Our Marketing Trends 2025 have been sourced and written by experts across Kantar. We look at macro and micro trends for marketers to consider as part of the strategic planning for their brand growth journey, and how they might suit their own objectives. From sustainability to livestreaming, from social media to Generative AI, we cover some of the key trends that we see emerging and growing over the next year.
Over the past decade, smart TVs have become mainstream, and the choice between broadcast and streaming TV has become invisible to viewers. Broadcast TV still dominates reach, yet 50% of people say most of their TV watching is streaming, according to TGI 2024 data. And marketers are struggling to figure out how to place their TV advertising.
The solution is diversity. People value individuality and variety more in this fragmented media landscape: viewing habits differ across different demographics and geographies. Many people still watch broadcast TV, while consumers in some markets prefer Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) over Ad-Based Video on Demand (AVOD), and vice versa. Marketers who take these nuances into account will be successful in 2025.
The journey towards total video is a balancing act. While a net 8% of marketers globally are planning to decrease their investment in broadcast TV in 2025, a net 55% are planning to increase their investment in TV streaming, according to Kantar’s Media Reactions 2024. The heavy investment that has gone into broadcast TV advertising will continue to be spread across the TV portfolio, and further into video advertising as platforms like YouTube re-join TV bodies like BARB in the UK. It is key for marketers to test and learn what the right video mix is for their brand and for different objectives.
When an employee with an established following shares your company’s content through their personal channels, their followers are likely to engage with it. Making them great ambassadors.
And depending on the nature of their relationships with their followers, they can even encourage action. Like subscribing to your newsletter, signing up for a free trial, or downloading a report.
Encouraging employees to build their personal brand may even make them feel more valued and engaged at work.
Here’s how you can encourage your employees to build their personal brands:
More companies are likely to use generative AI tools in content production. To save time and money.
In fact, 40% of 1,684 surveyed companies believe their organizations will increase their investment in AI, according to a McKinsey & Company report.
You can use generative AI tools to produce a variety of content formats like blog posts, email newsletters, social media content, etc.
For example, you can use generative AI service Midjourney to produce high-quality images for social media.
But be wary of publishing AI-generated writing that hasn’t been edited. It can include inaccuracies, veer from your tone of voice, and use language that might not resonate with your audience.
And be sure to infuse the content with your own unique insights and research. Which adds depth and credibility to your content.
Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) is an experimental search experience that uses generative AI to offer quick overviews of search topics, so users don’t have to click through to individual webpages.
Businesses are likely to focus on optimizing for SGE. Because that increases the likelihood of appearing as one of the original sources Google links to within these results.
The time people spend listening to podcasts has nearly doubled in the last five years. So, launching a podcast can be an effective way to extend your reach and position your brand as a credible and authoritative source of information in your industry.
To make your podcast successful, produce high-quality, insightful episodes that address and solve your audience’s pain points.
And consider featuring experts from your company or industry who can share their knowledge. This often takes less work than asking them to collaborate on written content as well.
Also, optimize your podcast episodes by including show notes and transcriptions and adding relevant keywords to your titles and descriptions. To help search engines understand what your episodes are about.
There’s a growing demand for video content—Wyzowl’s 2024 video marketing survey reveals that 89% of customers want to see more videos from brands in 2024.
To meet this demand, content marketers are looking for ways to incorporate videos into their existing marketing strategies.
To find inspiration for your own video content, use Keyword Analytics for YouTube.
Brands are expected to increase their investment in short-form videos. Because it does a great job of capturing and holding people’s attention.
Wistia’s report on video marketing reveals that the average engagement rate is inversely proportional to video length.
Videos shorter than 60 seconds boast an average engagement rate of 50%. But those exceeding 60 minutes see a significantly lower average engagement rate of just 16%.
To make short-form videos that stand out, here are a few tips to follow:
User-generated content (UGC) is any form of promotional content created and shared by a brand’s customers.
More companies are likely to leverage UGC. Because it has a level of authenticity that today’s customers crave.
An Entribe report proves this, revealing that 90% of customers want to see brand content from actual customers. And that 83% of customers are more likely to purchase from a brand that shares real customer content.
