What does 2025 have in store for the world of advertising and marketing? Among the many AI-focused predictions, agency Wonderhood has come up with a parallel track that spurns technology and embraces the unlikely (but all-too-believable) trend of “Medievalism.”
“The great regression” is a rejection of modern tech culture, fuelled by Trump’s return to power and people returning to church. Mead sales are up, Traitors-style cloaks are de rigueur and rugged men are hot, while uncertainty is encouraging people – led by role models like Bukayo Saka and Stormzy – a reason to believe in a higher power.
Wonderhood founder David Abraham predicts that Trump’s 2024 victory “marks a cultural reset” in which “Hollywood and Silicon Valley are recalibrating their priorities on diversity, inclusion, storytelling, business purpose, and free speech regulation.”
Kantar, meanwhile, has come up with a more sober set of predictions, with 10 key trends for 2025.
The voyage to total video The line between broadcast and streaming TV is now invisible to viewers, and there is a big variety in viewing preferences among different demographics and markets between traditional broadcast channels, subscription video on demand or ad-based services. That’s left marketers struggling with how to place their advertising in our fragmented media landscape.
Social media needs to up its game Just under a third of people say social media ads capture their attention. That’s a big drop from last year. Marketers who blame this on an attention deficit among younger audiences are wrong. Disenchantment has struck every generation. Engagement quality will become more important. Expect to see more creative innovation and visual theatre to capture people’s attention.
Generative AI has to reassure marketers Marketers are still trying to work out where best to deploy GenAI, what its impact will be, and what the risks are. Data provenance will be a big theme in 2025. As AI becomes more sophisticated, more people will push for transparency in how it’s used: more than two in five consumers don’t trust ads that are AI-generated.
Sustainability and marketing must merge The good news for our planet is that 93% of people say they want to live a more sustainable lifestyle, and 94% of marketers understand that their sustainability agendas need to be more ambitious. Sustainability already contributes $193 billion to the value of the world’s top 100 brands, even though marketers have so far performed poorly in integrating sustainability in a way that resonates with consumers.
Brands tap into creator communities Creator communities are thriving. Goldman Sachs estimates the creator economy could reach $480 billion by 2027 – almost double what it is now. Tight-knit communities that creators bring together hold a great deal of power to predispose more people towards a brand. Brands need to align creator-led content with their wider strategy to resonate across channels.
The other five predictions are: inclusion as an imperative for business; population decline and its effect on marketing (even more urgency to brand-build); innovation as a way to double a brand’s chances of growth; the evolution of retail media networks; and the growth of livestreaming.
