This is not the year to play it safe, say advertising leaders

The five most urgent items on advertising industry leaders’ radars this year, according to the third annual Contagious Radar report, are the changing role of AI, the dangerous rise of short-termism, the threat to client-agency relationships, the rebrand of purpose and borrowing from entertainment.

The report canvasses the opinions of top industry leaders to identify the biggest opportunities and challenges for the advertising industry for the next 12 months.

In January 2024, 46.6% of survey respondents said they used AI regularly. This year that figure has grown to 65%,  while the number who said they “never touch it” has fallen from 6.8% in 2024 to 1% in 2025. The uptick in AI adoption has resulted in dire predictions for the future of the advertising industry, and creativity in particular. Industry leaders concede that there is a significant amount of work that agencies do that can be automated, but argue that there will always be room for breakthrough pieces of human creativity.

They advise that AI should be embraced as a partner to enhance and complement strategy and creative output, and caution against getting left behind.

A number of survey respondents mention being under pressure to deliver more for less, and faster, as the short-termism trend returns. Industry leaders comment that long-term brand building has been eroded by an over-reliance on short-term measurement and an obsession with short-term results, at the expense of medium, let alone long-term, investments. The relentless churn of content traps the sector  in a cycle of quantity over quality, blocking the industry from delivering ideas with genuine impact. Difficult ideas, says one industry leader, are not easy to pull off, and can die multiple deaths in the hands of short-termist thinking.

Survey respondents advise that to fight the insidious rise of short-term thinking and mediocrity the advertising industry needs to be cautious of new trends without first interrogating if these are right for the brand. They need to champion craft and creativity all year long and not just at awards shows.

Client-agency relationships are hanging on by a thread given the immense pressure to cut costs, shrink project timelines, navigate new technology and deliver immediate results. Agencies are increasingly being seen as vendors rather than as partners. The situation is worsened by the tenure of the average chief marketing officer being about 37 months. Industry leaders point out that even in the best conditions, you can’t build and grow a brand without consistency. In times of volatility, brands need trusted stewards.

To improve client-agency relationships, they advise the appointment of a global “guardian angel” giving ownership of a brand to fewer and fewer partners, being very transparent about what the agency is promising and delivering, and earning the trust and confidence of clients.

Despite t5here being a growing antipurpose movement, the report says the idea of a brand contributing something positive to society while raking in the dollars seems reasonable. Though  brands don’t have an inherent responsibility to “do good”, they do have a responsibility to represent the image of a product and accelerate its relationship with people in order to sell it and create a lasting relationship with the consumer. Survey respondents agree that brand purpose needs to evolve, and that rather than driving division and polarity, the industry needs to find more joyful ways to create unity and common ground.

Industry leaders advise that to get back to the basics of brand purpose, the industry needs to identify moments in culture in which brands can have true and genuine purpose rather than jumping on every bandwagon for the sake of being present all the time. Furthermore, they need to forget the semantics and focus on building brands. When they choose to support a cause it needs to be stress-tested to ensure a long-term commitment.

Advertising needs to spark joy to cut through the perceived chaos of the times we’re living in. Embracing joy is the ad industry’s biggest creative opportunity this year, says one industry leader, while another emphasises the need for good storytelling to connect with audiences on a human level.

To connect with people and cut through, say respondents, advertising needs to take cues from the entertainment industry and start generating content that people really like. Critically, this entertainment needs to be delivered with brand building, showing humanity and understanding to unlock trust.

Advertisers need to embrace risk and be bolder, says the report. Risk-aversion and reverting to best practice may be natural responses to uncertainty and volatility, but they are a total waste of time and resources in the current environment. The bottom line, according to the Contagious Radar report, is to embrace the chaos, because 2025 is not the time to play it safe.

Sign up here for a free webinar taking place on February 27 2025 at 16.00 to hear more about the major themes and findings of this year’s Contagious Radar report. 

The big take-out: Advertisers need to embrace risk and be bolder, says the Contagious Radar report.

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