Quad/Graphics Inc.

01/10/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/10/2025 11:37

20 marketing trends and predictions for 2025

Proceed with caution

2025 is starting with a sense of caution. People and businesses will be careful in their actions and communications due to the sensitive political and social climate in the U.S. The recent election and its aftermath will influence how marketers and companies plan their strategies. There is uncertainty about potential changes, such as the possible elimination of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising for pharmaceuticals, which could significantly impact marketers. -Josh Golden, CMO

Data-driven, personalized marketing campaigns will drive better marketing strategies

Personalization will be key to successful omnichannel marketing strategies in 2025. To deliver the right message across both online and offline touchpoints, retailers and brands must leverage data-driven insights to better understand and meet consumer needs and shopping preferences. The true challenge will be transforming those insights into timely, impactful marketing that connects with consumers at each stage of the path to purchase. -Ashley Wacht, Head of Vertical Marketing, Commerce

See also: "Home is where the data is: How marketers can navigate the Great Data Upheaval with a game-changing source of consumer intel," from Quad Insights.

Ethical concerns will increasingly impact data collection and usage across marketing campaigns

The focus on data privacy will intensify, with increased scrutiny on the ethical collection and use of data. Legislation will likely accelerate, particularly concerning the use of data about American citizens by foreign entities. This will have wide-ranging implications for data collection practices. -Joshua Lowcock, President, Media

Marketers will continue modernizing their direct mail strategies

Marketers in 2025 will continue modernizing their approach to direct mail to make it a must-have pillar of personalized and integrated omnichannel campaigns. Direct mail provides irresistible performance with response rates that are significantly greater than email. As a result, we'll see more focus on integrated approaches that balance data activation with cost efficiency and ROI to forge a link between digital and physical marketing channels.

AI will become an integral part of the solution, providing support for personalization and creative testing. This transition will help forge and reinforce meaningful connections with key audiences. - Scott Harvey, Group Vice President, Enterprise Solutions

Younger consumers will increasingly seek out physical brand interactions

There's a noticeable shift among younger generations, particularly Gen Alpha and Gen Z, toward valuing physical interactions over digital ones. This trend is driven by a desire to engage more with humanity and less with screens. Social media companies will need to adapt to this change as people spend more time interacting in person. Watch for a move towards more collaborative and shared digital experiences. -Josh Golden, CMO

In-store seasonal marketing campaigns and merchandising will grow more prominent

When it comes to seasonality, I think we'll see more and more retailers leaning into front-of-store concepts that include a curated selection of products timed to the season and upcoming holidays. Some retailers moved away from that approach in recent years, but Kohl's is one that has continuously dedicated front-of-store space for seasonal items and gifts - for winter holidays as well as Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and others. -Tom Solomon, Senior Director of Design and Innovation, Product Design

See also: "2025 seasonal marketing guide - everything retailers and marketers need to know to get ready," from Quad Insights.

The big catalog marketing trend for 2025: new formats, sizes and finishes

With the resurgence of catalog marketing, brands will not only explore more seasonal/specialty catalogs but potentially different sizes and finishes beyond the traditional format. -Raquel Hudson, Director, Product Marketing & Lead

Marketers will need to zig when everyone else zags when it comes to their seasonal strategies

Brands will continue to find new ways to lean into seasonality throughout the year through less cluttered moments and varied opportunities to show up in culturally relevant ways - leaning into Sober October, for instance, instead of Dry January. With more competition for attention than ever, it helps to zig when everyone else zags. -Jamie McGarry, VP Business Development, Sales

Media investment will face a reckoning

There will be a re-evaluation of what constitutes responsible media investment. Marketers will need to adapt to new norms and guidelines to ensure their investments are ethical and effective in an ever-changing landscape. -Joshua Lowcock, President of Media

Financial marketers will leverage new approaches to direct mail strategies

In 2025, we'll see financial services marketers seek to build greater institutional knowledge in contemporary approaches to direct mail. This will include building end-to-end models for more effective people-centric targeting and personalization, pre-market testing of creative, optimizing formats for production and postal efficiencies. The ultimate goal is using current marketing technology platforms to align with direct-mail production and digital journeys as part of integrated omnichannel campaigns. - Todd McNab, VP of Client Strategy, Sales

Brands will have to take greater care to avoid greenwashing in their marketing strategies

Greenwashing will continue to be an issue for brands in 2025 as retailers express a growing desire to offer potentially more environmentally friendly options such as compostable packaging and single-use tableware.

However, these items are often only commercially compostable - as opposed to home compostable - and the availability of commercial composters is very low in the U.S. Challenges like these will make it harder for marketers to promote innovative 'green' strategies without overstating the true level of sustainable improvement. -Shannon Anderson, Director of Client Research, Package Insight Analytics

See also: "Marketing sustainability: brands making recycling and reducing waste core to their messaging in 2024," from Quad Insights.

Google will face disruption and realignment

2025 is shaping up to be a year of disruption for Google as a result of ongoing legal challenges to its current business practices. Regardless of the final outcomes to these challenges, they are likely to impact Google's business operations and the marketplace at large. -Joshua Lowcock, President of Media

Brands will need to level-up transparency when it comes to labeling and product claims

Consumers' ever-evolving preferences will bring even more emphasis to not just lower prices and convenience, but also transparency in labeling and claims as they continue to expect healthier, more sustainable products and practices from the brands they support. -Jamie McGarry, VP Business Development, Sales

The big retail marketing trend: Brands will continue to respond to the in-person shopping boom

With tariffs under consideration, increased pricing on select items may influence consumers to lean further into visiting brick-and-mortar stores for the best possible deals while also avoiding delivery fees. This could be an opportunity for brands and retailers to enhance their in-store signage and activations to not only encourage planned buys but also impulse buys along the way. -Raquel Hudson, Director, Product Marketing & Lead

Marketers will prioritize partner operational excellence to optimize their strategies and execution

We'll see more brands consolidating and prioritizing partners who deliver operational excellence - those who can manage and execute on multiple fronts for brands to reduce the potential for errors. The fewer external handoffs there are, the less chance there is for executional mishaps to occur. -Jamie McGarry, VP Business Development, Sales

Regulatory scrutiny of the sector will complicate healthcare marketing strategies

Whether it's privacy and data-protection issues, cost of programs, PBM practices, broker practices, quality-care delivery, marketing regulations or M&A activity, Washington is taking a hard look at healthcare. With that scrutiny comes uncertainty: How will decisions coming out of the Capitol impact business practices and the bottom line?

Marketers need to keep current on state and federal actions since what they decide will impact how they help brands show up in the market. - Ellen Cox, Head of Health Marketing Strategy

Brands will seek out new ways to call attention to their sustainability initiatives

Sustainable initiatives will continue to ramp up in 2025 as consumers are being more selective in the products and services they support based on their authentic commitment to sustainability. Instead of settling for what's already available, brands will explore new ways that standout creative and sustainability can align for a lasting impression. -Raquel Hudson, Director, Product Marketing & Lead

Marketers will need to lean into AI for content creation and imagery across campaigns

While AI is seen as a disruptive force, its full potential is not yet realized. Companies like Quad are integrating AI into their operations, but many are still figuring out how to use it effectively in their daily tasks. The emphasis needs to be on learning to use AI tools for content creation and imagery. The role of knowledge workers is likely to diminish as AI and computing power handle more complex tasks, while those involved in the tangible creation of marketing materials will become more valued. -Josh Golden, CMO

At-home health-testing products will create a major marketing opportunity

DIY, at-home health-testing products bought over the counter will continue to grow. Success requires consumer education, demand creation and attention-grabbing packaging, among other strategic elements. With over 300,000 OTC products on shelves, it's a highly competitive and complex environment that requires alignment between management, product development, marketing, logistics and more.

By developing integrated approaches with experienced teams in each area - from package design to consumer engagement - the impact on results can be exponential. - Jennifer Hickman, VP, Health Strategy and Growth

Advanced data capabilities will transform omnichannel marketing strategies

In 2025, we'll see organizations with future-focused data strategies set themselves apart by producing deeper and more tightly integrated omnichannel marketing campaigns. Advanced data capabilities are creating new opportunities to speak with one voice across online and offline media, through more effective uses of retargeting, QR codes and, yes, even direct mail. The move away from legacy ad-tech audience identifiers will grow more intense amid continued privacy regulation and tech platform change.

Quad will expand its focus on connecting the only resilient audience identifier in the digital age - household addresses - to the digital marketing ecosystem. The precision this approach provides will lead to greater returns with more efficiency and transparency for marketers. -Elizabeth Fowler, Senior Director, Data Platform and Partnerships