The biggest marketing shifts of the past 12 months (and what they mean for you)

The last year has seen a huge transformation in how brands approach digital marketing. New technologies, shifting audience expectations and demand from boards to do more with less have left professionals rushing to deal with an environment that’s almost unrecognisable from what they were used to in previous years.

In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say the landscape has shifted more in the last 12 months than in the previous five years. If you’re still using the same tactics as in 2024, you might as well be trying to reach audiences via telegram.

How brands handle this new environment will be critical in determining success or failure for 2025 and beyond, so it’s vital you’re up to speed on what’s changed. With this in mind, we’ve put together our list of five of the biggest shifts in marketing over the past year, based on our own experiences and what we hear from clients. Here’s what you need to know.

Shift 1: AI and automation go mainstream

AI is everywhere in 2025 – and the marketing department is no exception. Indeed, according to research by SurveyMonkey, 88 percent of marketers now rely on AI in their current jobs. Whether it’s AI-written blog content and social posts, automated campaigns or in-depth data analytics for faster, more accurate decision-making, this technology is now deeply embedded into marketers’ day-to-day activities. 

However, it’s how they use this that will separate the best-performing companies from the rest. For instance, it’s vital that companies keep a human hand on the wheel to ensure they can boost productivity while still maintaining tone, accuracy and creativity.

Shift 2: The impact of Search Generative Experience on SEO

AI isn’t just in use within businesses – its impact on how audiences discover brands is also profound. The rise of Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) and its use of AI summaries, topic overviews and answers mean traditional SEO tactics are no longer enough.

We’re already starting to see the effect of this with our clients – but there are opportunities as well as challenges. To adapt to this new search landscape, brands need to shift their SEO strategy to focus on authority, user intent and building structured clusters of content that directly answer user queries.

Shift 3: Content fatigue and the demand for quality

Many marketers have become used to the idea that frequent, relevant new content is essential for engaging audiences, but in recent times, the sheer volume of information available means this may now be doing more harm than good. Audiences are increasingly experiencing ‘content fatigue’ and tuning out less-relevant messages. For instance, figures from Optimove suggest 70 per cent of consumers have unsubscribed from at least three brands in the past three months due to excessive messaging. 

This means brands have to focus on quality over quantity: fewer, higher-value assets that respect users’ time and can be repurposed for different channels in order to ensure engagement.

Shift 4: Integrated campaigns replace siloed tactics

Are you still running SEO and PPC campaigns in isolation? If so, your strategy is well past its use-by date. Today’s campaigns demand a closely integrated approach that treats each touchpoint as just one part of the wider user journey. This means breaking away from siloed marketing to develop a unified approach that covers paid and organic strategies and uses content across multiple channels to guide audiences through the entire funnel, from awareness to conversion.

Shift 5: ROI scrutiny and marketing efficiency

With budgets tight, board members need to know exactly how much bang they’re getting for their marketing buck. With every investment under the microscope, marketers have to prove a positive ROI. This means strong analytics, detailed reporting and regular reviews that show real-world results – not just vanity metrics.

The changes of the last 12 months certainly present major challenges to marketers – but also opportunities. Those that are able to adapt quickly and tap into the expertise of knowledgeable partners like Axonn stand well-placed to get ahead of brands still using legacy approaches.

Want to know more about the shifts in marketing in 2025 and what they mean for your next campaign? Get in touch with Axonn today.