2025 promises to be another exciting and disruptive year for digital advertising, with Connected TV (CTV), AI and privacy dominating the headlines. Here’s how I see things shaping up.
The end of cookies and the rise of privacy-first advertising
As third-party cookies continue to be phased out, 2025 marks a full transition to a privacy-first ecosystem. First-party data, contextual targeting and consent-based data strategies are now foundational.
This presents a number of opportunities for advertisers. The first is to be able to target more effectively by building stronger direct relationships with consumers, using first-party data through CRM systems, and enhancing customer loyalty programs. While brands build out their first-party data strategies, they can also leverage AI’s advances in understanding context to reach relevant audiences without requiring invasive tracking.
We will also see a move towards alternative, privacy-centric metrics focused on engagement, long-term customer value and sentiment over immediate conversions.
CTV surpasses linear TV
Linear TV will continue to decline in 2025 as CTV’s flexibility and targeting capabilities attract more ad dollars. Data-driven CTV allows advertisers to reach audiences with greater precision and tailored messaging, including younger, tech-savvy viewers who are unreachable through linear TV. Audience-first platforms like Targetcast enable granular targeting by interests, behaviours, and location, aligning ads more closely with individual preferences. And from a measurement perspective, CTV provides advertisers with real-time analytics on engagement, conversions and brand lift, enabling refined, data-backed ROI tracking.
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Data, insight and attribution become more sophisticated and reliable
Attribution models will continue to evolve to be more holistic, integrating cross-channel data to offer a complete picture of the customer journey.
The availability of more reliable first-party data will enable advertisers to develop unified, comprehensive customer profiles, improving the accuracy of attribution and enabling more targeted campaigns.
Cross-channel attribution will also improve as advanced attribution models help advertisers understand the impact of each touchpoint. AI- and ML-driven insights will help identify high-value engagements and optimise ad spend more precisely. AI-powered analytics will also support predictive insights, enabling proactive adjustments to campaigns for improved performance.
AI and Machine Learning (ML) become core campaign drivers
AI and ML will continue to reshape ad tech, impacting everything from personalisation to real-time campaign optimization and creative generation. Advertisers will be empowered to deliver hyper-personalised ads, tailored to specific audience segments, at scale. Real-time behaviour analysis will also allow for greater relevance, enhancing engagement and conversions. ML will predict outcomes and automate in-flight optimizations, saving time and budget while improving campaign impact on the fly. Meanwhile, generative AI will enable faster, high-quality creative production, allowing advertisers to respond quickly to trends, maintain relevance, and target different segments with the most appropriate messages and visuals.
Personalisation prevails, even in a privacy-first world
While personalisation remains a priority, achieving it in a privacy-centric ecosystem will require advertisers to rely more on predictive analytics and contextual data. This will lead to segmented content strategies, where brands focus on creating content that resonates with broad audience needs, while using contextual signals to deliver relevant ads.
We will also see a rise in empathetic and value-based messaging as advertisers recognise that consumers are increasingly responsive to brands that understand and resonate with their personal values. In 2025, personalisation will extend to delivering value-driven messaging at scale.
AI-driven contextual personalization will allow brands to tailor messaging based on real-time conditions, offering personalised experiences, while respecting user privacy. This is an important opportunity, given that, according to eMarketer, 56% of consumers expect offers always to be personalised.
Sustainability, ethics and transparency become important brand differentiators
Consumers are paying more attention to sustainability, and digital advertising will continue to adjust to align with these values. Advertisers can achieve their sustainability goals by optimising programmatic media buys, using greener tech, selecting energy-efficient platforms, embracing virtual production and minimising travel for shoots. And as AI tools become central to ad campaigns, ethical use and transparent data practices are vital. Brands will look to communicate these values in order to increase consumer trust and loyalty.
Even in the age of AI, the human touch wins out
As technology advances, maintaining the creative, human touch will become increasingly important. AI can assist creativity, but the authenticity of human-led creative decisions remains invaluable. Creatives will use AI-generated ideas and content to allow them to work faster and ideate with greater precision while still retaining the art of storytelling.
We will also see increased use of virtual and augmented reality to create immersive, interactive ad experiences that blend art and science, enhancing engagement and brand recall. And, with digital platforms emphasising data and analytics, storytelling will become a powerful way to connect emotionally, making the brand narrative as vital as the data-driven insights guiding it.
Voice activation, social commerce and decentralisation are hot topics in 2025
As voice tech matures, we will see more brands connecting with audiences through smart speakers and voice-enabled devices, offering a personalised, hands-free ad experience. Social commerce will also continue to grow in importance as social platforms evolve into shopping hubs. In 2025, seamless in-app purchases will make social commerce an essential channel, with brands crafting shoppable content for a direct path-to-purchase.
And blockchain technology may enable decentralised ad networks that empower consumers to manage their data, allowing advertisers to interact with an engaged, willing audience while respecting privacy.
Embracing change for success in 2025
As we head into 2025, digital advertising is embracing a future shaped by data privacy, innovation, sustainability, and creativity. Advertisers who adapt to these trends and use the latest tools will not only reach consumers more effectively, but will also build stronger, more enduring connections. By balancing data with creativity, privacy with personalization, and innovation with ethics, brands can create impactful, future-ready strategies.