25 On 2025

It’s 2025. The last year of the first quarter of this century. And I was wondering, what 25 lessons are there for marketers in 2025? I am sure you might agree or disagree with these, and I am more than happy to get your responses and feedback as we look ahead to 2025. Marketing is expected to continue evolving, driven by advancements in technology, changes in consumer behaviour, and new business dynamics. And we have to be one step ahead if not two. 

Here are my 25 marketing trends to watch out for in 2025:

1. Hybrid Experiences

• More and more brands will look at the blending of physical and digital experiences (e.g., in-person events enhanced by conventional media, live streams or digital communities).    Brands will provide more flexible and inclusive engagement opportunities.

2. Conversational Marketing

• Chatbots, voice assistants, and automated customer service solutions will increasingly be used for real-time engagement, helping brands foster deeper, more interactive relationships with customers.

3. Social Commerce

• Social media platforms will become big marketplaces. They will integrate even more commerce features, allowing users to purchase directly through posts, live streams, or ads, blurring the line between browsing and shopping.

4. Data Privacy & Transparency

• With increasing concerns around data privacy, businesses will need to be more transparent about how they collect and use consumer data, emphasising user control over personal information. If brands betray trust, they will be dropped from the shopping lists and dumped. 

5. Sustainability Marketing

• Sustainability will be at the forefront of consumer values. Customers are increasingly looking for brands that align with their values, particularly around sustainability and social issues. Brands that genuinely adopt and communicate these practices will attract eco-conscious, leading to a positive impact on the bottom line. 

6. Influencer Marketing Evolution

• Influencer marketing drives business.  It is seen as more authentic. Brands will need to focus on micro and nano influencers who have niche, highly engaged followings, often creating deeper trust and more effective results. The whole is much bigger than the sum of the parts.

7.  Interactive Video Content

• Video content will continue to dominate, but the focus will shift towards interactive videos, where users can make choices, participate in polls, and have a more immersive experience. One-way communication will be disappearing soon. 

8. Hyperlocal Marketing

• Brands will land up using AI and geolocation technology, to be as close as possible to the end consumer. Those brands which create hyper-targeted marketing campaigns tailored to consumers' immediate surroundings, offering relevant and timely offers will be well rewarded.

9. Omnichannel-Multichannel Shopping

• The convergence of online, mobile, and in-store experiences will be smoother, with seamless integration between different touchpoints, allowing consumers to shop in any way they prefer, anytime, anywhere. 

10. AI-Driven Customer Insights

• Marketers will increasingly rely on AI-powered tools to analyse customer behaviours, predict trends, and create more accurate customer personas for better-targeted campaigns. But be careful on being too overdependent on AI. 

11. ‘Voice’ Will Be The Search Tool

• As voice-activated devices like smart speakers grow, optimising for voice search will be crucial for brands to remain visible and accessible. If you’re not ready for this, you might be lost in ‘silence’. 

12. Augmented, Virtual and Magical Experiences

• Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) will transform how customers engage with products, allowing for immersive shopping experiences, virtual try-ons, and interactive brand experiences. In-shop, expos, and out-of-home will provide great platforms for this integration. 

13. The 5G Revolution

• Everyone will want everything faster. The widespread adoption of 5G will speed up internet connections, enabling faster, higher-quality content delivery, such as immersive AR/VR experiences and high-definition streaming, quick searches and instant shopping. 

14. Ephemeral Content

• Temporary content, like stories on Instagram or Snapchat, will continue to grow in popularity. Brands will leverage this format to engage audiences with exclusive, time-sensitive offers or behind-the-scenes content.

15. Emotion-Driven Marketing

• Marketers will focus on understanding and tapping into consumer emotions through storytelling, empathetic messaging, and content that resonates on a deeper, more personal level. Understand customers’ emotional needs and empathy to guide your messaging. Customers are looking for Moments of Delight. Creating moments that surprise and delight customers—whether it's a handwritten note, a surprise gift, or an unexpected feature helps deepen the bonds.

16. Shoppable Videos

• With each passing day, the video platforms are evolving, and more and more interactive video ads will allow viewers to purchase products without leaving the video will become a key trend. Missing out on what I am seeing or taking me away from ‘my video’ will be a thing of the past. 

17. Build Communities Around Your Brand - Community-Centric Marketing

Brands will build and nurture digital and physical communities, offering opportunities and spaces for user-generated content, discussions, and deeper brand involvement. The greater the engagement, the chatter, the exchange of views the deeper the relationship between brands and consumers. Helps to foster loyal customer bases and drive organic growth.

18. Listen and Respond: 

Feedback management is what Brands will have to do far more rigorously. Integrate social listening tools so you can monitor real-time conversations and trends to better understand customer sentiment, industry shifts, and competitor moves.

19. Using Subscription Services To Drive Loyalty

• Subscription models will continue to grow, with brands offering everything from products to content, creating a reliable revenue stream and building customer loyalty. The more brands get their target groups to subscribe the higher the loyalty. The relationships get cemented, and going astray is much less. Subscription services help even create predictable revenue streams.

20. Brands With A Purpose: 

• Brands will have to continue to align themselves with social causes, human rights, and diversity initiatives, aiming to create a positive impact while attracting consumers who value purpose-driven brands. Creating purpose-driven marketing campaigns will not be by choice but a must, that emphasises social responsibility, sustainability, and corporate values to appeal to ethically-conscious consumers.

21.  Sports Energises Brands: 

• Research has shown that brands which associate with sports have a much higher empathy with the fans. It is today possibly the only ‘live’ engagement on linear or digital making it an ‘appointment-viewing’ experience for brands and consumers. The sports landscape has grown from just cricket to multi-sports platforms giving a variety of genres to be tapped. 

22.  Invest in Long-Form Video Content

• Yes, the 5-second skip is here to stay, but brands should look at creating long-form, episodic video content that offers value, builds brand authority, and resonates with consumers on platforms like YouTube. There is a joy of enjoying a story, which cannot be rushed with just a few seconds. 

23.  Hyper-Personalized Marketing

• Brands will be looking at using technology as well as databases, to create and send ultra-targeted and personalized email campaigns that drive engagement and conversions. If you are talking to me (and not to a group) I will respond faster and hopefully more positively. 

24. My Employee - My Brand Ambassador: 

• Encourage employees to share content and become brand ambassadors to humanise your brand and extend reach. This advocacy is most well received and helps build stronger bonds within the organisation as well as with potential customers. 

25. Games Brands Play: 

More and more brands will utilise gamification in campaigns integrating gamified elements (such as rewards, challenges, or points) to make interactions more fun and engaging. There is a huge bunch of folks out there who love to win, love to be recognised and rewarded. 

Hope this checklist helps brands and marketers to gear up for another exciting year ahead, full of learnings. challenges and surprises. 

(The author of this article is Navroze D Dhondy, Founder & Managing Director, Creatigies Communications. He is an advertising, marketing, media and communications maverick, who started his career more than four decades ago. He is currently running Creatigies Communications, which he founded 22 years ago and pioneered sports marketing in India with unique innovations and media partnerships. Poet, photographer, writer, sports nut, traveller, foodie, he has contributed to many publications over the years.) 

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