2025 US Marketing Trends

Liz Predicts Trends for 2025

Original post can be found here.

We sat down with Liz Bateman Grove, Director of Marketing at Highlands, to explore her top marketing trends for 2025. From emerging technology to evolving consumer behaviors, here are six trends she believes will define the future of marketing.

Consumer Fatigue

Scrolling through TikTok in the US feels a lot like walking through Times Square right now. Ads everywhere with voices shouting for attention. Every few swipes, there’s another ad, often followed by an influencer overtly pitching the same product. It’s hard not to feel like the whole experience is just one continuous sales pitch.

“At some point, it stops being fun and starts feeling like work to dodge the noise,” said Liz. “If this keeps up, I imagine people getting fed up, maybe even tuning out altogether.”

Social Media or E-commerce Platform?

Along the same vein, social media is the modern shopping mall. Every platform wants to be the next Amazon. From livestreams that feel like home shopping channels to ads that take you straight to checkout, the line between browsing for fun and shopping is almost gone.

“It’s convenient, sure, but it also changes the vibe,” said Liz. “What used to feel like a place to connect with friends or discover cool stuff now feels more transactional, less about community and more about conversion. At some point, I believe people will miss the old version of social. Or, more likely, they’ll want a new version altogether.”

The Politics of Authenticity

2025 is shaping up to be a political minefield, and businesses will once again face the question: “Speak up or stay out of it?” The safe route – staying neutral – is tempting, especially when the backlash for taking a stand can be loud and messy (i.e., Nike and Kaepernick or Bud Light and Mulvaney). But neutrality on politics or other controversial topics can also feel hollow, especially if your brand has values that align with the conversations people care about most.

“The reality is, connecting on an issue that genuinely matters to your company and your audience isn’t about chasing trends or virtue signaling,” said Liz. “It’s about showing up authentically. Sure, it’s risky, but done right, it can create trust and loyalty that no ad spend could ever buy.”

One with Mother Earth

No, we’re not talking about sustainability this time. Mocha Mousse as Pantone’s 2025 color of the year feels like a collective exhale. It’s grounded, warm, and earthy – almost like it’s inviting us to slow down and reconnect.

“The last two years have been softer colors after the neon Gen Z Yellow in 2021 and the boring Classic Blue of 2020,” said Liz. “This feels like a nod to something deeper. People are craving that sense of balance, of being rooted in something steady. It’s not just a color; it’s a mood – a subtle push toward nature, relaxation, and creating spaces where we can feel a little more human and a little less wired.”

AI Backlash

Speaking of being more human, Liz believes we will see more AI backlash. Not just legislatively speaking, but the everyday consumer who can tell when something was created by an AI.

“As a copywriter myself, I am frustrated with overused AI phrases and can spot them almost instantly. Such and such product or service is a game-changer! – Okay, but is it?” said Liz. “Don’t get me wrong, I am much more productive when using AI as a creative tool, but the cut-and-paste convenience of AI shouldn’t rule out authenticity.”

Without the human touch to shape, refine, and inject some soul into it, we’re left with a sea of sameness. People want something that feels real, not recycled.

Next Level AI Advertising

Liz identifies three areas within AI with the greatest growth potential in 2025: Data, Design, and, ultimately, Advertising. AI is making predictive analytics accessible to almost everyone, not just by analyzing past behavior but by helping forecast trends and outcomes in real-time.

As AI advances in Design, it’s getting remarkably better at creating life-like imagery and video, so we’ll see product content created faster and cheaper (see our recent Highlands Thinking episode Amazon Unboxed detailing Amazon’s new AI Creative Studio).

“I’m especially excited to see how both AI Data and Design will impact Advertising,” said Liz. “It won’t just craft visually appealing content but will understand audiences so deeply that it can tailor everything to their exact preferences and behaviors. We’re approaching a pivotal moment where AI won’t simply assist – it will create, predict, and personalize with unprecedented accuracy.

With all these advances, the standard for advertising, and marketing as a whole, will increase. Good is no longer good enough. Great is the baseline. Marketing excellence will be something entirely new – something we can’t even imagine yet.”

Authentic vs Artificial

We’ve discussed the evolving role of AI and the ever-growing desire for authenticity. Will the future belong to the brands that embrace cutting-edge technology, those that double down on human connection, or some unexpected combination of the two?

“It’s a fascinating duplicity,” said Liz. “AI has the potential to create hyper-personalized, data-driven content at a scale we’ve never seen, while consumers are craving the kind of raw, unfiltered honesty that only humans can deliver. The tug-of-war between what’s perfectly curated and what’s imperfectly real may define the next era of marketing.”