The new year brings hopeful reflections for what the next 365 days will hold– and what challenges may arise. In an ever-changing arena like marketing, finding a foothold can be tricky. Our Hiebing experts are here to help. We asked our experts what trends could maximize a brand’s impact in the new year. Here’s what we’re on the lookout for in 2025.

Social Media

AI-Powered Content Generation:

The marketing landscape moves quickly and trends change from minute to minute. AI-powered content will continue to try and keep up with these trends to craft relatable, engaging, posts. AI-assisted design tools like DALL-E and Canva will continue to supercharge workflows for brands and creators alike– making it easier to test multiple concepts efficiently. Throughout 2025, we can count on seeing AI content empower brands to optimize by platform in real-time, whether it’s creating SEO captions, optimizing posts or generating relevant hashtags for audiences to find their content more easily.

Social Commerce Evolution:

According to eMarketer, U.S. sales are projected to hit $70 billion in 2024. Features like Instagram Shops, TikTok Shopping, and Pinterest’s Shoppable Pins make it easier than ever for users to discover, browse, and buy without leaving the app. From live-streamed product demos to AR try-ons and AI-powered recommendations, brands are creating seamless, engaging shopping experiences that turn social feeds into checkout lines.

Data and Analytics

Privacy-First Ad Solutions on the Rise:

With increasing global data privacy regulations (like GDPR, CCPA, etc.) and growing consumer concerns about how their data is used, marketers will need to find new, ethical ways to gather and use data. In 2025, we expect to see a significant rise in privacy-first advertising solutions, including the widespread use of first-party data, zero-party data (data explicitly provided by users), and privacy-compliant AI solutions. Brands will have to innovate to maintain personalization while respecting user privacy, potentially shifting to more contextual or intent-based advertising models.

Cross-Channel Attribution Becomes Standardized:

One of the ongoing challenges in marketing is accurately attributing conversions across multiple touchpoints. We anticipate that advancements in data science and AI will enable better, more unified attribution models that work across all channels—online and offline. And those methods will be available to more brands due to lower costs to conduct these analyses with technology improvements and more skilled data talent availability.

Insights

Cross-Generational Engagement:

Crafting messaging that appeals to Gen Z while not alienating Millennials or Boomers remains a delicate but critical balancing act. Through our proprietary research on Gen Z, we’ve learned that as this cohort ages, their demands for brands back their authenticity with action deepen– a stronger continuation of Millennial values. Whereas Boomers prioritize trust and clarity in brands over their stances on social impact or authentic messaging. In 2025, striking a balance to better engage across these generations will lie in tailoring content to each group’s unique preferences while finding shared values of trust, authenticity and clarity to anchor your message.

AI’s Potential Impact on Marketing Insights:

There is a potential for AI and bots to make an impact on data collection in 2025. Researchers are going to have to spend greater effort ensuring the integrity of the data until the industry can find a way to safeguard against this rising issue. In the interim, this allows teams the opportunity to focus on the human touch of data analysis, by fielding surveys and keeping a closer eye on the quality of the information collected.

Media:

Quality Media Buying is Making A Comeback:

While AI has streamlined the process and made media feel like a “set-it-and-forget-it” strategy, savvy marketers know better. The human touch—evaluating placements, context and creative alignment—will be critical to ensuring campaigns cut through the noise. In 2025, investing time in quality over quantity will separate the brands that “show up” from the ones that truly stand out. AI can help optimize, but a skilled media buyer’s insight, intuition, and strategy will ultimately drive real results.

Curious to partner with a team that knows how to activate one of these marketing trends? Hiebing can help. Email Nate Tredinnick at ntredinnick@hiebing.com to set up a call.