2025 through the crystal balll.. With thanks to Thinkhouse

There was a wide range in the responses published last Friday and not all concurred!

Here's a sample:

Martina Byrne, CEO of the Public Relations Institute of Ireland said that in 2025 brands and businesses will ‘Do more listening.’ She said it’s ‘time to reappraise what stakeholders are feeling about their lives, their communities and their consumption of goods and services.' She predicts that there will be more ‘Micro messaging’ as ‘knowledge about audiences and their behaviours will be at a premium’.  She believes that brands and businesses will do ‘Less talking about AI tools and do more upskilling to get the most out of these tools.’ and ‘Less talking about net zero ambitions and do more measuring of the professional services sector emissions.'

Paul Kelly, Marketing Director, Unilever Ireland, said that brands will do ‘more retail media’ in 2025 and ‘less talking about sustainability (and more action on delivering a sustainable future).

Mark Little, Journalist and Entrepreneur, said that 2025 promises ‘More Conversations with Friends and Less Talking to Strangers.’ He advises: ‘As our world becomes swamped with artificial reality, become the trusted human voice in somebody's personal network.’ 

Danny McCoy, CEO IBEC said that in 2025 ‘Brands and Businesses will emphasise Shareholder value more than Stakeholder values as ESG ebbs backward.’

Jane McDaid, Founder & Head of Creative Innovation, THINKHOUSE said; “In a world where our political and cultural ‘power players’ are more extreme in their views, I think brands and businesses will become more polarised in their positioning. In an AI-driven world, I think ‘the human touch’ will decrease in frequency but increase in value.” 

Sharon Walsh, Managing Director, Heineken Ireland predicts that 2025 will bring “More substance, Less Sizzle.”