In 2024, brands embraced brat summer, the “mob wife” trend, and being demure. They turned employees into brand ambassadors, re-created music videos with big-name stars, worked with kidfluencers, and collaborated with unlikely creators.

But a new year means the opportunity for new social playbooks, and there’s no telling what new trends and creators will emerge.

To ring in the new year, we asked people in the influencer marketing industry what they think will be the biggest trends to watch for in 2025—as well as which trends they expect could be on their way out the door.

In: a more democratized influencer strategy. In 2024, brands like 818 made it a priority to open up events to customers in addition to influencers, and Free People’s director of brand marketing, Libby Strachan, told us the brand plans to cut back on influencer trips in favor of more customer-centric events in 2025.

Mae Karwowski, founder and CEO of influencer marketing agency Obviously, predicts more of that approach in 2025 as brands start inviting top customers to go on trips, too.

Out: posting on TikTok, period? The future of the app might be TBD, but even without an all-out ban, there could be less enthusiasm for the app this year, Thomas Markland, founder and CEO of influencer marketing agency Hydp, said, citing slowing user growth and demands for constant content creation as potential roadblocks for the platform.

“Compared to Instagram and YouTube, which have reduced their demands on creators, TikTok continues to favor quantity over quality,” he said.

Continue reading here.—KH

Peacock wants users to play games, and not the kind your toxic ex used to play.

The NBCU-owned streamer will begin testing the ability for users to play mini-games and watch vertical videos on its mobile app, it announced this week at CES.

The test will include games called Daily Sort, Daily Swap, Predictions, What The, and Venn, some of which will be tied to Peacock programming. Through the games, users will be able to predict outcomes of shows, and they will be able to return later to the app to see if their predictions were right. As part of the test, the streamer is also rolling out vertical video playlists featuring clips from Peacock shows in addition to the games.

Peacock is rolling out the features to some users now, with a larger debut of the products slated for this spring.

Karen Kovacs, NBCU’s president of advertising and partnerships, said at a CES panel on Tuesday that the mini-games are among Peacock’s efforts to target Gen Z, noting that, over the summer, it worked with creators like Alex Cooper during the Olympics.

“We’re adding gaming…and thinking very specifically about trying to create a very welcoming environment for Gen Z, so when the NBA comes next year, we’ve already got them in, we’ve got them engaged, and then we’re going to feed them content that we know they’re going to be really excited about,” she said.

Continue reading here.—JS

Last year was a big one for sports in the US, from the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics to multiple international soccer tournaments—not to mention record-breaking audiences and new developments in women’s sports.

For team and league marketing leaders, the year wasn’t without its challenges, but they led to lessons that execs are taking with them into the new year. We emailed several top marketers from sports teams and asked them to reflect on what they learned in 2024. Here’s what they had to say.

The power of fandom: “Consumers are loyal to brands they love, but they are obsessed with their sports teams—it takes brand loyalty and representation to a whole new level.”—Pri Shumate, SVP and CMO, Miami Dolphins

The power of listening: “Listening to our fans is a critical function and should always guide our decision-making as an organization. Most ideas sound great in a vacuum, but we really don’t know how things will be received until they make their way out into the world. This is why we have made it a point to collect fan feedback throughout the season and then use that data to inform what’s next.”—Susan Goodenow, EVP of brand and public affairs, Chicago Bulls

The power of community: “It’s important to push the boundaries of how and where we show up and diversify the ways we engage with fans. We had success when we met fans where they were…Bringing the Nets directly into the community and finding the balance across various types of activations has helped us foster deeper connections, enhance local support, and create a more inclusive fan experience.”—Andrew Karson, EVP of marketing, Brooklyn Nets

Read more here.—AM

Stories we’re jealous of.

• Bloomberg wrote about what social media will look like for brands if TikTok is banned.
• Business Insider wrote about advertisers’ responses to Meta’s content-moderation changes.
• Vox wrote about “glow-up” challenges taking over TikTok.