The AdNews end of year Perspectives, looking back at 2024 and forward to next year.
BMF CEO Stephen McArdle
As many people, far smarter than me, have observed recently: the advertising industry is at a crossroads, with demands on dwindling resources greater than ever and AI now making a genuine impact on how we operate.
To tackle 2025 successfully agencies and brands must now train themselves to perform like elite athletes, but for both speed and endurance. To stay ahead, we need to master a dual approach: achieving rapid, efficient delivery while building the stamina and skill to keep big, strategic ideas in play. The future belongs to those who balance the sprint of streamlined execution with the marathon of impactful brand thinking.
2024 has seen a surge in tech-driven efficiencies that are proving themselves in-market, as well as dazzling marketers in the pitch arena with their potential. Some of the traditional always-on factories are being beaten to work by new entrants with little scale, but technology that brings data-led consumer insights, personalised content and super-fast delivery together in ways we haven’t seen before. It’s disruption that can be scary for some, impressive for many - but we can’t let it become the focus for all.
Why? Because today’s innovations will become 2025’s hygiene factors—the bedrock on which impactful brand-building is built. While technology accelerates delivery, it’s the quality of the thinking and creativity that makes the difference.
Brands like ALDI understand this balance well. Efficiency is embedded in their business model, from supply chain and store layouts to checkout processes. It’s this foundation that allows them to reinvest in strategic creativity—a powerful combination that consistently delivers in both brand-building and ROI.
While a continued obsession with delivery may be tempting, we can’t lose sight of what goes into those delivery systems. Creative thinking and craftsmanship cannot be sidelined. Recent industry effectiveness data suggests that, for all our advancements in technology, marketing effectiveness has actually declined in some areas—often because creativity and strategic insights are being outpaced by delivery pressures.
Ultimately, the most important trend isn’t technology, efficiency, or even creativity in isolation. It’s how these elements converge in a way that maximises positive impact for brands, consumers and society-at-large.
So, as we head into 2025, the agencies and brands that succeed will be those who sprint towards the smart, quick, cheaper delivery systems, but pace themselves appropriately to get to the very best long-distance solutions for their brands. Maybe 2025 will be the year the old adage ‘It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon’ gets retired!
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