By Shan Jain
2025 is just around the corner, and the advertising industry is already showing signs of its next big evolution. Based on the latest campaigns across categories in India—from snacking giants to fintech disruptors—here’s an analysis of trends that will shape the Marketing Rules of 2025.
MARKETING PREDICTIONS FOR 2025
(Because surviving 2024 wasn’t enough drama)
1. Gen Z Will Become Your Brand’s Dictator Marketers will finally accept that Gen Z doesn’t just “consume” content—they control it. Campaigns will revolve around their memes, slang, and trends. If your product doesn’t end up in their reels or Snapchat with captions like “This slaps,” it’s basically invisible.
2. Memes Will Replace ROI Reports “If your campaign isn’t meme-able, it’s forgettable”. In 2025, marketers will measure ad’s success by how quickly it makes it to WhatsApp family groups and every campaign will have a secret KPI: viral memeability.
3. Eco-Friendly Will Be a Survival Kit, Not a Trend No one wants to buy a product that’s killing the planet. In 2025, even your biscuit wrapper better scream “eco-friendly.” Eco-friendly isn’t a buzzword anymore—it’s survival. Or the eco-conscious crowd won’t hesitate to call out greenwashing on Twitter.
4. India Will Go Fully Local—And Then Some
Finally, marketers will hyper localize to it’s 28 states, 8 union territories, and 22 official languages worth of marketing opportunities. One size doesn’t fit all even from Kanpur to Lucknow in UP and will reflect regional flavours, dialects, and quirks. Speaking Fluent Localese will be the norm
5. AI Will Be Your New Creative Director (and Your Therapist) In 2025, AI will be so creepily accurate that it’ll know your mom’s kirtan schedule, your midnight biryani cravings, and even offer you toothpaste after that garlic naan you ordered on Swiggy. Campaigns will feel so creepily tailored, you’ll swear your phone has psychic powers! Marketers will be torn between using AI and freaking out about how much it knows.
6. Tribes Will Replace Demographics Forget targeting “25-40-year-old professionals.” In 2025, marketers will be able to market to chai enthusiasts, sneakerheads, plant moms, or even people obsessed with their cats. The time of “One-size-doesn’t fit-all” has finally arrived.
7. Festivals Will Eat Marketing Budgets for Breakfast Every festival will be a marketing battlefield. Diwali? Of course. Holi? Already booked. International Kachori Day? Don’t laugh—someone will definitely own it. Every brand will find a way to insert themselves into every festival or risk missing out on India’s favourite excuse to spend.
8. Influencers Are the New Khans – Why hire a Bollywood star when you can hire a YouTuber with 10 million followers? Authenticity beats glamour every time. In 2025, brands will realize that a relatable YouTuber or Instagram creator does more for sales than a Bollywood superstar. Why? Because authenticity beats airbrushed glamour. (And it costs less, which your CFO will thank you for.)
9. Content Will be King, Queen, and the Whole Kingdom Nobody cares about your product’s features. What they want is a story they can share—bonus points if it makes them cry and laugh in under 30 seconds. Ads without stories? Might as well not exist.
10. Multi-Channel Marketing Will Go Overboard Campaigns will invade every platform—Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, even your smartwatch might buzz with, “Time for a snack? Swiggy delivers in 10 minutes!”
11. Controversy Will Be the New Strategy A rebrand will simultaneously win awards and get roasted on LinkedIn as both genius and idiocy—because it has shown us that in marketing, sparking conversations (even heated ones) trumps staying silent, and honestly, both count as engagement.
The 2025 Mantra
Marketing in 2025 isn’t about shouting louder—it’s about listening smarter, creating more relatable content, and owning your mistakes when you mess up. Campaigns will be local yet global, funny yet socially aware, and powered by technology but human at heart.
And as a wise marketer (me) once said: “In 2025, you won’t just buy products; you’ll buy the punchline that sold them.“
(The author is an independent director, brand strategist and marketing transformation advisor.)
Source: Marketing predictions 2025 – ET BrandEquity
