Advertising and marketing is a wild journey – traits flip in a single day, and it’s a relentless recreation of catch-up. In 2025 , it’s essential to know the place to focus and what roadblocks may lie forward.
That’s why I dug into the largest challenges entrepreneurs expect subsequent 12 months and how one can deal with them, utilizing insights from:
300+ international advertising leaders who took our Annual Advertising and marketing Technique & Tendencies survey
500+ U.S. advertising leaders who participated in our Government Advertising and marketing Management Survey
Unique interviews and insights from Microsoft, ZoomInfo, and Sprout Social leaders.
Desk of Contents
The Greatest Challenges International Advertising and marketing Leaders Anticipate to Face in 2025
Adopting a data-driven advertising technique.
Integrating AI into advertising workflows.
Mastering the transition to short-form video content material.
Bridging the personalization hole in buyer experiences.
Overcoming challenges with content material advertising.
Aligning the proper influencers along with your viewers.
Optimizing content material via strategic pruning for higher search engine optimisation.
Discovering the steadiness between creativity and information.
Pivoting throughout sudden shifts in shopper conduct.
Adapting to information privateness laws.
Aligning product positioning throughout groups.
Synchronizing campaigns throughout a number of channels.
1. Adopting a data-driven advertising technique.
Why It is a Problem
Entrepreneurs are leaning extra towards behavioral information, like content material consumption and buying habits, but it surely’s robust to steadiness that with conventional demographic data.
With 33.43% specializing in content material habits and 31.77% on demographics, it’s clear that understanding not simply who your viewers is however how they act is getting extra difficult.
What are you able to do?
To remain forward, entrepreneurs have to combine each behavioral and demographic insights into their technique. Perceive how your viewers consumes content material and retailers.
Microsoft’s International Head of Programmatic Evangelist, Daniel Godoy, instructed me that it‘s vital entrepreneurs hold first-party information in thoughts in the event that they’re aiming to broaden their attain in 2025.
“Entrepreneurs really feel the strain to win the advertisements race in a wild WWW. Throughout this race, it is value mentioning that shopper media conduct is altering, and promoting methods, too,” he mentioned. “With the cookies deprecation coming (though it has been delayed by Google), it ought to be on our radar that no less than 40% of browsers at the moment do not get indicators.”
Godoy provides, “Shaping your technique by leveraging 1P or 3P trustable information turns into essential to broaden potential attain and begin piloting your information technique for the long run.”
First-party information can finally show you how to make sure you’re reaching the proper audiences along with your advertisements and turning these audiences into high-quality leads.
When you‘ve outlined your audiences and correctly segmented them, you’ll must develop distinctive messaging that resonates along with your prospects.
2. Integrating AI into advertising workflows.
Why It is a Problem
AI is a life-saver, however a whole lot of entrepreneurs are nonetheless determining how one can benefit from it.
Although 52.76% of respondents in our survey say they perceive how one can use AI and 53.73% can measure its influence, comparable percentages point out a major hole in each understanding and making use of AI successfully.
Moreover, SurveyMonkey discovered that 69% of selling execs are pumped about AI and the way it’s altering their jobs, whereas 17% really feel a mixture of pleasure and fear.
On prime of that, 60% are feeling actually good about the place the business is headed, and simply 1% are tremendous pessimistic. Total, the sensation is optimistic.
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What are you able to do?
To shut the information hole, entrepreneurs must sharpen each their technical know-how and their potential to trace and measure outcomes.
40% of companies have already made a proactive transfer by bringing in specialised AI specialists to enhance their advertising efforts.
Deal with studying how one can implement AI and analyze its influence.
3. Mastering the transition to short-form video content material.
Why It is a Problem
Video is stealing the highlight in advertising, particularly short-form content material on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. LinkedIn not falls behind, too.
The true problem for entrepreneurs is maintaining with the shift towards social video, the place youthful audiences are turning to have interaction with manufacturers greater than on search engines like google and yahoo. So that you’ve bought to be fast and good about creating content material that captures consideration.
What are you able to do?
Ramp up your give attention to short-form video — it’s anticipated to see probably the most development in 2025.
Use social listening and sentiment analyzing instruments to determine the questions your viewers is asking, and have your content material group develop content material that resonates.
Even higher, faucet into your model advocates to assist share the solutions, increasing your attain and credibility.
4. Bridging the personalization hole in buyer experiences.
Why It is a Problem
56.35% of entrepreneurs agree that advertising has modified extra up to now three years than within the final fifty. That’s large.
The most important shift? The demand for customized content material. Whereas 65% of customers say model content material feels relatable, solely 35% of entrepreneurs consider their clients are literally experiencing true personalization.
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Although 65% of entrepreneurs declare to have high-quality viewers information, it’s clear many aren’t utilizing it successfully to construct stronger, extra significant connections with their audiences.
What are you able to do?
To shut this hole, double down on utilizing your information extra successfully:
Enhance viewers segmentation by dividing customers into micro-segments.
Scale up personalization — craft advert messages that talk to micro-segments’ wishes and fears.
A/B check and refine creatives.
5. Overcoming challenges with content material advertising.
Why It is a Problem
Discovering contemporary concepts for brand new content material tops the checklist of struggles, with 16% of entrepreneurs agreeing on it. In flip, 16% of entrepreneurs outline it difficult to create content material that drives excessive ranges of on-line engagement — like clicks, shares, and feedback.
For 15% of entrepreneurs, growing content material that draws extra site visitors to their web site is a serious problem.
What are you able to do?
Tip #1: Lean into E-E-A-T
To obtain extra clicks, “Your content material technique should begin with what customers want, not what’s best for you. Should you take a look at current Google updates, you’ll discover that Google has been refining what “useful content material” means and prioritizing the “E” for “expertise” in E-E-A-T.
Your content material should be private, show expertise, and handle actual wants. And also you’re already enjoying catch-up.” — Ben Steele, Senior Editor at Search Engine Journal
Tip #2: Create higher headlines.
To drive preliminary site visitors from the online, work in your headline sharpness. A Danish information outlet, TV 2 Fyn, carried out A/B exams to enhance CTR utilizing ChatGPT to generate headlines. Over three weeks, they ran 46 A/B exams. AI-generated headlines received 46% of the exams, whereas human-created headlines received 24%.
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An ideal learn: Is AI-Generated Content material Good for search engine optimisation?: 300+ Internet Strategists Weigh In
Tip #3: Social listening.
To idiate, lean into social listening (aka research thematic subreddits, X, Threads, LinkedIn feedback, and so forth). You may also automate this work with AI instruments.
Plus, put your viewers’s wants first — a single matter might be coated in a number of methods with distinctive angles for every.
Check new content material codecs with video embeds, infographics, or interactive quizzes.
6. Aligning the proper influencers along with your viewers.
Why It is a Problem
Influencer advertising can backfire if the influencer doesn’t align along with your viewers’s wants. Maris Laatre, CMO of Bully Max, recounts a marketing campaign:
“Whereas we bought good engagement, the gross sales didn’t match up … we realized that the influencers weren’t talking on to our core viewers.”
The correct message paired with the proper viewers is essential for conversions.
What are you able to do?
Maris emphasizes the significance of specializing in influencers whose viewers matches your goal market, fairly than simply the scale of their following.
Additionally, the influencer’s message ought to be genuine and resonate with their followers in any other case it’ll simply be a waste of cash and vitality.
And keep in mind, micro-influencers will usually carry you far more advantages than the massive ones.
7. Optimizing content material via strategic pruning for higher search engine optimisation.
Why is it a problem?
Deciding to prune or merge a good portion of your content material is a high-stakes choice for any advertising group. It’s not nearly reducing low-performing pages — it’s about taking a calculated danger. Entrepreneurs should weigh the lack of current site visitors (even when small) in opposition to the potential for long-term development.
Emilia Korczynska shared a terrific put up on this matter. Userpilot eliminated 23% of their weblog content material, equal to $261,443 in manufacturing prices, and pages that drove over 24,000 guests in 2024 alone. But, this led to a 16% improve in customer’s rely.
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What are you able to do?
Take a data-driven strategy to determine what content material to prune. Emilia’s technique highlights key steps:
Deal with underperforming content material — posts with low conversions, minimal site visitors, or outdated relevance.
Consolidate duplicate or redundant posts to cut back cannibalization and enhance search intent alignment.
Take away content material optimized for key phrases with zero or low search quantity.
Consider backlinks and prioritize pages that add measurable worth.
8. Discovering the steadiness between creativity and information.
Why It is a Problem
The stress between creativity and information is a problem many entrepreneurs face. Roland Jakob from BlazeKin.Media explains: “Early on, I leaned closely into analytics, considering numbers alone would cleared the path. However I noticed that creativity usually speaks a language information can’t quantify — no less than not instantly.”
What are you able to do?
Mix information with storytelling. “Throughout my time at Pagnolia, our marketing campaign with a refined message didn’t resonate with the viewers till we pivoted to a extra uncooked, story-driven strategy. This shift turned the marketing campaign into one in every of our most partaking, leading to a 30% enhance inside six months” continues Roland.
He additionally suggests utilizing so-called “buyer co-creation.” By bringing clients into the method — not simply as consumers, however as collaborators — manufacturers can construct stronger loyalty and create campaigns that resonate extra deeply.
9. Pivoting throughout sudden shifts in shopper conduct.
Why It is a Problem
17.54% of entrepreneurs say maintaining with quickly altering buyer behaviors is one in every of their largest challenges.
Client conduct can change in a single day, and the pandemic was an ideal instance. Maris from Bully Max recollects: “When the pandemic hit, we noticed an sudden rise in pet adoption… we needed to pivot shortly and scale up our messaging.”
What are you able to do?
Keep agile throughout such shifts to grab new alternatives and scrutinize behavioral analytics.
10. Adapting to information privateness laws.
Why It is a Problem
Information privateness laws are continually evolving as effectively, making it difficult for entrepreneurs to remain compliant.
The perfect instance is a current state of affairs that occurred in a single Belgian firm. A former worker requested for her picture to be faraway from the corporate web site six months after leaving.
The picture included her identify, place, and a gaggle shot. Underneath GDPR Article 17, folks have the proper to have their private information, together with images, deleted when there’s no legitimate motive for preserving them or if consent is withdrawn.
The employer didn’t comply, so the info safety authority stepped in and ordered the picture to be eliminated immediately.
What are you able to do?
Keep knowledgeable on new laws unfolding and be additional cautious with campaigns. Big articles shall be buzzed about on social media, so your job is to get the gist and act on it.
Fines are excessive for violating these guidelines, so it is necessary to remain vigilant.
11. Aligning product positioning throughout groups.
Why It is a Problem
I guess this level provides you shivers. Cus who hasn’t suffered from gross sales and advertising groups clashing over lead high quality, lead nurturing, you identify it?
Our analysis additionally highlights that corporations with aligned gross sales and advertising groups are 103% extra more likely to beat their objectives than corporations that aren’t aligned.
However wait, there’s extra. Product groups can even have their very own perspective, including insult to damage.
Altogether results in discrepancies in messaging and creates confusion each internally and externally.
What are you able to do?
A easy remedy is to have all groups on the identical web page by sharing insights, marketing campaign efficiency and gross sales outcomes and refining the message collectively.
12. Synchronizing campaigns throughout a number of channels.
Why It is a Problem
A serious setback in advertising campaigns usually occurs when different advertising channels don’t align with the first marketing campaign goals, which occurred to Kognic.
“Our web site marketing campaign designed to drive conversions didn’t succeed as a result of we hadn’t constructed concurrent messaging with sufficient scale on our earned and paid channels on the similar time,” shares Steven Spieczny, VP of Advertising and marketing at Kognic.
Briefly, this lack of synchronization meant missed alternatives to create a seamless expertise throughout all touchpoints.
What are you able to do?
Whether or not it’s paid advertisements, social media, or electronic mail campaigns, every channel ought to ship the identical message with unified objectives.
Second, coordinate the timing and messaging throughout all touchpoints to construct a stronger, extra constant buyer expertise.
High U.S. Advertising and marketing Government Challenges
Whereas international and U.S.-based individuals from each of our current research anticipate the same checklist of challenges, the best way they’re prioritizing them shifts when sampling simply U.S.-based executives.
Strategic blockers like making data-driven choices, maintaining with traits, and content material pivots are top-of-mind for entrepreneurs.
In the meantime, U.S. leaders polled in our Government Advertising and marketing survey are centered on the underside line. They’re making ready for monetary challenges like producing income, securing funds, and sales-marketing alignment.
This isn’t stunning. Whereas many international locations are in a time of monetary uncertainty following the pandemic, the U.S. has confronted a number of contradicting information stories about whether or not we’re or aren’t in a recession.
With this in thoughts, advertising leaders are centered on saving sources, making certain they get the cash they want, and justifying their work, headcount, or investments by exhibiting income attribution or business-wide influence.
Fortunately, whether or not you are coping with any of the worldwide or U.S.-based challenges, a lot of them might be navigated with the insights and takeaways above, equivalent to:
Accumulating the most effective analytics attainable to make data-backed choices, ideally by merging first-party information and GDPR-approved third-party information.
Realizing how your purchaser is constant to evolve. You may also use information and sales-marketing alignment to remain in contact with what your clients and audiences are specializing in.
Guaranteeing that you simply strategy advertising methods or investments strategically by asking your self, “What’s the ROI, enterprise influence, or income alternative right here?”
Getting ready to pivot. The one fixed factor in advertising is change and many people have already began working backup or pivot-planning into our methods for when traits or circumstances round us change all of a sudden.
Constructing a terrific employer model. By doing so, you may appeal to all kinds of selling expertise who can navigate lots of the challenges above.
Get Contained in the Minds of Right this moment’s Advertising and marketing Leaders
As a marketer and partnership supervisor myself, I can inform you that there’s no scarcity of challenges. However, we’re employed to resolve the riddles.
Considering different prime challenges, traits, and alternatives that advertising leaders are specializing in, or wish to learn to construct techniques that can get you visibility by fixing their ache factors? Examine our our newest report on govt management priorities.
Editor’s word: This put up was initially revealed in October 2022 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.