Issue #46: Brand Baby's 2025 Marketing Trend Predictions
What I think is going to be big in marketing & brand this year… 🔮
Happy new year! I hope yesterday was a rotting day for you, but today you’re feeling inspired and motivated to crush it in 2025. In case you missed it, last week I wrote about what’s in store for Brand Baby in the new year. I’m super excited for this new chapter! Thanks for coming along.
I’m kicking off my first issue of 2025 talking about my top 5 marketing and brand predictions for the year. Let’s dive in!
#1: Long-Form Content
To kick us off, I’m feeling bullish about the popularity of long-form content in 2025. Video content, written content, audio content – all of it. I think that our endless short-form content scroll is starting to take its toll, and we’re going to start seeking out more long-form content. There’s also the potential for a TikTok ban (though that’s seeming increasingly less likely), which would be another factor in the potential rise of long-form content.
Already, we're seeing brands invest in native long-form channels like YouTube, Spotify, and Substack. We’ve also seen heightened buzz around influencer podcasts, particularly as creators film their conversations for Spotify and YouTube. It was really fascinating to witness the role of podcast interviews in the election this past fall, and I imagine that podcasts will continue to wield significant influence in the coming years, and brands will capitalize on it with audio ads and branded podcasts.
“I think we'll continue to see brands investing in Substack and looking for other platforms. TikTok's future is so uncertain and the quality of content on there seems to have taken a hit post-election as the trolls flee Twitter and start spreading conspiracy theories on TikTok. As a consumer/human being, I'm hoping we can distance ourselves from social media and our phones but that's probably wishful thinking.” –
’s anonymous 2025 predictions surveyI’m also excited to observe the future of long-form written content on platforms like Substack and Beehiv in the upcoming year, and how brands will utilize these platforms to create valuable thought leadership content. One way that I see this phenomenon playing out is with brand leaders, founders, and CEOs launching their own Substack publications. I predict that establishing a voice for your brand through long-form content, specifically from a brand voice or leader, is going to be really impactful, which leads us to my next prediction…
#2: People As the New Brands
I’ve been thinking a lot about a piece that Ed Elson recently wrote a great piece for No Mercy / No Malice called ‘People are the new brands.’ Influencers, CEOs, employees, podcasters – they’re the brand now. I think that we’re going to see people really start leaning into this. Yes, brands will continue to invest in powerful individual creators, whether that be in podcast ads or influencer partnerships, but I also think that founders will continue to create quality content around themselves.
More founders will launch Substacks to document how they’ve started and grown their brands, or show up on social media to talk about their entrepreneurial journey and business strategy. Bala co-founder and CEO
just started here on Substack, and I’m already a fan of founders like (Ghia) and (Nasty Gal, Business Class) on the platform.#3: IRL Activations & Communities
As people continue to seek out in-person experiences and communities, I think that brands will continue to activate IRL and build communities around their ethos and products. I love watching ski apparel brand Halfdays do community hike and ski meet-ups across the country, kind of in an old-school Outdoor Voices way.
But beyond community groups, I think that other analog forms of marketing are going to continue to be big: pop-up houses, print magazines, etc. This is also a great opportunity for brand partnerships to activate. How fun would it be if SKIMS partnered with Hello Sunshine on a book club to discuss books about women and their bodies?!
#4: Handmade, Local Products
I expect that the over-saturation of products due to AI and fast fashion (which go hand-in-hand), will result in an inclination towards products that are handmade, local, sustainable, and high-quality – specifically in fashion but also in homeware, art, etc.
Some people will be more willing to pay a premium for high-quality, well-designed products, not only because they’re better and last longer, but also because they’ll become a form of cultural capital and a way to signify taste in an increasingly oversaturated, commoditized world.
#5: Prioritizing the customer
Remember when influencer trips were a big thing? Well, I’m hoping that brands have realized that those were stupid, and that customers should be the first priority. Give your customers amazing, valuable experiences. Take them on trips. Or, just create really fun, personalized customer interactions and engagements – in-store, on social media, etc. Again, this goes back to #3 and #4 because people love people, and no one wants AI replacing personal interactions and in-person experiences, nor do we want our closets to be replaced by AI-designed Shein tops.
Let me know what you think about these predictions or if you have anything to add. Thanks for reading, and see you on Sunday for our first-ever Brand Bite Sunday edition (!!). xx
Great list! Very here for the rise of long form content. Also think the brand founder as content conduit is bang-on. I’m loving Crown Affair founder Dianna Cohen’s Substack which does a great job of transmitting the brand lifestyle ethos through her voice.