ABSTRACT
Against a backdrop of continued economic and political instability and rapid technological transformation, the future of marketing is shaped by the intersection of two powerful forces. On the one hand the future consumers’ use of the empowering technologies and responses to the choices available to them will determine how far they will want to be in control of their interactions with brands. Juxtaposed with this is the brand owners’ decisions about where to focus their efforts between a back-to-basics emphasis on the quality of products and services and the need to create strong emotional ties to bind consumers close.
This analysis creates four distinct scenarios for the future of marketing in 2025 that both brands and agencies can use to shape their strategies. The opportunity this provides is to use the contrasting narratives to rehearse options for how to create new and profitable ways of doing business. The intention is that this study provides the basis for a worthwhile discussion about the kind of partnerships to develop to mutual benefit. Agencies need to invest in their ability to continue delivering a broader type of commercial creativity in the changing environment. Brands, who are moving towards the necessity of a seamless customer experience across all touch points, need to look at how they can best deploy and support their agency partners to deliver real creativity within their changing imperatives.
