What's in, what's out: Marketing trends you need to know in 2025

Coming up with accurate predictions for the year ahead seems a little ambitious and absurd given the volatility of the post-pandemic world so far.

Thankfully, in the microcosm of marketing, experts can make a few educated guesses that are likely to pay off. These are powered by any or all of the following: decades of experience in the business, reams of bespoke research, and new-fangled AI-based tools that help cut through the clutter and arrive at useful and usable insights.

Our editors provide a further layer of filtering, trawling through reams of reports and research that began to land in our inboxes as early as November. We bring you yet another easy-to-digest overview of the major trends likely to play out through 2025 in a handy guide. Stay tuned for updates through the rest of this month.

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR IN 2025

Conversational AI will be the next big thing
Source: Sinch's 2025 predictions on digital customer communications

While we are yet to encounter a single customer who relishes the prospect of speaking to an AI-powered chatbot instead of an actual human, that could change through the course of this year. Communication platform as a service firm Sinch predicts that “generative AI will be a game changer”, estimating that 80% of enterprises are expected to adopt conversational AI by 2025. With these advancements in AI, notifications that were previously delivered via SMS will switch to the more interactive RCS (rich communication service) messaging format. Notifications will thus have the potential to become a valuable touchpoint, allowing a customer to schedule deliveries or make purchases directly within a message. Conversational commerce enabled by AI will also help apps double up as digital storefronts. Customers will be able to browse, interact, and make purchases without having to exit the app.

Less noise, more loyalty and the power of fandoms
Source: We Are Social's Think Forward 2025 report

Through 2025, there will be a push back against the maximalist impulses that have driven internet culture over the past few years. A report from We Are Social has identified a backlash against “a treadmill of micro trends, notifications and noise online.” Part of this trend is an increased participation in fandoms of different sorts—people bound by a common interest or passion wanting to feel a part of something bigger. As a result, marketers are curating and creating intimate experiences that are aimed at customer-only or closed social groups.  Some brands have begun prioritising community bonding trips for regular customers rather than influencers to tap into these more personal fan-based connections.