25 FROM 25
Remember when we were all ’Survive to 25’? Well we did that, and lived through it. Now it’s done. But the folks who like rhymes are chanting ’Fix for 26’. So what’s next?
Here’s our year-end listicle of thoughts on the year that was. Some great stuff worth digging into and some fads that are better to dodge. It’s 25 from 25 – enjoy.
ON TOOLS, TECH AND ROBOTS…
The biggest question of 25 was how to win with AI. Everyone’s onto it. Most of us are into it. And anyone who’s built a custom bot feels like a genuine coder. Here’s our take.
#1 - ROBOT-A-GOGO
AI actually landed in 2025. Toys turned into tools and nearly nine out 10 marketers use AI on the daily. But the question is how are we using it? We know the robot’s faster, but where is the robot better?
Dig in: If you’re just using robots for summaries, you’re driving your Porsche stuck in first.
#2 - OUTPUT SPEEDWAY
With platforms and robots we can smash out comms at pace. But are we missing the pauses that adds the magic? Can machine gun outputs without decent guardrails actually make a mess?
Dig in: Build in pause-points for sense checks and governance. You can’t un-make a bad impression.
#3 - THE SYCOPHANTIC SLIDE
We love it when people like our stuff. And no one blows smoke like an untrained robot. But could this surge of sycophantic feedback drive a warm, fuzzy slide into average work? Ask a customer.
Dodge it: Get your robot to go hard on the feedback. They’re brutal if you ask them.
#4 - THE HUNT FOR AI EDGE
Anyone who loops in a robot is after a competitive edge. But we’re all using the same tools to solve the same problems in the same market. So most of what we’re doing is innovation hygiene.
Dig in: Think bigger. You can’t change the game by doing the same thing, cheaper.
ON STRATEGY, METRICS AND MEANING…
If you want the Swiss-army knife of marketing lingo, try ‘Strategy’. It’s everywhere and means everything. It’s just hard to tell if you’re using the knife or the corkscrew.
#5 - THE STRAT ATTACK
Ever seen strat on a Powerpoint slide and found yourself asking, how? It’s lovely that we want to ‘win the category’. But the smarts are in the blueprint to make it happen. Strategy should be tight, relevant, actionable. Anything else is dreams.
Dig in: Push back on puffery pretending to be strategy. If it’s not crystal clear, it’s not ready yet.
#6 - STATMAGEDDON
We’ve got daily dashboards, weekly updates, cherry-picked stats and tracker-palooza. But what are the actual facts? As people get pinballed by numbers, feels like data-led marketing is drowning us.
Dodge it: Pick three metrics that matter and focus. A long, a short and dealer’s choice… that’s plenty.
#7 - THE QUEST FOR THE SILVER BULLET
When times get tight, everyone hunts something to fix it. That perfect prop, that magic campaign. A silver bullet solve that will change the game. Spoiler alert: there isn't one.
Dodge it: Innovation is awesome. But wins are in inches, not miracles. Silver bullets rarely nail the werewolf.
ON NEW WAYS OF WORKING…
What started as lead-in for ‘how do we work better?’ quickly became code for ‘can we do more with less?’ Either way we like the alliteration. Here’s thoughts:
#8 - EXECUTION EXHAUSTION
With teams tuned into tools and driving execution, marketers are busier than ever. It’s a back-to-back blur of make it, tweak it, ship it – feels like no-one has the headspace to think.
Dodge it: Ruthlessly block out your focus time. And go for walks.
#9 - AGENCY REMODELLING
As clients scoop up the tools and talent to execute campaigns in-house, agencies are caught in an existential navel gaze and a gradual thinning of troops. So ask not what you could do for your clients. But what your clients can’t do without you.
Dodge it: If you can shove stuff through a robot, your client can do that too.
#10 - FRAGILE FADEOUT
Agile grew into something it hated. Bureaucracy gone mad. Stand ups slowed us down, dotted line roles netted dotted line results and sprints are just a euphemism for slog. The great white hope for efficiency is finally fading out.
Dodge it: If it’s process over progress, just kill it.
#11 - THE SPECIALIST SHUFFLE
Back in the day we all had different jobs. Tech people, craft people, strat people and more. These days everyone does a bit of everything. This is great for those who love to learn. But tricky if you’ve never swung a hammer.
Dig in: Generalists are gold in the age of robot. But keep specialists close. You can’t google experience.
#12 - THE OVERLAP TRAP
Service drives experience. Marketing is sales. Data drives decisions and technology’s an octopus. Makes it hard to know where marketing starts and stops. It’s tricky.
Dodge it: Draw up the org-chart and pick a lane. Choose metrics others can’t stuff.
#13 - 40-HOUR FRICTION
Everybody’s stacked all week – then tumbleweeds on Fridays. Could that be where the capacity’s gone? Maybe Friday is universal catch up day? Or have we made a stealthy-switch to the 4-day work week?
Dodge it: If you’ve done your stuff, no one cares when. Usually.
ON MIXING UP THE MEDIA…
Media keeps moving and spawning new channels. But fundamental rules apply: the more you spend the more you get, and the smarts are all in the mix.
#14 - THE HUNGRY FUNNEL
65% of adspend now pours into digital clickery. We love it because we can count it. But you can't harvest what you didn't plant. Performance without brand is just renting attention.
Dig in: Keep going long to make memories that stick. People buy from brands they like.
#15 - THE CREATOR CONNECTION
As the Influencer economy starts losing its shine, humans chase creators who make interesting stuff. Turns out micro-creators with actual audiences beat macro-celebrities phoning it in.
Dig in: Don't chase eyeballs, follow audiences.
#16 - RADIO YA YA
Ever noticed how your radio mates crop up in conversation? Mike said this. Hayley did that. Radio drops us cultural anchors that land with the reach of broadcast. Those old-school parasocial relationships feel more real.
Dig in: If you're not on the radio, get on the radio. It's where opinions are formed.
#17 - LONG AND SHORT REVIVAL
In an industry that loves to drive with data. It took just over a decade to discover Long and the Short Of It. But finally this science-backed fact has made it to the boardroom and into the marketing mix.
Dig in: Fix the mix. Brand amplifies sales and sales activate brand. Simple.
#18 - LOYALTY LOOP THE LOOP
When Flybuys died with a collective 'meh', we switched to the next big thing. So we now get points, bonuses and boosts pretty much everywhere we buy. But when everyone has a loyalty programme does anyone have loyalty?
Dodge it: Loyalty programmes are icing on the cake. Smarter to invest in better cake.
#19 - PODMODEL SORTED
Most brands have now moved from “Let’s make a podcast” to buying their ears from shows people like. It’s funny when new media explore all the angles and land in the old model: Radio 2.0.
Dig in: The only thing worse than ads in podcasts is terrible podcasts that are 30 minute ads.
#20 - OUTDOOR IMPACT
While traditional media is struggling, outdoor is bucking the trend. Turns out people trust what we write on walls. So in a world of fast facts and fake-believe outdoor makes a mark.
Dig in: Physical presence builds mental presence. If you want to feel real, get out on the street.
ON CUSTOMERS AND CREATIVITY…
Everyone knows our focus point is ‘customer’, and we’re getting way better at focus. And the best work comes wrapped in creative people remember.
#21 - STORYTIME STRIKES BACK
Big brands have started sharing stories again. The banking families, the telco kids, the ad with the ham on the Ute. It's like the old days. And it works. People love it when you make them feel.
Dig in: Keep making stories that stick. Humans like it.
#22 - THE PRIVACY PIVOT
Third-party cookies finally died. Now we can only send spam with permission. This means chatting to people we like about stuff that interests them. Or keep pushing sales and starbursts, but they won’t stay friends for long.
Dig in: Sense check every send for relevance and value. What would your Mum say?
#23 - EMAIL SHRINKAGE
Email’s been a workhorse for over 20 years. It’s cheap, we can count it and it works. So, to celebrate that, we’ve thrashed it half to death. People don’t want essays and junk, they want easy, useful and short.
Dig in: Get in, make ‘em click, get out.
#24 - TIMING BEATS TARGETING
We’ve spent years in a fluster over who will open emails. But the much better question is when. Brands ditching demos to focus on behaviours are way more likely to win. Same inbox. Better clicks.
Dig in: When are your customers most likely to buy? That’s the multiplier.
#25 - CREATIVITY CUTS THROUGH
If you talk about ads with people who don’t make ads, they only ever talk about creative. Quirky characters, unexpected stories, stuff that makes them notice and remember. And ain’t that just the point of what we do?
Dig in: Quality beats quantity for customers. Do less, better.
And that’s our take on 2025. Fun stuff, scary stuff, challenge and opportunity. From wrangling robots to juggling new ways of working, there’s plenty to be proud of. We more than survived 25 – and it’s good to have a shortlist to fix in 26.