Marketing 2025: What’s Hot, What’s Not, and What We Can’t Ignore
Probably everyone who works in marketing and PR for years is familiar with the annual emergence of a “new trend” that everybody tries to adopt in order not to be left behind. It all began with social media platforms like Vine, Foursquare, Google+, and the infamous Clubhouse. Each year introduced the “next big thing”. At times, it felt as though ignoring even one of them could jeopardize a career.
However, upon closer examination, it becomes evident that many of these once-popular trends have lost their relevance. This highlights the speed at which trends can come and go in the industry. It’s a reminder that the desire to chase the latest fad diverts companies’ attention from focusing on truly effective strategies that lead to sustainable results.
In a world where standards are rapidly rising, technology is becoming increasingly reliable, and search engines provide comprehensive answers, consumers will expect brands to demonstrate the same level of reliability. But does following popular trends always justify itself? This article is going to address trends worth remembering and those that should be forgotten based on my keynote speech at INMerge conference.
Anti-trend №1. The Metaverse Overhype
The metaverse is an emerging and complex concept, seen as an evolution of the internet. It represents a 3D digital space where users engage in realistic interactions through virtual reality and other technologies. Within this environment, people connect with friends, explore content, and interact with brands. They are buying many important items for their lives, including clothes and accessories for their avatars, real estate, and NFTs. The global digital avatar market was valued at $18.19 billion in 2023. But what does all this mean for marketing?
An independent analysis showed a big gap between what was claimed and what is true about user numbers in Decentraland. While the platform stated it had 20,000 daily active users, the number showed by the independent tracker DappRadar was only 40. This highlights a bigger problem: even though many are excited about the metaverse, its practical use in marketing is still limited and for many brands, the return on investment is unclear. Decentraland was valued at over $2 billion, but now it is worth less than $700 million.
The metaverse may eventually play a role in marketing, but for now, it remains an experimental space, with user adoption far below expectations. It’s vital to avoid being carried away by the hype and instead focus on the strategies that deliver real results today.
Trend №1. Voice Search Optimization
Voice search is rapidly growing, and conversational AI, like chatbots and voice assistants, is changing how consumers interact with brands. The global voice recognition tech market reached close to 20.25 billion U.S. dollars in 2023 and is projected to grow at CAGR of 14,6% from 2024 to 2030.
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Soon enough, marketing won’t be about catchy taglines – it’ll be about making sure Alexa does your product pitch right. |
According to the latest Edison research, 36% of Americans use smart speakers. And 55% of teenagers are already using voice search on a daily basis, while 56% of adults said using voice search makes them feel tech-savvy.
Brands need to optimize for voice search and conversational interfaces to stay ahead. This shift from typing to talking is already reshaping SEO strategies.
Anti-trend №2. Influencer Saturation
As influencer marketing has exploded, so has the over-saturation of influencers promoting any and every product. The authenticity that once defined the space is being diluted. According to The 2024 Influencer Marketing Report, almost everyone (86%) make a purchase inspired by an influencer at least once a year. However, about 34% of brands report difficulties in selecting the right influencers, which suggests that finding authentic voices that resonate with audiences is becoming increasingly challenging.
One infamous case involved Arii, a social media influencer with over 2.6 million Instagram followers. When launching her clothing line in 2019, she failed to sell even 36 shirts, highlighting how having a large following doesn’t necessarily translate into actual conversions or sales.
As brands increasingly turn to influencers, the credibility of influencer marketing is under scrutiny. Big companies often use this tactic to build trust with consumers by adding a personal touch. But they find it harder to seem authentic in influencer endorsements because it’s obvious that they paid for it. Audiences are becoming more skeptical, especially as many influencers promote products that don’t align with their personal brand or values.
Trend №2. Neuromarketing and Cognitive Research
Neuromarketing assesses the impact of publicity campaigns, brands, and products on consumers’ cognitive and emotional responses by utilizing neuroscience methods. It represents a shift from traditional marketing tools, such as focus groups and surveys to instruments that measure the brain’s electrical and metabolic activity.
For example, eye-tracking measures eye movements to see where people focus their attention and how they process information. It helps us understand how advertisements grab attention. The Implicit Associations Test is another method that measures how quickly people respond to brand names, giving insights into their feelings and thoughts about those brands. Combining these tools helps us better understand how consumers react to marketing stimuli.
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Focus groups? Forget it. Soon, we’ll just hook up customers’ brains to a machine and know exactly what they really want. |
Of course neuromarketing methods have limitations and only by understanding decision-making better, we can make campaigns and products more effective. But understanding the subconscious decision-making of consumers through brain research will become a game-changer.
Anti-trend №3. The “TikTokification” of Everything”
While TikTok has its place, the rush to create viral content has led to brands sacrificing quality and meaningful engagement and chasing short-term trends at the expense of long-term strategy for fleeting moments of attention. Not every message can or should be reduced to a viral video. Not every brand needs to be on TikTok. Not every piece of content needs to be reduced to 15 seconds of viral potential.
TikTok can help people learn about your brand, but it’s not great for a big sales push. If you focus too much on selling your customers may unfollow you. Successful TikTok videos have a specific style that may conflict with traditional brand guidelines, requiring a balance between authenticity and brand identity. Strategies used on Facebook are not good for TikTok, each platform needs tailored content. Engaging content, like dances, is only valuable if your target audience is active on TikTok.
Trend №3. Zero-Party Data and Privacy-First Marketing
With increasing concerns around data privacy and third-party cookies being phased out, marketers are shifting toward zero-party data — data that customers willingly and proactively share with brands. This creates a more transparent and privacy-conscious approach to personalizing marketing. If you are not paying for a product then it’s data from you to be sold.
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Remember when cookies were just something you ate with milk? Now they’ve become a marketer’s worst nightmare. |
In countries under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), like Poland, Spain, the UK, and Sweden, people generally tend to accept cookies. However, in France, Germany, and Denmark, opinions are nearly balanced, with consumers equally likely to accept or decline cookie permissions. On the other hand, in the US the acceptance rate is significantly lower with only about one-third of consumers regularly agreeing to cookies, about 18% consistently choose to reject them.
As privacy regulations (like GDPR and CCPA) tighten, marketers must focus on building trust with consumers and encouraging them to share information willingly. Zero-party data allows for more accurate personalization without invading privacy, making this a key trend for the future.
Anti-trend №4. Automation Without a Human Touch
Automation has revolutionized marketing by enabling scalability and efficiency, but the balance between automation and authenticity is critical. While automation tools are incredibly useful, over-reliance on them can lead to generic and impersonal marketing that feels robotic. The sheer volume of automated emails and messages leads to 49% of consumers unsubscribing from brands due to overwhelming frequency. Moreover, 69% of email recipients report emails as spam based solely on the subject line.
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I got an email the other day from a brand with the subject line: ‘Dear [Customer Name], we miss you.’ Nothing says ‘we care’ like a blank template. |
Automation is essential for scaling efforts, but consumers crave authentic human connection. Brands need to strike a balance between efficiency and personal engagement to avoid alienating their audiences.
Trend №4. Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Technologies
AI is revolutionizing marketing, from automating content creation to predicting customer behavior. According to SurveyMonkey, 52% of consumers are keen on AI that assists them in navigating products, websites, or features, 47% of customers are interested in receiving personalized offers and 42% of customers value product recommendations powered by AI.
Businesses are leveraging various AI technologies to better understand their customers and extend customer lifecycles, tailored to their specific needs and budgets.
AI and cognitive technologies are revolutionizing marketing through hyper-personalization, predictive analytics, innovative content creation and in way much more fields that we can imagine now. However, successful implementation requires balancing automation with ethical considerations and human oversight to foster trust and meaningful customer relationships.
This trend is so pervasive, influencing virtually every aspect of future marketing, that it certainly deserves a more detailed exploration on its own.
Conclusion
The marketing landscape of 2025 will be shaped by the delicate interplay between cutting-edge technologies, evolving consumer expectations, and the timeless need for authenticity. While trends like Artificial Intelligence, Voice Search Optimization, and Zero-Party Data represent the forward momentum of the industry, anti-trends such as Metaverse Overhype and Influencer Saturation remind us of the pitfalls of following hype without substance.
The future of marketing demands a balanced approach: embracing technology to scale and personalize while maintaining the human touch to foster trust and connection. It’s no longer about blindly chasing every “next big thing” but about thoughtfully leveraging innovations to create sustainable, meaningful engagement.
As AI continues to permeate virtually every aspect of marketing, its applications are boundless, from content creation to predictive analytics. Yet, it also requires a commitment to ethics and transparency. This overarching influence of AI makes it a central theme deserving deeper exploration—perhaps the defining trend of the coming decade.
In this rapidly shifting landscape, marketers must stay agile, discerning the valuable from the fleeting, and prioritize strategies that resonate not just today, but in the years to come. Because in the end, successful marketing isn’t just about keeping up—it’s about standing out, authentically and enduringly.