From praying ChatGPT speaks highly of your brand to Tesco’s Club Card, let’s take a glimpse at marketing trends that were not on our 2025 bingo card…
It’s no surprise that 2025 was a huge year for marketing. Artificial Intelligence (AI) went from an alien concept to a tool used by many of us in our day-to-day lives, B2B brands became noticeably more human, and we saw some of our old favourite campaigns brought back to life.
Looking ahead to 2026 (how time flies…), here are our favourite marketing trends of 2025.
Trust in AI
Originally launched in November 2022, ChatGPT is now a well-known household name. It currently has over 800 million weekly users, more than double its 400 million users in February 2025. This growing reliance on AI isn’t just for everyday users- marketers are leaning on it too. Whether it’s analysing large amounts of customer data or being able to hyper-personalise adverts, products and customer experiences, AI has now become an integral part of developing marketing strategies. But for the marketers reading this, don’t worry- AI isn’t taking our jobs!
On top of this, businesses have been shifting from Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) to Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) in 2025. While SEO stays relevant, companies want to make sure platforms like ChatGPT and Copilot are talking about them. Gone are the days we just searched on Google *pines nostalgically*, people are now using AI to inform their decisions.
Personality in B2B Marketing
B2B marketing was once viewed as purely practical and logic-driven, worlds apart from the quirky sphere of B2C. But now that’s no longer the case. Today’s B2B buyers aren’t solely looking for a product or service- they want to experience. Their buyer journey is starting to closely replicate B2C, with audiences wanting more advice, information, inspiration and even entertainment from their favourite brands.
This comes at a time of rising young decision-makers. Millennials and Gen Z are climbing up the ladder, becoming key decision-makers in B2B spaces. Just because Jane is a key stakeholder at *insert huge company here*, doesn’t mean she doesn’t doom scroll on TikTok before bed!
Nostalgia Marketing
Nostalgia is a powerful tool in marketing. It not only has the unique ability to connect us to the past but also create experiences that tap into deeper emotions, often making us long for a simpler time. For marketers, it’s a simple shortcut to tap into audience emotion. Nostalgia can be sparked by smells, sights, visuals, and more, and in marketing, is often used by referencing familiar moments in older adverts.
For those of you on this side of the internet in 2015, remember how Kylie Jenner’s Lip Kits broke the internet? Well, she revisited this campaign this year, an ode to this era with a 10 year anniversary revival. By bringing back her blue ombre hair and the Snapchat dog filter (remember that?), she stayed true to the original branding- speaking to the same audience 10 years later.
Sensory Marketing
Another huge marketing trend in 2025 is the influx of sensory marketing content flooding our streets and screens. Why can I scratch-and-sniff an armpit billboard now? It’s bizarre, but it works! Brands are tapping into our emotions with stimulating smells, touch, sight, sound and taste.
And it’s not only physical; digital marketing has seen a surge in sense-based marketing too. This is because the way we consume is becoming progressively more digital, so brands bridge that physical gap by tapping into our senses online. Food-inspired visuals, clever product positioning, and colour psychology are just a few ways brands trigger consumers’ senses when marketing. Learn more about sensory marketing here!
Experiential Marketing
Like sensory marketing, experiential marketing aims to cut through the digital barrier. With the influx of digital noise, it succeeds by creating memorable experiences for customers. Experiential marketing encourages consumers to take part in sensory-rich brand experiences, rather than just passively consuming adverts.
This year has seen an increase in experiential marketing campaigns, with the integration of AI technology assisting marketers in maximising impact while still focalising personal connection. For example, businesses can leverage AI to create data-driven, personalised experiences by analysing real-time data en masse.
By involving and centring the customer, they no longer feel explicitly sold to; instead, they are now part of the brand. On the topic of brand immersion, imagine attending Tesco’s Club Card. Yeah, you heard that right. Tesco found that 55% of people in the UK feel nostalgic for the 1990s and 2000s, and even those who weren’t born in the 90s feel a sense of nostalgia for that period. With this, Tesco combined that feeling of nostalgia with experiential marketing to host their very first Club Card event this year, which unsurprisingly sold out almost instantly!
P.S. Selfie Checkout instead of Self Checkout? It’s genius!
Is Your Business Ready for 2026?
2025 has seen a great deal of new marketing trends, and as we head into 2026, these trends offer a glimpse into what the future of marketing holds for us. Do you want to stay ahead of competitors and use these insights to your advantage? Reach out to us, and we can help! No jargon, just honest conversation.
