On 12 November, WARC published its Marketer’s Toolkit 2025 — a report outlining five key trends that will impact advertisers in the new year. The guide also features advice to help marketers prepare to tackle challenges and seize opportunities.
Improving economic conditions
The first trend is a positive one. WARC has found that 65% of marketers expect that the business environment in 2025 will be better than this year’s. As inflation drops and consumer confidence grows, advertisers should focus on building pricing power. WARC further advises that they focus on ongoing brand-building and ‘avoid frequent changes in advertising’.
CX dissatisfaction
One of the challenges marketers will face in 2025 will be closing the customer experience gap. According to WARC’s findings, customers are reducing spending and switching brands after unsatisfactory experiences, threatening a whopping $3.7 trillion (£2.9 trillion). Brands must therefore adopt strategies that align their promise with the actual customer experience.
Brand safety vs. social media
Despite concerns surrounding hate speech and misinformation online, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta are expected to make up 44% of total ad spend this year. Going into 2025, 44% of advertisers believe brand safety will significantly impact their strategies; however, only 8% say they plan to cut their social media investments. WARC’s Toolkit urges advertisers to manage where their ads appear more effectively.
AI’s environmental impact
While many are scrambling to adopt AI, few are concerned about its impact on the environment. Going forward, this is unlikely to change as only 32% have shared that AI sustainability concerns will affect media buying in the coming year. WARC advises brands and agencies to build sustainability frameworks.
Marketers are ignoring single-person households
A fifth of all households last year were single-person households and this share is expected to grow further, as WARC reports that it will increase by 48% by 2040. Despite this growth, the Toolkit research has found that 68% of advertisers are not addressing this segment. Brands can benefit greatly from targeting ‘socially isolated people’ and catering to their needs in the new year.
Aditya Kishore, Insight Director at WARC, commented on the findings of the research in a press release:
‘While rapid growth worldwide is unlikely in 2025, there are reasons to expect more stability than we have had in recent years as central banks regain control over inflation and interest rates decline. WARC is forecasting global ad spend will grow to $1.15 trillion next year. Finding the right strategies for this new economic phase is a major theme for the Marketer’s Toolkit 2025, as is expanding perceptions of brand building to encompass the entire customer experience. Marketers will need to carefully identify the areas of opportunity and develop considered strategies to leverage them.’
Download the report here.
Featured image: WARC