2025 was a tumultuous year for marketers, where macroeconomic factors, technology innovations, and cultural touchpoints dramatically shifted the industry.
In a year with so many seismic shifts, some stories and trends stand out. Here are five of our top EMARKETER Daily stories of 2025.
Why it mattered: President Donald Trump's sweeping and fluctuating tariffs have continued to leave marketers in uncharted territory. As brands have attempted to adjust for changing prices, marketing budgets have faced future uncertainty, leaving some planned campaigns and expenses in an ongoing limbo. These shifting budgets have consequently affected media platforms who have had to prepare for fluctuations in ad spending.
Meanwhile, the economic tribulations have made consumers even more cautious, spurring some marketers to shift messaging towards this ongoing landscape and leaving brands to consider what it could mean for their bottom line.
Why it mattered: The dawn of Google Zero, AKA the disruption of ad performance due to increased consumer usage of AI platforms and Google's own AI Overviews, sent shockwaves through the industry this year. Marketers and publishers who saw their clicks and traffic plummet have had to quickly reassess how they should approach campaigns that target every part of the funnel.
This reappraisal of SEO has led to new initialisms like generative engine optimization (GEO), answer engine optimization (AEO), and machine-to-machine marketing (M2M), as marketers race to forge best practices on how to reach consumers in the age of AI.
Why it mattered: AI had a dramatic impact on how marketers work this year in every part of the industry. Through AI, creatives adapted to new written and visual workflows, measurement pros adopted new optimization tools, while strategists learned automation techniques. The technology also revealed new benefits, like providing marketers synthetic audiences.
But AI adoption hasn't been all smooth sailing. As brands dial in what consumers will accept with AI-created ads, some businesses are crediting AI's efficiency for new rounds of layoffs.
LGBTQ+ safety report highlights how social platforms compare in their protections
Why it mattered: Besides tariffs, one of the largest impacts that the White House had on marketing this year was its widespread condemnation on DEI efforts. This led to businesses like T-Mobile scrapping DEI programs, Cracker Barrel putting an old man back in its logo, and others doubling down on their commitment to inclusion.
Brands who abandon DEI have faced consequences this year including economic boycotts and backlash from the heavily valued Gen Z demographic.
Why it mattered: As marketers chase the formats, platforms, and messaging that will mean most to Gen Z, they are already building up strategies to connect with Gen Alpha. As many members of the younger generation enter their teen years, their purchasing power (and influence over their parents) has never been stronger. And with many now entering the workforce, members of Gen Alpha have emerged as fully fledged consumers.
Marketers spent 2025 learning all they could about Gen Alpha, including where they find products, how they use AI, and which channels they trust the most.
This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.