WFA forecasts key marketing trends for 2025
By Felicia Nwosu
As the New Year approaches, experts from the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) have identified several critical trends that are likely to shape the marketing landscape in 2025. According to WFA, retail media is set for significant growth, marked by an increase in the number of providers and a wider range of advertising opportunities.
As brands gear up for 2025, the WFA emphasizes that staying ahead of these trends will be vital for navigating a complex and rapidly evolving marketing environment. They noted that with enhanced industry standards and greater market awareness, this sector is expected to reach a new level of sophistication. Advertisers will increasingly need to focus on first-party data due to tightening privacy regulations, which will facilitate more effective investment strategies in retail media. Managing frequency across various platforms will also be essential to ensure that retail media supports broader marketing objectives rather than disrupts them.
Amid rising public scrutiny of corporate sustainability commitments, WFA experts stress the importance for brands to integrate sustainable practices into their core strategies. In a positive turn, they are opitimistic that Achieving alignment with a 1.5-degree pathway poses a substantial challenge for many organizations, where marketers will need to advocate for internal cultural shifts, demonstrating that sustainability should be viewed as a value-added proposition rather than a financial burden.
They therefore suggested that a balanced approach that merges immediate financial performance with long-term sustainability goals will be crucial for addressing the diverse needs of stakeholders. The landscape for food and alcohol marketing according to them, is also undergoing rapid changes, with anticipated increases in regulatory scrutiny in 2025. Global movements aimed at limiting food advertising, especially in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Europe, indicate a shift towards stricter guidelines.
The forthcoming UN High-Level Meeting will play a significant role in determining whether self-regulation continues to hold, or if statutory measures are required. Major food and beverage brands will need to proactively showcase their commitment to public health goals and provide compelling arguments for self-regulation.
In the technology realm, while generative AI is frequently referenced as a transformative force, its complete impact is just beginning to surface. Many organizations are revisiting their transformation strategies to effectively incorporate this technology. Concurrently, there is a growing emphasis on the importance of corporate culture. Recent surveys have shown that a strong marketing culture is closely linked to improved revenue performance. Marketers who focus on cultivating organizational culture are likely to reap benefits for both their teams and overall business success.
Furthermore, foundational marketing principles, such as brand development, have regained prominence among organizations in recent years. This revival can be attributed to the rapid evolution of AI tools flooding the market. Experts warn that the industry risks falling into uniformity due to the widespread use of similar AI solutions.
To combat potential commoditization from emerging e-commerce platforms, brands will need to leverage unique marketing capabilities and concentrate on their distinctiveness within an increasingly simplified technological landscape.
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