What to expect for AI, branding and marketing in 2025

As 2024 draws to a close, Designit’s Chief Design Officer, Europe, Niklas Mortensen, and Brand Strategy Lead, Nicholas LaManna are looking into 2025, predicting the major trends and moments in regards to the world of AI, Branding and Marketing.

Niklas Mortensen, Chief Design Officer, Europe at Designit on AI trends for 2025:

The post-hype reconning

“A lot of companies have thrown effort and money at a technology that has yet to deliver substantial ROI for anyone other than the early investors in the so-called AI companies.

“2025 will see the business models for AI mature, meaning consultants and ‘AI unicorns’ need to bring their A-game to deliver on the promises of an AI-driven future.”

The return of embedded AI

“As incumbent tools and platforms gain momentum, incorporating smarter and better AI into their existing products, niche AI platforms need to hone their value propositions or risk being pushed into oblivion.

“While super-apps have long been the norm in Asia, no-interface super-platforms will take centre stage in western countries.”

Will we finally get a taste of pAI? 

“After years of hilarious/infuriating Siri and Alexa fails, personal AI assistants will finally start living up to their promises and become useful.

“Imagine your personal AI assistant organising your work and family calendar, proactively telling your partner to pick up the kids from soccer practice, and declining and proposing an alternative time for that not-so-important-important meeting your boss tries to schedule during your kid’s recital.

“Unfortunately, we won’t reach that utopia in 2025, but we’ll see promising glimpses of what’s to come for sure.”

 From mindless automatisation to intentional friction

“With so many examples of algorithmic bias leading to unwanted outputs – and humans being, well humans – behavioural psychology will catch up to the AI train and we will start seeing more experimentation around the jagged edges of AI.

“That means exploring the delicate relationship between AI automation and human intervention to find the optimal balance for any number of use cases from driver-car handovers to healthcare diagnostics and business-critical operations. For example, companies can create intentional ‘pause moments’ in their processes for human oversight to adopt customisable levels of AI intervention.”

Trusting invisibility

“With the political instability, geopolitical unrest and technological Wild West not looking to slow down in 2025, trustworthy AI will take centre stage, combating mis- and disinformation. It won’t stop angry old men from spewing out garbage, but hopefully, trustworthy AI will contribute to making the bandwagon a bit smaller.

“Companies will wrangle with how trustworthiness can be operationalised through certification standards, transparency mandates, or technical features like explainability. Regulations like Europe’s AI Act and California’s AB2655 (Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception) will drive companies towards compliance.”

Nicholas LaManna, Brand Strategy Lead at Designit on Branding and Marketing for 2025:

Surprise!

“As our feeds get more frantic, brands will discover the power of ‘strategic friction’ – those tiny moments of anticipation that make content feel special or exclusive. Like Sabrina Carpenter’s outfit reveals on her Short n’ Sweet tour that keep fans (and the internet) on their toes, we’ll start seeing creators build surprise into their content.”

 The giggling hour is upon us

“After a year of global tensions and political strain, 2025 will usher in ‘The Giggling Hour’ – a cultural shift where consumers actively seek out moments of shared laughter and levity. Recognising this collective need for joy, brands will respond by infusing their stories with playful, absurdist elements and create experiences designed to spark genuine moments of delight.”

You gotta come on the pod!

“Brands will follow politics’ lead into long form audio storytelling. After seeing how podcast appearances shaped the 2024 election narrative by letting candidates unfold their stories naturally, marketers are realizing that rushed soundbites just don’t cut it anymore.

“Watch for brands to shift budgets toward podcast partnerships and series that give their stories room to breathe, recognising that today’s audiences crave depth.”

About Designit, a Wipro company

Designit is a global experience innovation company with creativity at our core. For more than 30 years, we’ve helped businesses build competitive advantage and deliver positive change through creative pragmatism.

We use our expertise in strategy, design, marketing, and tech to create bespoke solutions to the most complex of client problems. Our clients include BMW, Kraft-Heinz, and Microsoft.

Across 14 locations from Aarhus to Australia, we’re home to 700+ designers, analysts, creators, strategists, and marketers, united by a single ambition to create the change we want to see in the world and turn innovation into progress that can be shared by all.

To learn more, follow us @Designit or visit www.Designit.com.