What’s in store for media and marketing in 2025? You don’t have to be a super-intelligent computer to predict that technology will continue to evolve in all sorts of interesting ways, from AI acceleration to tech-enabled personalization. Here are our top predictions for advertising in 2025 and how we’ll be implementing them for our clients.
AI-Driven Personalization Across the Board
With the increasing availability and capabilities of AI technology to deliver highly customized experiences across every interaction, consumers will likely see more personalization – from website visits to social media engagement.
At the end of 2024, Google Shopping debuted digital out of home ads in New York that combined neighborhood specific headlines with relevant products. That’s smart geo-located messaging at the neighborhood level, but AI’s likely going to get even more personal.
When AI’s ability to process vast datasets in real-time is leveraged to anticipate consumer needs and craft dynamic advertising, expect to see ad content that feels like it was tailored specifically for you.
Kiosk Insight: For agencies like Kiosk, AI-driven personalization will offer exciting possibilities for “right time, right place, right message” engagement. However, the balance between useful personalization and “surveillance shopping” targeting will require careful management. Google’s POV on AI personalization includes the insight that younger consumers treat shopping as entertainment. Don’t just personalize, aim to delight!
AI LLM’s Drive a Search Shake Up (As Does TikTok!)
People are turning to LLM’s (Large Language Models) like ChatGPT and Perplexity for answers that in the past would have been Google searches. Meanwhile, Gen Z are “ditching Google” for TikTok and Instagram (if that doesn’t initially make sense, think about searches focused on recommendations, tutorials, music, and fashion, all of which are just the tip of the iceberg).
For more serious topics, AI has to counter the notion that results are potentially unreliable, but delivered with a high degree of confidence. To counter this, Gen AI companies like Open AI and Perplexity are moving fast to secure access to content with major news organizations like NewsCorp (WSJ, Marketplace, Barron’s), Time, Fortune, ADWEEK, and more, improving the legitimacy and trustworthiness of their results.
Kiosk Insight: Where Google is a crucial part of any performance marketing strategy, Perplexity positions its own advertising opportunity as a “brand” buy. From the user perspective, why go searching for milk by clicking on links if the cow can bring it right to your doorstep? It would be foolish to count Google out, and they have the advantage of their own AI offering, Gemini, baked into the tools many people already use. But marketers will need to think differently about search to keep pace with the consumers they’re trying to reach.
Increased Investment in Augmented Reality (AR) Experiences
AR allows brands to add a digital layer to physical spaces, helping customers experience products virtually and interactively. Google was touting the technology back in 2021. Since then try-on technology for clothes and make up has really taken off, with Google Shopping launching their own try-on tech for New York Fashion Week. Meanwhile brands from Crate & Barrel to EQ3, Wayfair and more are incorporating AR in apps to help shoppers visualize furniture in their own homes.
By 2025, AR experiences will be increasingly central to digital shopping campaigns, especially as consumers become more accustomed to the technology. AR can simulate real-life product interactions, significantly reducing purchase hesitation and enhancing user experience.
Kiosk Insight: AR offers both the potential to entertain (think Snapchat filters) and inform (our previously mentioned try-on and product placement technologies). Its potential is also showing up in smart glasses, which may yet take off in ways that VR headsets have not (Popular Mechanics describes Ray Bans Meta smart glasses as being “ tailor-made for today’s social media-obsessed world (and) most like what it would be like to be in a spy movie.” It may feel like this is a perennial trend-list feature, but the utility on offer is strong. If it continues to offer use-cases consumers want, forward-thinking brands should want to be part of the augmented reality picture.
Content Marketing and Influencer Partnerships with Purpose
Consumers today expect brands to stand for something meaningful. Purpose-driven marketing is becoming the norm, with brands increasingly partnering with influencers who align with their values to promote authenticity and trustworthiness. By 2025, influencer partnerships will focus even more on shared values, with agencies like Kiosk helping brands find the right influencers who resonate with target audiences.
Kiosk Insight: As we know, influencer and content marketing is growing year over year. We are constantly refining our influencer marketing strategies by developing partnerships with creators based on shared causes and values that help to deepen brand loyalty and create a strong, authentic presence.
The Rise of Programmatic Advertising with Privacy-Focused Solutions
With data privacy regulations becoming stricter worldwide, and the third-party cookie inevitably going away, agencies will need to adapt programmatic strategies to remain effective while respecting privacy laws. By 2025, cookies and other third-party data collection methods will largely be obsolete, making room for cookieless targeting solutions like contextual advertising, first-party data usage, and alternative identity solutions.
Kiosk Insight: We have already helped a number of our clients transition to contextual advertising by targeting ads based on the content users are actively engaging with rather than their browsing history. We host sessions with our clients on how to collect and use first-party data ethically, ensuring continued ad relevance without breaching consumer trust.
Rise of Shoppable Content and Social Commerce
Shoppable content and social commerce blur the lines between discovery and purchase, allowing consumers to buy directly from ads on social platforms. This trend is projected to continue growing rapidly, with platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest improving in-app purchasing experiences in 2025. Brands benefit by offering a seamless shopping journey, shortening the path from discovery to purchase.
Kiosk Insight: Agencies that integrate shoppable ads into clients’ social media strategies can unlock new revenue streams, especially for retail and eCommerce brands. The trick is ensuring that you’re not just adding value by making purchase easier, but doing so in a way that does not dilute your social media presence to the point that it turns into an endlessly selling home shopping network, a complaint that’s been leveled at some TikTok sellers.