11 Bold (and Strange) Marketing Trends To Watch in 2025

Quick summary

Retail media has grown into a $100 billion powerhouse. Social media has transformed into a serious customer service channel. AI is being used by 84% of marketing teams, despite some mixed feelings about it. Short videos and live streaming are attracting billions of views, with attention spans getting shorter.

Influencer marketing keeps working well, even though people question authenticity more than before. Brand communities have gotten bigger and more powerful, with 85% of community members actively engaging with brands. VR and AR have finally become practical marketing tools, not just fancy tech demos. And through all of this, we’re seeing a strong shift toward putting users first and making marketing more inclusive — with 64% of consumers demanding real commitment to inclusivity from brands.

All these trends point to one thing: marketing in 2025 works best when it focuses on building real connections with customers, whether that’s through retail media data, social media responses, or community building.

Newest marketing trends of 2025

Marketing in 2025 might look pretty different from what we thought it would since 40% of marketers’ budgets are being spent on change and transformation, according to the latest Gartner survey. While that sounds good on paper, many marketing departments are struggling — in fact, only 24% of CMOs said they had sufficient budget to make their strategy work.

Social media has transformed from a promotion channel into a full-scale customer service platform. AI marketing is getting smarter (and cheaper) all the time. Short videos are still going strong, and live streaming keeps growing. Virtual and augmented reality are finally making sense for regular businesses, not just tech giants.

And speaking of more changes, companies are spending more time building genuine communities and focusing on social responsibility than pushing products. Marketing teams are still adapting to the cookieless world and working without third-party cookies, and they’re getting pretty good at it. But let’s look into all of those (and more) trends in detail. 

Rise of retail media

Retail media is transforming how brands connect with customers, and the numbers tell an interesting story. According to BCG research, brands are moving significant portions of their budgets to retail media networks (RMNs) — these are advertising spaces on retail websites, apps, and in-store displays.

What’s particularly interesting is how retail media has grown into a powerhouse — the US retail media market will hit $100 billion in revenues in the next couple of years. 

What makes retail media so attractive? Well, it’s all about the data. When 63% of marketers want data-driven personalized promotions, retail media networks deliver exactly that. They provide brands with direct access to actual shopping behavior, not just general demographics or broad assumptions.

The in-store component is getting more attention too. Marketing professionals are taking notice — 46% rated in-store networks as highly important in 2024, and 52% expect them to be crucial in 2025. This makes sense when you think about it. Brands can reach shoppers right when they’re making purchasing decisions.

But there’s an interesting shift in how brands use this channel. About two-thirds of the expected market growth will come from new spending, while one-third will be relocated from existing marketing budgets. This suggests that marketers see retail media as an addition to their other tactics, not just a replacement for traditional channels.

Some companies are seeing remarkable results with it. Take Youtheory, for example. After implementing a retail media strategy, they saw their ROI increase by 152%, while their cost-per-click nearly halved. Their impressions went up by 120%, showing how retail media can amplify brand visibility when used effectively.

Social media as a customer service tool

Social media has transformed from a marketing channel into the go-to place where customers ask questions, share feedback, and sometimes vent their frustrations. And the numbers show why this shift makes sense — according to the latest research, 94.7% of internet users are active on chat and messaging platforms, while 94.3% use social networks. Sharing about their experience on social media makes sense.

Social platforms have become a pretty important research tool for potential buyers too. 73.9% of internet users turn to social media to learn about brands and products before making a purchase decision. And they’re doing more than just looking — 46% of consumers bought products directly through social media in 2024, more than twice as many as in 2019.

A great example of effective social media customer service comes from Atlassian. Their team started as a social customer care unit with a clear mission — to provide excellent service to every customer. Using Sprout Social’s management tools, they reduced their average response time from seven and a half hours to just two and a half hours. And they did this while handling increased social media activity during a major conference. The secret? They organized their team to work across different networks and product lines and used data to track and improve their performance.

Development of AI marketing

AI in marketing seems to be everywhere these days, but marketing teams have mixed feelings about it. And that’s pretty understandable — while I am personally wondering when will AI replace all copywriters, more than a third of marketers say they don’t have the skills to use AI effectively. But despite these concerns, adoption keeps growing, with 84% of marketing organizations now using artificial intelligence tools.

So what are marketing teams actually doing with AI? Well, quite a lot. 66% of marketing teams use AI for content creation, while sales teams are using it to write better emails (and surely succeeding, especially if they read our guide on email marketing trends), and customer service departments are testing AI chatbots. And the results look pretty good — 80% of companies report that AI has made their work faster and more productive.

Customers have their own feelings about AI too: they’re more comfortable with it for some tasks than others. For example, 27% of brands believe AI is capable of giving advice and recommendations, but only 16% of consumers feel good about getting AI recommendations. And when it comes to expensive purchases, most people still want to talk to a human — only 6% of consumers are comfortable letting AI help with high-value purchases.

Sephora’s approach to AI shows how this technology can work well when used thoughtfully. They combined AI-powered tools like virtual makeup try-ons with real beauty advisors who provide personal help in stores. This mix of AI convenience and human expertise helped increase their online sales by 4x over six years.

Looking at what business leaders are planning, 58% of CMOs want to invest in AI over the next year and a half. And they’re thinking big — 78% say they’ll use AI to change how their business works. But companies are moving at different speeds because some need to fix their basic data systems before they can use AI effectively.

For marketing teams starting with AI, it makes sense to begin with simple tasks like writing first drafts of content or analyzing customer data. And yes, learning to work with AI tools can feel overwhelming (we’ve all been there). But starting small and gradually adding more AI tools as your team gets comfortable seems to work well for most marketing departments.

Short video content

Marketing teams are adapting to something pretty interesting: human attention spans have been changing dramatically. In 2003, people could focus on one screen for about 150 seconds. By 2020, that dropped to just 47 seconds. And this shift has transformed how brands create content.

Short videos have become a major force in marketing — and the numbers are impressive. YouTube Shorts alone gets over 70 billion views every day, with 96% of Gen Zers in the U.S. watching both short and long videos. What’s even more interesting is that people are watching these short videos on their TVs more and more, with views doubling between December 2022 and 2023.

Marketing teams are seeing real results from short videos too. According to HubSpot’s latest research, short-form videos are the top marketing trend delivering ROI, with 17% of marketers ranking them as their most effective format.

Corona’s festival campaign in South Africa shows how well short videos can work. They tried different video lengths and formats and found that YouTube Shorts performed better than traditional video ads. The results? In just one month, they reached 5.1 million impressions and 1.3 million views.

But creating effective short videos takes some planning. Marketing teams need to put the most important information right at the start — those first few seconds really matter. And while fancy effects might look cool, clear branding and a simple message often work better for engagement and sales.

For small business owners who feel overwhelmed by video creation, starting with simple product demos or behind-the-scenes content can work pretty well. The key is to keep things authentic and focus on what your customers actually want to know. And yes, you can create decent short videos with just a smartphone and good lighting.

More live streaming

Live streaming in 2025 has both good and challenging developments. While 14% of marketers wanted to try live streaming as a marketing tactic, there’s a growing concern about content authenticity. In fact, 59.9% of people question online content more than before, and this might be related to the fact that deepfake incidents increased by 1,740% in North America.

But here’s something marketing teams should pay attention to: 22.7% of social media users watch live streams regularly. And when we look at successful markets like China, where live commerce could make up almost a fourth of total retail by 2026, we can see why marketing teams are getting excited about this trend.

The results can be impressive when done right. For smaller brands, live streaming can boost immediate interest by up to 30%. Even established companies see a 10% to 15% increase in brand strength through live streaming.

Want to see what success looks like? Well, there’s this fascinating case of Grandma Wang, a 78-year-old influencer who has really figured out live streaming. She gets around 26 million views per video and made 5.4 million RMB (approximately $74 million) in just 7.5 hours during one live-streaming session. And yes, that’s pretty incredible for someone who started this as a retirement project and became a key opinion leader.

For marketing teams thinking about live streaming (and we know it can feel overwhelming at first), starting with simple product demonstrations or Q&A sessions can work well. The key is being genuine and consistent — your audience will appreciate seeing real people and honest interactions, even if the production quality isn’t perfect at first.

Influencer marketing and User Generated Content (UGC)

Influencer marketing comes with an interesting mix of opportunities and challenges. While 41% of consumers say influencers affect their buying decisions, there’s a growing concern about authenticity. A little over half of people question product reviews all the time, and marketing teams are working hard to address this trust issue.

Still, when done right, influencer marketing really works. It ranks among the top 3 marketing trends for ROI, with 12% of marketers reporting strong returns. And here’s something interesting: creator-led content performs 4.85 times better than regular content when it comes to making brands stand out.

Young people seem particularly interested in following influencers. Research shows that close to a third of Gen Z women and a fourth of Gen Z men follow influencers on social media. But there’s been a shift in how ads perform on social platforms — attention to social media ads dropped from 43% in 2023 to 31% in 2024. While some would argue that it can be a symptom of marketing fatigue, it still also shows that audience preferences are changing. 

Caraway Home’s campaign shows how well influencer marketing can perform. By working with home design creators who really understood their products, they achieved a 2.77 return on ad spend and got over 35,000 organic views. Their content performed better than their regular ads, showing how valuable authentic creator partnerships can be.

Looking ahead, marketing teams are getting more serious about protecting their brands. And here’s why it’s important to choose those influences wisely. Some might use inflated engagement numbers to make a deal, some might advertise anything they can lay their hands on, some may not even be real people, but AI deepfakes. And all that hurts the efficiency of marketing campaigns. By 2026, 60% of CMOs plan to use content authenticity technology and improved monitoring systems. This makes sense when you consider that 52% of people have encountered deep-fake attacks or scams.

Communities getting bigger

Brand communities have transformed from simple fan groups into powerful marketing channels. The numbers tell an insightful story — 53% of consumers participate in online communities related to their interests or favorite brands, with 42% checking in at least monthly. And these aren’t casual followers: 85% engage specifically with brand-related communities.

Marketing teams are seeing some impressive results from community building. 63% of community members say their opinion of a brand improves when the brand actively participates in the community. This number goes up to 71% for the most active community members. And when it comes to making purchase decisions, almost half of community members will buy something based on recommendations from other members.

YouTube has become a particularly strong platform for building communities. 84% of people aged 14 to 44 consider themselves fans of someone or something, creating opportunities for brands to connect with engaged audiences.

L.L.Bean’s experience shows how well community building can work. They created how-to videos about outdoor activities based on what their audience was searching for. The results? Their YouTube channel subscriptions grew by 592% over two years.

For small businesses starting to build their communities (and yes, it can feel slow at first), focusing on genuine connections works better than pushing sales messages all the time. When community members see that a brand cares about their interests and responds to their needs, they become more likely to recommend products to others and stay loyal to the brand.

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)

AR and VR in marketing aren’t sci-fi concepts anymore — and for marketing teams in 2025, metaverse offers useful tools and is becoming one of the major customer experience trends. According to Gartner, 20% of people will interact with location-based AR content weekly by 2028, up from less than 1% in 2023. The market shows serious growth potential, with experts predicting it will grow from $110 billion in 2023 to $1.7 trillion by 2033.

So what does this mean for businesses? Well, VR and AR are changing how companies interact with customers, train employees, and sell products. With new devices like Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3 becoming more common, marketing teams have more ways to create interactive experiences that really connect with customers.

The Decentraland case study shows how powerful virtual spaces can be when used well. One company’s virtual space attracted 10,000 unique visitors and sold over 3,500 items without any paid advertising. But here’s what’s really interesting — visitors stayed for an average of 6 minutes and 21 seconds, which is pretty long for digital content. And when asked about their experience, 96% said they were happy with it.

For small businesses wondering about AR and VR, a gradual process makes sense. Simple AR product previews or virtual store tours can work really well. 

The technology keeps getting cheaper and easier to use, and customers are getting more comfortable with these tools all the time. Marketing teams are finding that AR and VR work especially well for showing products that are hard to demonstrate in person or online. Virtual try-ons for clothing, furniture placement in homes, or even car customization — these experiences help customers make better decisions and feel more confident about their purchases.

Promoting users over products

According to Gartner research, 58% of consumers think companies don’t understand their needs and preferences. This disconnect between what customers want and what marketing teams deliver leads to wasted budgets and missed opportunities.

Customer loyalty has become increasingly valuable — 76% of buyers stick to vendors they already know and trust. This means marketing teams need to focus more on building relationships than pushing products.

Successful campaigns in 2025 start with understanding real customer needs. This means talking less about product features and more about how products fit into customers’ lives. And yes, this might mean fewer sales messages and more helpful content, but the results often show better engagement and longer-lasting customer relationships.

For small businesses adapting to this change (and we know changing your marketing approach can feel risky), start with customer feedback. Simple surveys, social media polls, and conversations with customers can reveal what they actually want — which might be quite different from what you thought they needed. While 45% of brands focus on financial literacy and age-related inclusivity, customers have different priorities. Almost half of consumers care most about age-related inclusivity, and 43% prioritize accessibility for people with disabilities.

It’s clear that social responsibility and inclusivity have grown to become an even more important factor influencing how customers choose brands in 2025.

Prioritizing social responsibility and inclusivity

Remember those statistics about what customers want? Well, the numbers tell an even bigger story. 64% of consumers say brands need to show real commitment to inclusivity, and this matters even more to younger people — 75% of people aged 16-34 care about inclusive brands, compared to 52% of those over 55.

Marketing teams are seeing real business impact from inclusive practices too. When ads feel inclusive to viewers, people are 6 times more likely to buy the product and 63% more likely to share the ad. And when it comes to environmental responsibility, consumers will pay 9.7% more for products that meet environmental standards.

But here’s where things get interesting: while 66% of companies say creating inclusive customer experiences is a priority, only 24% actually make their customer service inclusive, and just 16% offer inclusive digital experiences. So there’s quite a gap between what companies say and what they do.

Companies that have made real changes toward inclusivity are seeing solid results: 53% report increased revenue, 45% see better brand reputation, and 42% have improved customer satisfaction. And marketing teams know they need to keep adapting — 84% of marketers say their company’s identity needs significant changes in the next 5 years.

For small businesses working on becoming more inclusive, no need to go all-in right away. Whether it’s making your website more accessible, creating more diverse content, or adapting your customer service to different needs, small changes can make a big difference in how customers see and connect with your brand.

What the future holds for the marketing industry?

2025’s marketing has grown to be more complex, and the challenges marketing teams face reflect this complexity. According to HubSpot’s latest research, around 15% of marketers struggle with both generating traffic and leads and keeping up with trends. And that last part makes a lot of sense — we’ve covered quite a range of changes in this article, from AI and retail media to social responsibility and virtual reality.

AI has changed how we create and optimize content. Short videos and live streams have transformed how brands communicate. Communities have grown stronger, and customers want brands that share their values.

But the basics still matter. Even with all this new technology, marketing success comes down to understanding what customers want and creating content that actually helps them. Whether you’re using AI to write email campaigns or creating VR experiences, the goal remains the same — connecting with customers in meaningful ways.

For small businesses and marketing teams feeling overwhelmed by all these changes, remember that you don’t need to adopt every new trend at once. Sometimes, doing a few things really well works better than trying to do everything at the same time.