Predictions for 2025 start coming fast and furious before the calendar turns to November.
But, as you know, marketing forecasters are really bad at this.
In 2023, virtual reality and augmented reality are expected to take off. 2024 will be filled with Agile marketers scramble to do innovative things Drive growth. This will be the year that artificial intelligence finds its way, as optimism among marketers will drive rapid and exciting adoption of the technology.
Brand safety will be another story in 2024. Research by Forrester Research The study found that more than half (53%) of U.S. B2C marketing executives recently said their attitude toward brand safety is becoming less “cautious.”
Yes, forecasting is fun, engaging, and something people (including us at CMI) do. So, keep this all in perspective.
With that said, we turned the microphone over to CMI Chief Strategist Robert Rose to get his take on 2025.
Create moments, not momentum
What will be the focus in 2025?
Is it SEO and content? Predictions from forrest It is said that SEO budgets will triple by 2025 as the integration of artificial intelligence reaches a critical moment in search.
What about artificial intelligence? Well, research company Kantar It is predicted that by 2025, marketers will be very concerned about auditing and managing their materials and their quality so that they and their customers will have more trust in the content generated by generative AI.
There’s a lot to tackle in 2025, especially now that the U.S. election is now over. So, let’s grab the CMI Magic 8 ball and see what happens (or doesn’t happen) next year.
Be prepared: Using the U.S. national election as a lens, I confidently see marketers taking a wild and winding path with content.
Pressure will increase again when it comes to how brands talk about cultural and social issues. No matter where your brand falls in the culture wars, your first priority will be to build belief and trust with your audience, and that requires stepping outside the normal content box.
Take a stand as a brand And adapting to changing circumstances is here to stay. Young people want to see brands that share their ideals, and companies are really starting to understand this.
In many ways, marketers seek to create trustworthy moments rather than lengthy narratives. This may sound esoteric, but it’s not. Marketers will create moments Surprise, joy, and value rather than spending time building momentum through long stories.
Benefit from Transforming Trust
If possible, trust may decline. The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer is expected to show a decline in trust in mainstream media and government. Nonprofits and for-profit businesses may be the only two institutions moving in a positive direction on trust in 2025.
what does that mean? This means via radio podcasts and cable TV. This means social media content rather than long-form content Downloadable PDF. This means paid media Becoming more digital, marketers are less concerned about brand safety on social media platforms as the platforms themselves become less trusted than the brands there.
From a social media perspective, this shift is good for platforms like TikTok. If your brand is hesitant to invest in the platform because it could disappear, you can now bet with confidence.
Operating in an unregulated world of artificial intelligence
On the technical side, Artificial intelligence will continue to gain momentumany regulations regarding this technology will lag. Don’t expect issues like copyright infringement or formal rules on where and how AI content can be used to be clarified anytime soon.
What about M&A in marketing and content? This should be fun. Expect a range of new AI-oriented marketing tools to enter the space.
Additionally, more and more “marketing agency” tools will emerge, promising to automate everything from customer emails and drip marketing campaigns to media buying. However, most of these statements will be foggers driven by bubble risk markets that will capitalize on the astronomical rise of cryptocurrencies as funds. I wouldn’t rule out the return of NFTs and other blockchain marketing solutions as the startup world and funding are put on hold.
Know that this prediction is guaranteed
In short, as you wait to see whether these dynamics play out, one thing is for sure: Marketing leaders will have to do a lot of navigation now more than ever. So, hurry up.
One prediction I really hope comes true is that brands increase investment in their teams—time, training, and intelligence—and build institutional value in their marketing teams and team members. Artificial intelligence and automation will never compete with imaginative creativity.
I can guarantee that this prediction will come true in 2025: you will be smarter, more creative, and more empathetic than ever before. As Peter Drucker famously said: “The only way to predict the future is to create it.” Whether 2025 becomes what you want it to be is entirely up to you.
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
