Advertising is a wild journey – tendencies flip in a single day, and it’s a continuing recreation of catch-up. In 2025 , it’s essential to know the place to focus and what roadblocks would possibly lie forward.
That’s why I dug into the largest challenges entrepreneurs predict subsequent 12 months and methods to deal with them, utilizing insights from:
- 300+ world advertising leaders who took our Annual Advertising Technique & Traits survey
- 500+ U.S. advertising leaders who participated in our Govt Advertising Management Survey
- Unique interviews and insights from Microsoft, ZoomInfo, and Sprout Social leaders.
Desk of Contents
The Greatest Challenges International Advertising Leaders Count on 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 best influencers together with your viewers.
- Optimizing content material by means of strategic pruning for higher website positioning.
- Discovering the stability between creativity and knowledge.
- Pivoting throughout surprising shifts in client habits.
- Adapting to knowledge 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 knowledge, like content material consumption and buying habits, however it’s powerful to stability 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 sophisticated.
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, informed me that it‘s vital entrepreneurs hold first-party knowledge in thoughts in the event that they’re aiming to develop their attain in 2025.
“Entrepreneurs really feel the stress to win the advertisements race in a wild WWW. Throughout this race, it is value mentioning that client media habits is altering, and promoting methods, too,” he mentioned. “With the cookies deprecation coming (though it has been delayed by Google), it needs to be on our radar that no less than 40% of browsers immediately do not get indicators.”
Godoy provides, “Shaping your technique by leveraging 1P or 3P trustable knowledge turns into essential to develop potential attain and begin piloting your knowledge technique for the long run.”
First-party data can in the end make it easier to make sure you’re reaching the best audiences together with your advertisements and turning these audiences into high-quality leads.
When you‘ve outlined your audiences and correctly segmented them, you’ll have to develop distinctive messaging that resonates together with your prospects.
2. Integrating AI into advertising workflows.
Why It is a Problem
AI is a life-saver, however numerous entrepreneurs are nonetheless determining methods to benefit from it.
Though 52.76% of respondents in our survey say they perceive methods to use AI and 53.73% can measure its impression, related percentages point out a big hole in each understanding and making use of AI successfully.
Moreover, SurveyMonkey found that 69% of selling professionals are pumped about AI and the way it’s altering their jobs, whereas 17% really feel a mixture of pleasure and fear.
On high of that, 60% are feeling actually good about the place the trade is headed, and simply 1% are tremendous pessimistic. General, the sensation is optimistic.
What are you able to do?
To shut the information hole, entrepreneurs have to sharpen each their technical know-how and their capacity to trace and measure outcomes.
40% of companies have already made a proactive transfer by bringing in specialised AI consultants to enhance their advertising efforts.
Concentrate on studying methods to implement AI and analyze its impression.
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 now not falls behind, too.
The actual problem for entrepreneurs is maintaining with the shift towards social video, the place youthful audiences are turning to interact with manufacturers greater than on search engines like google and yahoo. So that you’ve obtained to be fast and sensible about creating content material that captures consideration.
What are you able to do?
Ramp up your deal with short-form video — it’s anticipated to see essentially the most progress in 2025.
Use social listening and sentiment analyzing instruments to determine the questions your viewers is asking, and have your content material crew 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 marketers agree that advertising has modified extra previously three years than within the final fifty. That’s enormous.
The largest shift? The demand for customized content material. Whereas 65% of customers say model content material feels relatable, solely 35% of entrepreneurs imagine their prospects are literally experiencing true personalization.
Though 65% of entrepreneurs declare to have high-quality viewers knowledge, 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 knowledge extra successfully:
- Enhance viewers segmentation by dividing customers into micro-segments.
- Scale up personalization — craft advert messages that talk to micro-segments’ needs and fears.
- A/B take a look at and refine creatives.
5. Overcoming challenges with content material advertising.
Why It is a Problem
Discovering contemporary concepts for brand spanking new content material tops the record 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 pulls extra site visitors to their web site is a significant 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 most effective for you. If you happen to have 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 have to be private, exhibit expertise, and handle actual wants. And also you’re already taking part in 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 checks to enhance CTR utilizing ChatGPT to generate headlines. Over three weeks, they ran 46 A/B checks. AI-generated headlines gained 46% of the checks, whereas human-created headlines gained 24%.
An amazing learn: Is AI-Generated Content Good for SEO?: 300+ Web Strategists Weigh In
Tip #3: Social listening.
To idiate, lean into social listening (aka research thematic subreddits, X, Threads, LinkedIn feedback, and so on). You too can automate this work with AI instruments.
Plus, put your viewers’s wants first — a single subject might be lined 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 best influencers together with your viewers.
Why It is a Problem
Influencer advertising can backfire if the influencer doesn’t align together with your viewers’s wants. Maris Laatre, CMO of Bully Max, recounts a marketing campaign:
“Whereas we obtained 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 best 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, reasonably than simply the scale of their following.
Additionally, the influencer’s message needs to be genuine and resonate with their followers in any other case it’ll simply be a waste of cash and vitality.
And bear in mind, micro-influencers will usually carry you far more advantages than the large ones.
7. Optimizing content material by means of strategic pruning for higher website positioning.
Why is it a problem?
Deciding to prune or merge a good portion of your content material is a high-stakes resolution for any advertising crew. 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) towards the potential for long-term progress.
Emilia Korczynska shared a great post on this topic. 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.
What are you able to do?
Take a data-driven method to determine what content material to prune. Emilia’s technique highlights key steps:
- Concentrate on 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 stability between creativity and knowledge.
Why It is a Problem
The strain between creativity and knowledge is a problem many entrepreneurs face. Roland Jakob from BlazeKin.Media explains: “Early on, I leaned closely into analytics, considering numbers alone would paved the way. However I noticed that creativity usually speaks a language knowledge can’t quantify — no less than not instantly.”
What are you able to do?
Mix knowledge with storytelling. “Throughout my time at Pagnolia, our marketing campaign with a elegant message didn’t resonate with the viewers till we pivoted to a extra uncooked, story-driven method. This shift turned the marketing campaign into one in every of our most participating, leading to a 30% increase inside six months” continues Roland.
He additionally suggests utilizing so-called “buyer co-creation.” By bringing prospects into the method — not simply as patrons, however as collaborators — manufacturers can construct stronger loyalty and create campaigns that resonate extra deeply.
9. Pivoting throughout surprising shifts in client habits.
Why It is a Problem
17.54% of entrepreneurs say maintaining with quickly altering buyer behaviors is one in every of their greatest challenges.
Client habits 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 surprising rise in pet adoption… we needed to pivot rapidly 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 knowledge privateness laws.
Why It is a Problem
Data privacy regulations are always evolving as effectively, making it difficult for entrepreneurs to remain compliant.
The perfect instance is a current scenario that happened in one Belgian company. A former worker requested for her photograph to be faraway from the corporate web site six months after leaving.
The photograph included her identify, place, and a gaggle shot. Below GDPR Article 17, individuals have the best to have their private knowledge, together with photographs, deleted when there’s no legitimate purpose for preserving them or if consent is withdrawn.
The employer didn’t comply, so the information safety authority stepped in and ordered the photograph to be eliminated instantly.
What are you able to do?
Keep knowledgeable on new laws unfolding and be further cautious with campaigns. Enormous 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 offers 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 firms with aligned sales and marketing teams are 103% more likely to beat their goals than firms that aren’t aligned.
However wait, there’s extra. Product groups also can 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 treatment 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 significant setback in advertising campaigns usually occurs when different advertising channels don’t align with the first marketing campaign targets, 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 identical time,” shares Steven Spieczny, VP of Advertising at Kognic.
In brief, 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 e-mail campaigns, every channel ought to ship the identical message with unified targets.
Second, coordinate the timing and messaging throughout all touchpoints to construct a stronger, extra constant buyer expertise.
High U.S. Advertising Govt Challenges
Whereas world and U.S.-based individuals from each of our current research anticipate an identical record of challenges, the way in which they’re prioritizing them shifts when sampling simply U.S.-based executives.
Strategic blockers like making data-driven choices, maintaining with tendencies, and content material pivots are top-of-mind for entrepreneurs.
In the meantime, U.S. leaders polled in our Govt Advertising survey are targeted on the underside line. They’re getting ready for monetary challenges like producing income, securing price range, 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 plenty of contradicting information stories about whether or not we’re or aren’t in a recession.
With this in thoughts, advertising leaders are targeted on saving assets, making certain they get the cash they want, and justifying their work, headcount, or investments by displaying income attribution or business-wide impression.
Fortunately, whether or not you are coping with any of the worldwide or U.S.-based challenges, lots of them might be navigated with the insights and takeaways above, equivalent to:
- Accumulating one of the best analytics doable to make data-backed choices, ideally by merging first-party knowledge and GDPR-approved third-party knowledge.
- Figuring out how your purchaser is constant to evolve. You too can use knowledge and sales-marketing alignment to remain in contact with what your prospects and audiences are specializing in.
- Making certain that you just method advertising methods or investments strategically by asking your self, “What’s the ROI, enterprise impression, 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 tendencies or circumstances round us change instantly.
- Constructing an important employer model. By doing so, you may entice all kinds of selling expertise who can navigate most of the challenges above.
Get Contained in the Minds of As we speak’s Advertising Leaders
As a marketer and partnership supervisor myself, I can inform you that there’s no scarcity of challenges. However, we’re employed to unravel the riddles.
Excited about different high challenges, tendencies, and alternatives that advertising leaders are specializing in, or wish to discover ways to construct techniques that can get you visibility by fixing their ache factors? Test our our newest report on govt management priorities.
Editor’s observe: This put up was initially printed in October 2022 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
