels and disciplines that have been siloed for years.
The conversations at Beet Retreat LA encompassed “everything from brands and performance to creators and social and commerce and CTV. Even more interesting, [these talks highlighted] the re-convergence of media and creative,” said Kee in her recap of the event. “AI is stitching together the customer journey in a way that is forcing agencies to break silos and really forcing different types of media to work together more effectively.”
That stitching is changing not just how campaigns get built but how agencies define their role with clients.
Agencies as centers of excellence
One of the more significant shifts Kee observed was in how agencies present their technology partnerships. Where agencies once white-labeled tools and kept vendors invisible, they are now bringing technology partners into the room alongside clients, assembling solutions transparently rather than obscuring the stack.
“There’s much more of an interest in getting all of the technology partners in the same room, with the agency as that cohesive glue, working with the client to say, here are all the different resources and solutions that we can assemble to help solve your problem,” Kee noted.
That openness is running in both directions. Clients, navigating AI’s effects on the customer journey, are becoming more willing to experiment, collaborate, and trust their agencies in ways they previously weren’t.
Governance, not just experimentation
The tone around AI at this year’s retreat has shifted from cautious testing to active infrastructure building. AI is embedded in workflows across planning, buying, and optimization. The question is no longer whether to use it but how to govern it.
Kee referenced one speaker’s call to action: “It’s up to us to define what the agents are going to do for us, not to let the agents define you or be a victim.”
Kee identified curiosity as the professional quality teams are actively looking for. The willingness to experiment and to admit uncertainty about AI is what companies are prioritizing in hiring, because that openness is what productive human-AI collaboration actually requires.
The art that data can’t replace
Technology and science have transformed advertising’s mechanics. The goal hasn’t changed.
“At the end of the day, we’re still trying to reach other humans,” Kee said, “and we’re still trying to reach people who are emotional. We need human insight and intuition to be able to do that.”
