Rethink Everything: We Asked UK Marketers ‘What’s Next?’
From AI disruption to brand decentralisation, marketing insiders weigh in on what to watch, what to fix, and what to double down on in 2025.
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With generative AI changing the way we search, shop, consume, and with attention spans constantly under siege, brands are being forced to rethink everything—from how they show up, to how they stay human.
To get a pulse on what’s coming, we asked three marketing leaders to weigh in on 2025’s defining trends, toughest challenges, and the advice they believe their peers need to hear most right now. Here’s what they said.
Think of this as a mini survival guide to marketing in 2025—from the veterans with their ear to the ground.
TREND WATCH: What Will Shape Marketing in 2025
“Spray and pray hits the target once in a blue moon.”
—Adam Mills, Head of Insight, Loyalty & Strategy, The Wine Society
Relevance is making a comeback—but not in its old, hyper-personalised guise. Adam Mills believes the future lies in a subtler, smarter “1:few” approach. “Consumers are bombarded hourly,” he says, “and cutting through cutting through is harder than ever – appealing to them with something that has a good hook, that is targeted well, and delivers an experience that has meaning is paramount.”
Meanwhile, discoverability itself is evolving. Ian Irving, SEO and ASO specialist at the BBC, points to the shift toward LLM-first search.
Soon, people won’t Google first—they’ll prompt—that flips visibility on its head. “That creates a huge challenge: how do you get your brand or product in front of people when the search engine isn’t a list of links, but a conversation?” says Irving.
Charlotte Fleming, Senior Marketing Manager at Prime Time, sees a brand identity revolution. Decentralisation is key, she explains.
“Customers don’t buy into a brand because of what it says—they buy in because of what it reflects back to them.” The most successful brands will be the ones that can flex across channels while staying emotionally resonant and rooted in purpose, she echoes in her response.
THE CHALLENGE: What’s Holding Marketers Back
A tough market means tough questions. Wallets are tight, competition is fierce, and brand loyalty is fading, says Mills. The challenge for marketers, he adds, is to let go of the assumption that your customer will always be yours. “The belief that ‘we’re good enough’ really isn’t good enough in a world where brand loyalty is waning across every sector and every industry.” We need to shape moments that matter, or risk irrelevance in an experience economy, adds Mills.
Irving highlights another battlefield: fragmentation. “The digital space continues to fracture into distinct, fast-evolving ecosystems,” he says, “each with its own logic, audience norms, and content formats.” The key, he argues, is coherence without uniformity—a consistent brand soul that adapts without diluting.
For Fleming, the AI tidal wave is both a gift and a threat. There’s a tension between balancing AI’s efficiency and brand authenticity, she notes. “We’re seeing a wave of reactive, AI-generated content flood our feeds, but this can have the effect of feeling formulaic and impersonal,” says Fleming, adding that audiences want personality over perfection.
ALSO READ: Why Most Businesses Are Still Struggling to Win with AI
THE ADVICE: What Marketing Leaders Need to Hear
“Stick to the basics. Don’t overcomplicate things. Do right by your customer, and they’ll do right by you.”
—Adam Mills
Back to fundamentals, with a modern twist. Mills urges marketers to keep it simple, but data-informed. “Trust your instincts—but pay attention to insight. And keep fighting the good fight.”
For Irving, it’s about leading by example. “Don’t just think about how your customers use LLMs—use them yourself,” he advises. “We may be standing at the start of another digital transformation—what the web was to the 2000s, LLMs could be to the 2020s and beyond.” The marketers who integrate LLMs into their own workflows now will have a serious edge, Irving suggests.
Fleming puts it bluntly: “Sell the lifestyle, not just the product.” Because in a world overflowing with options, it’s the story—and the emotion—that sticks.
ALSO READ: Ad Dollars Everywhere: How Commerce Media is Rewriting the Rules of Engagement
Takeaway
In 2025, marketers will need to refocus on what really drives results: relevance, consistency, and emotional connection. As discovery habits shift and platforms multiply, staying competitive will mean creating meaningful experiences, showing up with clarity across channels, and using technology—like AI and LLMs—with purpose, not just speed. The fundamentals still matter, but how we apply them is changing fast.
Ian Irving, Adam Mills and Charlotte Fleming will be speakers at the Vibe Marketing Tech Fest in Manchester on July 10, 2025. Register here to hear them speak live.
