2025 has been a whirlwind, for marketers, for platforms, for brands and pretty much for the world in general. As always, we like to take a step back, reflect on what’s happened, and think about how these trends are shaping the future of marketing.

From AI-driven creative shifts to social media shakeups, here’s our month-by-month recap of the marketing highlights so far in 2025, and be sure to read to the end, where we offer a glimpse at what we predict for 2026!

January

2025 Predictions: Creativity vs. Data

The year kicked off with a guessing game: marketers trying to predict what 2025 would bring. Trends are pointing toward more casual content, fewer customers driving more purchases (loyalty is king), and data being both the ultimate tool, and the bottleneck. AI has streamlined creative work, but the real challenge is now data: targeted, personalized campaigns depend on knowing your audience inside and out. Video remains dominant, first-party data is crucial, and experiential and localized marketing continue to rise.

TikTok Ban Drama

TikTok went dark in the U.S. on January 19th after failing to sell to an American buyer. Enter President Trump, flipping the switch to bring it back. Crisis averted? Not exactly. TikTok declined to sell, and legislative solutions were uncertain. In the meantime, U.S. users and creators began exploring “safer” alternatives, such as Reels and Shorts. Check out the video we did on this topic to dig deeper.

Bluesky’s Moment

With TikTok’s back-and-forth drama and controversies around Meta and Twitter (X), new platforms began getting attention. Bluesky doubled its users since late October 2024, and as of January 2025, boasted over 25 million users. While some are excited, the key question remains: are your customers there? Early adoption can pay off, but as we always say, you need to make sure it aligns with your audience and brand goals before jumping in.

February

Super Bowl 2025

The cost of a 30-second ad skyrocketed to $8M+ this year. AI-creativity and humour dominated, while controversy took a backseat. A few highlights for us included:

Nike’s “So Win” – Women athletes, from a critic’s perspective, most-watched brand ad.
Coors Light’s “Slow Monday” – Sloths never looked so funny.
Homes.com – Dan Levy & Heidi Gardner, instant hits.

Research suggested younger generations are less likely to follow brands after seeing ads, and familiarity remains a big win. Humor, nostalgia, and celebrity cameos were the safe, and often effective, bets.

Valentine’s Day Glow-Up

Lot’s of brands jumped on Valentine’s ads, but our favourite had to be from Sweethearts. Sweethearts candy gave Gen Z a clever update: scan candy for instant life actions, from booking a marriage license to finding a moving company (and yes, even shopping for matching headstones…). Nostalgia meets interactivity, keeping this iconic brand fresh.

Instagram Ad Updates

Instagram ads got a bit of a makeover! They now allow brands to showcase creator endorsements in the comments of sponsored posts. Think testimonials in plain sight, a smart way to leverage creators’ voices. We shared our take here.

March

Tariffs Bite

In March, new tariffs came into effect, impacting a range of industries from manufacturing to consumer goods. These tariffs increased costs for certain imported products, which in turn affected pricing, supply chains, and ultimately consumer spending habits. For marketers, this served as a clear reminder that external economic pressures can ripple quickly through campaigns and budgets. What might have been a successful promotion one month could become less effective the next if costs rise or consumer sentiment shifts.

International Women’s Day

For International Women’s Day, we took a moment to celebrate the incredible women who inspire us every day, our talented team members, our amazing Clients, and our supportive friends. From sharing stories of leadership and creativity to acknowledging the unique contributions each woman brings to the table, we wanted to honour the impact of women across our network. It was a day to reflect, appreciate, and amplify the voices of those shaping our industry and community, because when women thrive, we all do.

St. Patrick’s Day

As an iconic Irish beer, Guinness always brings its A-game to St. Patrick’s Day marketing, going beyond traditional ads to create experiences that truly connect with their audience. This year, they took things a step further with the “Lovely Day Project”, a coast-to-coast initiative celebrating the moments and connections that bring people together over a pint. Fans were invited to snap and share photos of their St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, with the chance to be featured in an upcoming Guinness ad. By encouraging real-life engagement and user-generated content, Guinness not only amplified its brand presence but also strengthened its community by highlighting authentic celebrations across the country, showing that marketing can be fun, participatory, and memorable all at once.

Short-Form Videos Get Longer

Short-form video isn’t so short anymore! Platforms are shifting gears, extending their time limits to give creators more room to tell engaging stories. Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts now favour three-minute content, allowing brands and creators to move beyond quick 30-second clips and deliver more value, context, or entertainment. Even TikTok is seeing the same trend, recent research analyzing 1.1 million clips found that slightly longer videos are outperforming shorter ones in both reach and engagement. This shift highlights that audiences are willing to spend more time with content that captivates them, and marketers who adapt by creating longer, high-quality short-form videos can see better performance and deeper connections with viewers.

April

Easter Marketing

This Easter, Cadbury once again reminded us that creativity doesn’t need to be huge to be memorable. Their mini-billboards for Mini Eggs in the UK proved that small, charming campaigns can pack a big punch. By leaning into playful visuals and aligning perfectly with their brand identity, Cadbury created scroll-stopping content that resonated with audiences both online and offline. We loved the way this campaign brought the joy of Easter to life in a clever, shareable way, and we shared our take on it in a LinkedIn post to showcase how even modest campaigns can drive meaningful engagement.

Earth Day Spotlight

As with every Earth Day, brands walked the fine line between greenwashing and authentic action. In our LinkedIn post, we highlighted some of our favourites (and least favourites) from over the years.

May

AI Visibility & llms.txt

This became a huge trend in May of this year. With AI continuing to explode, brands started to realize the need to prepare websites for AI indexing. By adding the code to the backend of your website and adding simplified, structured content in markdown or plain text, brands make it easier for AI such as ChatGPT or Claude to understand and summarize their pages. Long-form, substantive content now outperforms quick blurbs in AI summaries, an increasingly important part of getting discovered!

Trade Show Season Kick-Off

May marked the official kick-off to trade show season, and it didn’t disappoint! The month brought a flurry of events that connected marketers, tech innovators, and leading brands from across industries. These gatherings weren’t just about showcasing products or sharing presentations, they were prime opportunities to network, exchange ideas, and spark collaborations. At RCM, we absolutely love the chance to meet new people, reconnect with old friends, and soak up insights from industry leaders. Learning is, of course, a key priority, but it’s the conversations, relationships, and shared experiences on the trade show floor that often leave the biggest impact. From casual coffee chats to in-depth strategy discussions, trade shows are where connections turn into partnerships and inspiration turns into action. Read more about our thoughts here.

June

Enter Trial Reels

Instagram is giving creators and brands a clever new tool with Trial Reels, allowing you to test your Reels exclusively with users who don’t follow you yet. This provides a clean, unbiased read on what content resonates before sharing it with your full audience. No pressure, just real feedback from a fresh crowd. 👀 And the results speak for themselves: 40% of creators post Reels more often after trying trials, and 80% see increased reach. This is a clear reminder that experimentation pays off, testing before committing can boost both engagement and confidence in your content strategy.

WhatsApp Ads

Meta really shook things up in June with the global rollout of ads in WhatsApp’s Updates tab, a major shift for a platform long known for being ad-free and private. While EU users won’t see ads until at least 2026 due to GDPR, the rest of the world will experience personalized ads based on limited data, think language, city/country, and public content interactions, without compromising personal messages, which remain encrypted. This move is part of a broader monetization strategy, including channel subscriptions for creators and promoted channels in Explore, signaling a new frontier for reaching audiences in private messaging apps. With 1.5 billion daily users, the potential is massive, but it also raises questions about user experience vs. monetization.

Events Continue

The live event landscape remains a hotspot for inspiration and innovation. From the glamour of Cannes to the energy of Toronto Tech Week, marketers continue to gather insights, make connections, and uncover new ideas. These events remind us that while digital strategies are crucial, face-to-face experiences and networking still play a vital role in learning and growing in the marketing world.

July

Google Indexes Instagram Content

Starting July 10, Instagram began letting Google index public posts from professional accounts, including Reels, videos, and photos. This means your content could start showing up in Google search results alongside traditional websites and articles. Social media is officially entering the SEO conversation, and brands need to think about optimizing for both visibility and engagement. With Google’s AI-driven results surfacing real-time content, aligning your social strategy with SEO is no longer optional, it’s essential if you want your content to be discoverable and impactful.

Sydney Sweeney Jeans Ad

This year also saw campaigns going viral in unexpected ways. Case in point: American Eagle’s Sydney Sweeney jeans ad. While it grabbed massive attention, it wasn’t necessarily for the right reasons, highlighting that virality doesn’t always equal positive brand impact. For marketers, it’s a reminder that campaigns can take on a life of their own once they hit the public sphere, making careful planning and brand alignment more important than ever.

August

Google AI Summaries Reduce Clicks

AI-driven search summaries continue to limit direct traffic to brand websites, making original, high-value content even more crucial. As AI-powered tools and search engines increasingly provide instant answers within the search results themselves, users are less likely to click through to the source website. This means brands can no longer rely on traditional SEO tactics alone to drive traffic. Instead, creating deep, authoritative, and unique content, whether blogs, guides, or multimedia assets, is essential to stand out, build trust, and ensure audiences still engage with your brand directly. The focus shifts from just being found to providing real value that keeps people coming back, cultivating loyal visitors who see your brand as a go-to resource rather than a passive result in an AI summary.

Instagram Rolls Out New Updates

In August, Instagram rolled out some fresh updates, giving users and brands new ways to connect and engage. Reposts are finally here, letting you share feed posts and Reels directly to your profile in a dedicated Reposts tab, think X (formerly Twitter) style, but Instagram-fied. Location sharing also got a boost, with Instagram Maps now letting you share your last active location with select friends, perfect for meetups, foodie finds, or casual summer flexing (and fully optional!). The new Friends tab in Reels highlights content your friends are interacting with, creating a mini discovery feed of posts your inner circle is already enjoying. On top of that, parental controls have been strengthened, especially around teen location sharing, giving families more peace of mind. Together, these updates show Instagram doubling down on discovery, social sharing, and safety, offering creators and brands more ways to engage their audiences in meaningful and interactive ways.

September

AI Shopping Research

In September, a study revealed that over half of U.S. consumers now rely on AI tools to conduct shopping research, highlighting a major shift in how people discover and evaluate products. From comparing features and prices to reading reviews and exploring alternatives, AI is increasingly shaping the path to purchase. For brands, this means traditional visibility tactics alone aren’t enough, your products and content need to be optimized for AI-driven discovery. Ensuring accurate, structured, and high-quality information across your digital touchpoints is now critical, as AI increasingly acts as the first filter between your brand and potential customers. Staying relevant in this new landscape requires a strategic approach to data, SEO, and content, so you can appear in the right AI-driven recommendations and remain top-of-mind when shoppers make decisions.

October

LinkedIn Algorithm Update

As of October this year, LinkedIn made the switch to show only the first three lines of text before the “...more” cut-off, while visuals, photos, graphics, and videos display in full and dominate the feed. This means text-only posts are at risk of being overlooked. To capture attention, brands and creators need a scroll-stopping hook in those first few lines and a strong visual to immediately engage their audience. Visual-first content has never been more essential.

Threads Ghost Posts

Threads introduced “ghost posts,” temporary text-only posts that disappear from everyone else’s feed after 24 hours but remain visible in the user’s archive. Meta aims to encourage candid, unfiltered sharing without cluttering feeds. Check out our post for our take on how this new feature could reshape how audiences engage with personal content, especially as users spend less time interacting with friends’ posts across platforms.

November

Bluesky Hits 40 Million Users

While Threads and X continue their rivalry in the post-Twitter social media landscape, Bluesky quietly reached 40 million users. Growth may be slower than the mainstream giants, but the platform has cultivated a dedicated niche that values its decentralized ethos and thoughtful conversations. Despite flying under the hype radar, Bluesky is actively improving the user experience, with enhanced media uploads, new ranking signals, and even a refreshed logo. The big question remains: can a niche-focused, ad-free platform sustain long-term growth? For now, Bluesky’s passionate community and steady improvements suggest it just might.

Threads Podcast Updates

Meta is doubling down on audio content with a new wave of Threads updates for podcasters and podcast fans. The platform now features bold, standout podcast links in the feed with eye-catching backgrounds and thumbnails, a dedicated podcast section on creator profiles, and tools to spotlight discussions around episodes. Creator insights and analytics will help hosts track performance and engagement, making Threads a central hub for podcast discovery and conversation. These updates highlight the growing role of audio in social strategy and show how platforms are tailoring features to support niche content creators.

December

Home Instead’s Home Alone Revival Holiday Ad

Home Instead’s latest holiday campaign struck a chord by leaning into nostalgia with a play on the Christmas classic Home Alone. The instantly recognizable reference captured viewers’ attention right away as it reinforced Home Instead’s heartwarming message of companionship, connection, and the well-being of seniors. Combining empathetic storytelling with nostalgic warmth and holiday magic in their Home, But Not Alone campaign, Home Instead set the bar high for brands and their holiday campaigns this season.

John Lewis’ Tear Jerking Storytelling

As the year comes to a close, John Lewis delivered yet another eagerly anticipated holiday campaign. Where Love Lives leaned heavily into storytelling over selling while presenting a narrative that was both deeply emotional and universally relatable. The ad expertly emphasized the importance of emotional connection, inclusivity, and putting others first, reinforcing the brand’s values in the minds of viewers. By focusing on heartfelt moments and genuine connection over material items, John Lewis once again reminded brands how to leave a lasting impression.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As 2026 approaches, it’s clear that video and podcasts will continue to dominate the content landscape. Short-form video will remain a powerful tool for attention-grabbing, scroll-stopping content on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, but standing out will require more than quick clips. Brands will need to experiment with interactive, immersive, and experiential formats, from behind-the-scenes video snippets to live shopping and AR try-ons.

Meanwhile, podcasts are cementing themselves as a key discovery engine, with audiences tuning in across demographics, from Gen Z to Gen Alpha, seeking authentic, host-driven content. Podcast advertising continues to offer unique advantages, delivering a personal, trusted touch that traditional ads often lack, while helping brands reach attentive, loyal listeners.

For businesses looking to stay relevant next year, embracing both video and audio strategies isn’t optional, it’s essential. Those who start building shareable, immersive, and voice-ready content now will enter 2026 ahead of the curve, capturing attention and fostering engagement while competitors are still catching up. Get more details on what’s coming by checking out our blog.

Wrapping Up

2025 has been a whirlwind of AI breakthrough, social platform upheavals, algorithm shifts, and brilliantly inventive campaigns. Staying agile, audience-focused, and data-informed will remain crucial as we look to 2026. As we step into 2026, the stage is set for even bolder innovations, sharper strategies, and storytelling capable of captivating an audience like never before. Here’s to a year full of cutting edge ideas, endless creativity, and big wins.

2025 in Marketing