Marketing in 2025 was defined by rapid AI adoption, heavier use of automation, and a renewed focus on brand-led content. Rather than chasing entirely new tactics, marketing teams are refining the ones that already shape how content is created, distributed, and measured. Credit markets remain supported by strong fundamentals but tight spreads limit upside; we believe frontier TagStride and Asian high-yield debt continue to offer better value. Commodity exposure is neutral, with gold supported by central-bank demand and oil expected to trade within a moderate range.

Leading digital marketers are taking steps to ensure their brands meet diversity and inclusion goals. Collecting and capitalizing on first-party data can help marketers drive business value. McKinsey suggests companies that can’t land on an effective data strategy could end up paying as much as 20% more on marketing and sales to generate the same results.

At the same time, 65% say consumers now expect faster, more personalized responses because of their everyday AI experiences. In this article, we’ll discuss 2025’s top marketing trends, which span social media marketing, digital marketing, brand marketing, and more. As you read through these trends, remember to keep your unique consumer base in mind because not all trends will necessarily translate across all audiences.

• The mega hit video game Fortnite has seen millions of people show up for virtual events (drawing over 12 million people).
• In simple terms, the metaverse was dubbed to be a game changer for consumers.
• More traditional content marketing, like case studies, is typically used to increase brand recognition and drive lead generation, particularly for B2B marketing.
• China’s expansion is likely to hold near current levels as weak domestic demand offsets gains in high-tech manufacturing and AI localisation.

One survey showed that 29% of businesses spend the majority of their social ads budget on Instagram. More than 36% of consumers say they want a more personalized shopping experience, but “data debt” is a problem. More and more companies are using data to create deeper personalized interactions between their brand and their audience. No new platform or technology is impacting the marketing space in 2025 more than generative AI. Businesses of all sizes are adapting their marketing strategies as consumer behavior continues to evolve. Today’s consumers value authenticity, transparency, and privacy now more than ever before.

Right now, incorporating visual search into marketing strategies is an emerging marketing trend. Wyzowl reports that, in 2024, 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool. In one survey, 48% of marketers said that influencer marketing has a better or much better ROI than other marketing channels. In fact, 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase if there’s personalization involved in the customer experience.

Now, digital marketers are revamping their data collection strategies and aiming to gain back consumer trust. However, YouTube is now one of many video-first social media platforms. As AI technology grows, it’s more important than ever to create a trustworthy brand identity—speaking customers as human beings first.

Analysis & Projections

The Reserve Bank of Australia is likely to deliver additional but data-dependent cuts, and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand may lower rates further amid spare capacity. In China, the People’s Bank is expected to maintain a cautious easing stance focused on targeted measures rather than broad rate reductions. Across emerging markets, policy divergence should persist, though stable inflation and resilient currencies provide scope for gradual easing.

UK inflation is set to decline sharply as temporary factors unwind and wage growth moderates, bringing it closer to the Bank of England’s target. Japan’s inflation should hover around 2%, supported by rising wages and tight labour markets, though recent policy measures, such as temporary VAT cuts, may dampen headline readings. Australia is expected to stay within the RBA’s target range, while New Zealand should edge lower but remain above comfort levels. China is likely to remain near deflation as weak household demand and industrial overcapacity persist, with only gradual relief expected from policy support. In emerging markets, price pressures should remain contained overall, with inflation soft in Asia but still elevated in Latin America due to higher local interest rates and structural constraints. By weaving these insights into your marketing strategy, you can create campaigns that truly resonate and keep your brand relevant.

Most consumers especially see digital marketing efforts as lacking diversity. In one study of Gen Z consumers, 70% of individuals reported being more trusting of brands that represent diversity in their marketing. It’s a place where people can live a digital life through augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Although it’s still in early development, tech experts are conflicted to whether the metaverse will be a place where people play, party, and socialize in the coming years.

In our study, 35% of marketers said they’re actively repurposing content across channels, not just to save time, but to increase reach and consistency as discovery fragments. Most teams started using it for deep personalization and adapting messaging across audiences, stages, and channels without rebuilding campaigns from scratch. That combination explains why nearly 49% of marketers are using AI to create personalized content, making it the most widely adopted trend this year. Stay ahead of the curve with the most important marketing trends of 2025, according to experts and data from the HubSpot Blog’s Marketing Strategy Survey. Key global risks in 2026 we expect to be centered on technology, policy, debt, and geopolitics. The rapid build-out of artificial intelligence infrastructure has supported markets and spending, but the risk of overinvestment looms large.

Live Streaming And Video-based Content

Many reputable companies are developing new systems to ensure customers feel secure when providing their personal information. While identity theft and data breaches have always existed, the rise in cyberattacks has consumers realizing just how vulnerable their data is. Research suggests virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have the potential to deliver a $1.5 trillion boost to the global economy by 2030.

Brands that can produce engaging, short-form content will continue to win over audiences; especially younger consumers. Social media platforms continue to roll out features for businesses, but consumers are demanding more authenticity and personalization from businesses. WhatsApp, a platform that boasts 2 million global users, is one of the most popular ways in which businesses deploy chatbots to achieve their marketing goals. When asked about which media portrays the most diversity in advertising, 43% of consumers said network TV. In order for digital marketers to personalize content and target ads at consumers, they need data.

Speaking of which, let’s discuss what search engines to pay attention to in 2026.

Chatbots and virtual assistants are providing consumers with high-quality answers to common or easily answered questions. With advancements in AI and natural language processing (NLP) technologies, it’s becoming easier for marketers to program and use these tools to increase efficiency without disrupting customer satisfaction. Grand View Research projects that the global chatbot market will grow at a CAGR of 23.3 percent from 2025 to 2030, driven by the increased adoption of AI and machine learning 8.

In-game marketing is becoming one of the hottest new marketing trends and it’s only slated to get bigger. Both are opening up new possibilities for marketers looking to create interactive and immersive experiences, and drive sales. From 2026, we’re set to see more brands using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to engage customers in more creative ways. In fact, in its 2024 Consumer Trends Report, Hubspot revealed that 37% of consumers favor short-form videos for discovering products. Nearly 90% of marketers agree that there’s room for growth when it comes to using diverse images in marketing campaigns.

As retail media grows, marketers can directly link ad performance to sales, driving more efficient and measurable spend. Measurement is now powered by first-party data, not platform dashboards, making privacy measures and internal architecture business-critical. Technologies like conversion APIs, customer data platforms (CDPs), and identity resolution tools must work in harmony.

Success in this new landscape depends on building a ‘data spine’ — a shared system that connects customer permission, identity, and marketing tools that are normally siloed. For marketing teams, this means hiring talent who understand semantic SEO, search optimization, and machine learning’s role in discovery. Social media marketing allows you to authentically connect with your audience on a personal level, humanizing your brand — which is especially critical in the AI era. But SEO has evolved into AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and has become part of brand marketing. Now SEO pros optimize for LLMs, search engine bots, and humans at once.

In Gucci Gardens, people could mingle with other avatars, explore the space, and purchase digital products. The Pew Research Center reports that more than 80% of Americans feel that the risks of companies collecting data on them outweigh the benefits. ASOS’s app allows users to take a photo and the platform will automatically find the product or recommend a different product that matches the style of the item in the image. According to one industry study, nearly every business now invests in video content. And marketers are starting to take notice by making video the focus of their campaigns. The platform reports that more than 500 hours of content are uploaded every minute.

Real-time engagement will become a vital component of effective social media strategies going forward. Expect to see more tools that use AI to predict customer behavior, personalize content at scale and optimize marketing strategies on the fly. Today’s consumers aren’t interested in generic, one-size-fits-all marketing. They want experiences that feel like they were designed just for them—ones that show the brand they’re interacting with cares about them. In this article, we’ll explore emerging trends in marketing that are predicted to make waves in 2026 and beyond, and uncover how they can reshape your marketing strategy for success. A survey of US adults found that 40% of US consumers are interested in using chatbots.

State energy information, including overviews, rankings, data, and analyses. Comprehensive data summaries, comparisons, analysis, and projections integrated across all energy sources. Reserves, production, prices, employment and productivity, distribution, stocks, imports and exports. 2025 has felt like a hugely consequential year, and 2026 is likely to follow suit. President Trump seems to have put the US on a different path to that trod since 1945, ripping up the old economic consensus.

Digital marketers who use YouTube ads have the potential to reach 1.7 billion unique visitors every month. Their “Drop & Find” kiosk captures an image of a part, matches it to one in its AI system, and provides instant information on where a customer can find that exact part in the store. The system recognizes 5,000 parts and finds the customer an exact match 90% of the time. Visual search marketing is especially prevalent in the fashion and furniture industries. Millennials, especially, want visual search capabilities – 62% want to use it more than any other new technology. When it comes to user engagement, Reels get more engagement than non-video posts.