9 Hot Takes for Brand Activation in 2025


As we step into 2025, the pace of change shows no sign of slowing down. But with change comes huge opportunity for marketers within brand activation.
Yes, there’s a lot to navigate, but there’s also a lot to look forward to, particularly for brands that are ready to adapt.
With 2025’s lucky number being 9, this blog includes 9 hot takes that could define the year ahead.
Keep these in mind, and you might just set your brand up for the best year yet.
1. An Emphasis On Trust And Authenticity
Trust and authenticity have always been important within brand activation. They are essential components for building long lasting relationships with audiences.
But in today’s increasingly digital world, these values are more important than ever.
Brands must prioritise genuine and relatable content, especially on social media platforms.
The growing influence of credible influencers and employees who bring authenticity and relatability to brand messaging is a clear indicator of people’s desire for authentic, human experiences.
After all, we’ve always said people trust people, not corporations – but that’s a topic for another blog!
2. A Deeper Understanding of Customers
At The Team, we’ve always understood the importance of incorporating behavioural science and psychology within our brand activation work (and everything we do).
If you want to build your brand, and hang on to hard earned customer loyalty, it’s no longer an option to rely on generic categorisations or un-evidenced personas.
In 2025, it’s essential for brands to truly understand how their audiences think, act, and respond.
Brands that use behavioural science insights can create truly effective campaigns that inspire trust and connection and effectively meet customer needs.
3. Navigating The Messy Middle
The messy middle is a term used by Google (and others in marketing and business contexts) to describe a critical, often chaotic stage in the customers’ decision-making process.
This is the phase between becoming aware of a need (or a product) and actually making a purchase decision.
It’s often identified by intense exploration, evaluation, and comparison of options, and usually facilitated by digital tools and platforms.
How brands show up and navigate this part of the process will be key in 2025.
The ability to craft clear, compelling propositions backed by behavioural science is essential in brand activation strategies.
When done right, brands will not only stand out amongst competitors, but, importantly, earn lasting customer loyalty.
4. People, Not Consumers
In 2025, brands will increasingly feel the power of the citizen.
Individuals, voting with their hearts and feet, are choosing to engage with brands that truly align with their values.
As our Creative director, Simon Mannering says in recent blog on Brand purpose:
“Think brands like Beyond Meat, Solar City or Allbirds. They exist because sustainability matters, because equality matters, because ethics matter.”
More people are supporting brands that share their purpose.
This is especially true for sustainability. How well a brand supports and enables an individual's desire to be more sustainable will be crucial.
A good start for brands is to stop refferring to their audiences as ‘consumers’. This assumes they want more, to buy more, consume more, when in fact, they may want the complete opposite.
5. The Power Of Storytelling
Storytelling has always been a powerful tool for brands.
It’s not selling a product or service anymore, it’s about selling your story.
The art of storytelling allows a brand to differentiate themselves, as well as tap into core emotions (a key driver behind many of our decisions).
How brands use storytelling to communicate their values, purpose, and unique qualities in a way that resonates with their audience’s core needs will be crucial for survival and success 2025.
6. Dominance Of Visual Art
Visual art, such as short-form video, interactive videos, motion graphics, or simply striking still images, will be crucial for capturing people’s attention in an era of the decreasing attention span.
Social media and AI are giving brands the opportunity to express creativity in ways that were never possible before. It’s an exciting space for brands to experiment and connect.
In 2025, it will be about finding the balance between the old and the new– a blend of nostalgia, technology, and creativity will create fresh, yet still deeply human content.
It’ll be fascinating to see how this plays out in 2025.
7. Becoming More Sustainable
Sustainability is an urgent priority for people and brands.
Businesses must not only reduce their brand’s carbon footprint (in areas such as production and advertising), but help customers understand and adopt sustainable behaviours, through informed purchasing and guidance.
At The Team, this is going to be a key focus for 2025, as we build on the significant progress we’ve already made, and most importantly, continue to support more clients on their sustainability journey.
8. In Real Life (IRL) events
In a world that’s all about the digital, IRL experiences will take on even more importance.
Pop-ups, meet ups, exhibitions, and in-store events will be key for brands to build real connections with their customers and build a sense of community.
One great example of this is IKEA. The Swedish retailer has turned their IKEA space into Haus of FRAKTA, a pop-up shop dedicated to it’s iconic blue bags, open until march 2025.
Shoppers can even personalise their FRAKTA bags for just £3, adding a unique, personal touch to their IRL experience with the brand.
These in-person brand activations also present unique opportunities for “post-able" moments or moments to interact with that brand that can drive brand visibility, engagement and awareness.
9. Inclusivity
Customers are increasingly drawn to brands that authentically reflect the world we live in. Not just through products, but through messaging, values, and workplace culture.
And despite recent drawbacks from major US corporations, insights from Kantar show that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is the future of brand growth.
Inclusion means making everyone feel seen, heard and valued. When brands prioritise this, they earn their customers’ trust and loyalty.
But, inclusivity must be authentic, and not fall into the trap of tokenism. Brands must make it an intrinsic part of their story while staying true to their identity.

Final thoughts
There are a few directions businesses could take in 2025, but I’m feeling hopeful. The era of endless consumption is slowly fading, and people are craving real, authentic human connection.
This presents a huge opportunity for brands to step up and embrace the shift.
So, in 2025, brands should lead with purpose. We should be guided by insights and a genuine commitment to creating a better world, balancing sales with lasting impact.