Why 2025 Will Be a Terrible Year to Suck for Brands

Italian communist Antonio Gramsci is maybe not the obvious starting place when thinking about marketing trends in 2025, but he had some pretty killer lines with some relevance to today:- One is his classic, "Intellect makes me a pessimist, but my will makes me an optimist".

Today, with the two faces of Janus, let's look on both sides of 2025: What will the pessimist see, and what will the optimist see?

THE SEMI-MANAGED DECLINE OF LEGACY BRANDS

Walk through a supermarket, retail park, or even scroll Instagram, and you'll notice how often certain brands will make you feel nostalgic - but in a bad way... These are the living dead, trading on the brand building efforts of the past, but enjoy them while you can as they won't last long, thanks to...

As consumer hype comes under the sway of everyone's favourite algorithms, increasing numbers of brands will be generated and dumped within short cycles. Influencers have been the best positioned to quickly notice and exploit this potential, but they're not going to be the only ones, thanks to...

It has never been easier to generate the stuff that surrounds a brand, particularly if you don't care too much about the quality. This creates a dangerous environment for any brand that thought Good Enough was going to be good enough, as everything sinks into an ocean of uninspired churn. But on the other hand...

Any brand that enters this phase of turbulence with a solid foundation is going to benefit from the chaos. Consumers don't like change, so strong lighthouse brands with a clear and simple idea that they have been able to hold to for the long-term will reap the rewards of the disruption beneath them. As for the rest...

In 2024, Nike hit reset, stepping back from digital sprawl to refocus on their core brand identity. It was a masterclass in course correction, but it's not only giants that can adapt and thrive by returning to their essence. For brands willing to act decisively, it’s never too late to benefit from...

Disruption opens doors. In 2025, agile new brands will rise, free from legacy baggage and ready to resonate with modern consumers. With an authentic mission driving everything forwards, there’s never been a better time for bold entrants to seize their moment, because...

It's all a matter of perspective. 2025 will challenge brands, but it will also reward the fearless who have clarity, purpose, and the courage to sculpt a new world from chaos. After all, for another quote from our Italian communist; "The old world is dying, a new one struggles to be born... Now is the time of monsters".

2025 Optimism 

 alongside Hamid Habib (Havas Entertainment) and Sophie Kitchen (160over90), discussing the cultural trends shaping 2025.

From the erosion of cultural integrity to the impact of Trump’s return on youth culture, Jamie explores why brands need to rethink traditional strategies and lean into disruptive thinking.

It’s a new year, and America is soon to have a new president. Election aftermaths are unique moments when society speaks, and reality replaces hypothesis. So, with a clearer picture of the cultural and consumer landscape in America, what trends could arise from Trump’s second election win and return to the White House?

More questioning of the traditional "right way"

The Harris campaign followed conventional wisdom: massive fundraising, high ad spending, extensive door-knocking, superior voter mobilisation, and Hollywood endorsements. Yet, despite these efforts, and to the disappointment of many in this country, Trump’s unconventional strategy prevailed. His campaign bypassed a lot of traditional media, utilising platforms like podcasts and YouTube to connect with younger audiences, all handily amplified by Elon Musk’s X algorithm. His podcast interview with Joe Rogan, for example, racked up 25 million views within 24 hours.

This all highlights that good communication isn’t about ticking boxes or sheer media spend; it’s about disruption and being part of the conversation. The Republican campaign broke the traditional playbook. And for Democrats, outspending competitors didn’t work. New media outperformed old media, and A list celebrity endorsements failed to resonate with everyday Americans. Brands may well take note, consciously or subconsciously, learning to value disruption over convention.

The Republican Party won over a huge number of young voters, whilst rejecting many progressive social trends. Gender identity was a pivotal campaign issue for the right, resonating with audiences outside America’s liberal hubs. Young men, in particular, rallied behind Trump, which some media have interpreted as “a rejection of woke politics.”

The outcome was a wake-up call for Democrats but also a watch out for brands that naturally align with progressive social trends. No matter how well intended, it’s lazy to assume progressive messaging or diversity celebrations automatically connect with Gen Z. In the US, there’s a notable divide between young men and women on social and political issues. And last year's 

 in the UK suggests the same divide here. 

Navigating these divisions presents challenges for well-meaning brands, possibly deterring some from engaging with future social and political issues.

People's views of the economy often align with political loyalties rather than reality. Existing economic pessimism was amplified by successful opposition parties in the US and UK last year, helping to cement already low consumer sentiment (actually, despite relatively positive US economic data). A shift towards optimism, however shallow, could have tangible effects.

One undeniable trait of Trump, irrespective of his controversies and personality, is his ability to inject energy and enthusiasm. So, could his return spark much-needed economic optimism? Global markets initially reacted positively to his win, and his administration’s certain cheerleading for the economy (regardless of actual economic performance) could boost consumer confidence.

Even if Trump’s return is treated with extreme trepidation here, if optimism from the US fosters an entrepreneurial spirit, leading to greater confidence, innovation, and investment, brands could benefit significantly. Here’s to hoping, anyway.

Hamid Habib, Managing director, Havas Entertainment, and chief experience officer, HMN, Havas Entertainment

Mass redundancies in gaming will hit in 2025. We’ll hit peak OTT streaming, and change is inevitable when growth stalls. The film industry looks healthy, except for smaller indies. The outlook for the latter – arguably, the filmmakers legitimately reflective of actual culture – is bleak. I could go on… However, unusually for me, because I am ever the optimist, there is a more serious side around the erosion of culture I’ve been thinking about. 

We talk about fake news, about mis-, dis- and malinformation. We exist in a time of alternative facts, where opinions are unchecked, where truth becomes a concept. Politics bleeds into culture and fractures society and family. I wake up some mornings, look at the news and wonder WTAF is going on. Is there a glitch in the matrix?

Today, I’d like to take it down a notch or two into popular culture – the mirror and driver of trends behind fashion, music, film, TV, food, health and more. I hold my hand up here to say I may have this wrong, but I believe for strong culture to exist, we need quality journalism. The definitions of "quality" and "journalism" may shift over time, but surely a degree of expertise delivers a better experience, and, crucially, some form of (editorial) oversight keeps content integrity in check. Without it we exist in a melée of unchecked opinion and, at worst, falsehoods.

For oversight to exist, we need media owners willing to invest in teams, in experience. When there is only a proliferation of unscrupulous content – MFAs (made for advertising sites) and plagiarised clickbait headlines – adspend flows away from trusted sources. "Quality journalism" ends. Maybe that’s the future – survival of the fittest. It feels bleak.

If someone is critiquing a song or film, it doesn’t matter. Or does it? What if they’re making something up about an artist or actor? What about the latest health fad? What if their recommendations are dangerous? Remember the U.S. Food and Drug Administration taking a federal injunction against The Genesis II Church for selling bleach on social media as a miracle cure for Covid? It beggars belief, but it happens. 

Now we get to the nub of it – our role in this. We talk about brand safety, but we don’t talk enough about cultural responsibility. There’s tech stuff happening in the background. I’m saying, bring this to the foreground. Media agencies should push this agenda, push towards quality journalism, and push culture-supporting tech platforms.

But here we have the final challenge… talking is one thing, but who are the custodians of truth, the arbiters of what is culturally responsible? Is this about policing the internet? It's a question with awful 

-esque connotations… The impossible conundrum is neverending. I have more questions than answers, but perhaps 2025 is the year when we take our role as supporters of cultural responsibility more seriously.

Sophie Kitchen, Senior strategist, 160over90

You are the media now. Musk’s declaration in November 2024 wasn’t a prophecy, it underscores the ongoing battle faced by news media in an influencer-driven, algorithm-fed ecosystem. This isn’t new. In 2020, the magazine 

“Today we live in a culture of personality: subjective, exaggerated, and – arguably – fictionalised. It’s not so much a question of whether you make media or perform media, so much as you become media.” 

2025 is the year where this shift goes from disruptive to existential. Media’s traditional pillars – creator, content and audience – have collapsed into one. For brands, audiences are no longer passive consumers; they’re the creators and the content all at once. But when everyone is a media outlet, where do you fit in? Here are three places to start:

From transparency to radical self-awareness

Transparency used to mean airing sustainability goals or sharing the origin story of your supply chain. But in a world where platforms like Reddit debunk corporate myths in real-time, the real calling for brands is radical self-awareness. Know your place in the broader social ecosystem before your audience does. 

 does this exceptionally. Rather than waiting for consumers to ask tough questions, brands can get ahead of the conversation by turning the tables, hosting debates and encouraging conversations, therefore leaning into the messiness. This shifts the narrative from reactionary damage control to proactive engagement. 

Talent – whether influencers, creators, or outspoken personalities – are the new arbiters of truth. Since the parasocial relationships formed with creators feel more trustworthy to many than institutional reporting, it is more important than ever for brands to be mindful who they partner. But that doesn’t mean using them as bulletin boards for brand messages. Find collaborators with a shared ethos, hand them the reins and let them cook. 

In a fragmented media ecosystem, brands find it harder to show up as tastemakers. Yet the next power move is tastecurating: connecting disparate echo chambers through shared aesthetics, values or experiences. Cue: 

, which masters poignant cultural commentary with taste. Some of the best avenues for taste-curating happen when a brand shows up IRL. 

 all create the community ties that filter bubbles can’t. 

The idea that you (yes, even you) are now the media is double-edged. It feels empowering to participate, but it’s also confusing our shared sense of reality. In 2025, I’ll be looking to see which brands foster open conversations with grace for the complexity of this new landscape – amplifying individual voices without dividing universal human truths.

2025 Cultural Trends

Paul talks to jfdi about being true to yourself and staying strong to win more.

No matter how good we are, we can all get blown off course from time to time or get lost, muddled, disheartened even. And given the last couple of years anyone could be forgiven for any of the above. It can seem as though everything is conspiring against success no matter how talented you and your people might be. It’s hard running an agency and winning new clients is becoming harder by the minute, becoming more and more like some ridiculous lottery nightmare.

At isobel we are no different. We have had our fair share of headwinds and the year before last we wobbled. Coming off the back of a good year we accepted every pitch that we were invited to do and won very little. Probably one of our worst years for pitch/win ratio. Everybody was worn out from too much pitching and deflated by not winning. So what did we do?

We took a good long look at ourselves and realized that we had lost sight of who we are. We weren’t being true to ourselves. We weren’t being strong.

We were pitching for anybody that seemed to have a half decent budget (and some who didn’t) regardless of whether it was really our ‘type’ of client. Which is ridiculous because the most important rule of having an attractive business is to be strong. Recognize your truth and position your agency to be as much ‘one of one’ as possible.

At isobel, we know that we aren’t right for everybody so why pretend we are? 

Our superpower is helping clients with brand resets. When smart clients are looking to the next chapter in their business, we help them find an inspiring brand idea and then drive that through comms both internally and externally. By definition this excludes a whole host of clients. And it isn’t a position particularly well suited to the short termism of a quick, creative pitch.

Well, it’s amazing how much confidence it gives everybody when you are strong about who you are and what you offer. It has given us the backbone to turn away pitches that we all know aren’t really us (you always know deep down anyway) and as we begin to re-articulate what we stand for, it separates us from other agencies.

In 2025, we will be building on that and with a bit of a following wind, it will pay dividends!

2025 Optimism

Why 2025 Will Be a Terrible Year to Suck for Brands

2025 Optimism

2025 Cultural Trends

Paul On Staying True to Yourself