From immersive experiences, to culinary connoisseurship and a IYKYK cocktail culture, Bacardi Limited’s Cocktail Trends Report serves up the opportunities that will refresh the spirits industry over the next year.

In 2024, spirits companies got creative and flexible, to capture the love and attention of consumers looking for new connections with brands. And over the next 12 months, we’ll see the industry continue to act as a conduit for connection, bringing people closer to new interests, new knowledge, new experiences – and most importantly, each other. If the last few years have been about ‘more’, 2025 will be about ‘better’, setting the scene for valuable marketing opportunities.

In 2025, cocktail culture will become less about simple consumption and more about curating meaningful, immersive experiences. Consumers are moving away from being passive participants to active curators of their drinking moments. This shift means cocktails will evolve into gateways for deeper connections, knowledge, and multisensory engagement.

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As 2025 approaches, spare a thought for advertising’s storytellers who will be commanded to “embrace” Gen AI in 2025. Can these experimental tools be wielded with vision, or is this ailing industry chasing yet another tech MacGuffin? John McCarthy explores.

I have long been skeptical about adland’s insistence it is in the storytelling business, suffering many an advertising sage insisting they share a profession with the prophets of yore, spinning yarns to win hearts and minds. So, it’s weird now that I am now on the side of these creatives. In fact, I miss those conversations I used to roll my eyes at.

Can ads be art? Most aren’t, but the best ones are.

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Since I joined The Drum in June, the design industry has been hurtling along at its usual breakneck pace and, as is tradition, tis the season to reflect on some personal highlights.

If we cast our minds back to the beginning of the summer, neither the UK nor US elections had taken place and the natural speculation was causing clients to cling tightly to their commissioning budgets.

With the looming UK election in mind, I waded through the manifestos so you didn’t have to in the hope of finding what each party had in store for the creative industries.

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From Oatly’s Santa taste test to Puma’s streetwear motorsports, this week delivered surprises.

Every week, The Drum picks the top global campaigns from our Creative Works. You can submit your new work here.

The standout ads range from nostalgic reinventions to clever holiday humor. Coca-Cola claims ownership of an emoji, Jane Fonda makes cardio fun in VR and Oatly asks the daring question: what if Santa skips the milk?

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The barriers of entry to becoming an influencer are dropping, while how we think of influencers is changing, says Daria Belova of HypeFactory. Is 2025 the year we see B2B influencers come into their own?

The influencer marketing landscape is being reimagined. Audiences today are quick to spot advertising integrations and are demanding greater authenticity and transparency from influencers. Even the baby-boomer generation has embraced social media and smartphones, further expanding the reach of influencer culture.

This shift has made the world of influencer marketing more accessible to everyday users, lowering the barrier to entry. In the year ahead, anyone can become an influencer, and as a result, we can expect an explosion of new niches and diverse voices within the space.

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Customer journeys blend digital and real-world experience. Dan Pike at ADM Group explains how brands can make the most of dynamic point-of-sale opportunities in this omnichannel environment.

Technology is reshaping the retail and marketing landscape. Point-of-sale (POS) is no longer just a static sales touchpoint but is evolving into a dynamic, interactive exchange that drives personalized, immersive engagement and reinforces brand identity.

However, with 61% of Gen Z consumers still preferring to shop in physical stores, the key to harnessing digitalization is not about completely replacing traditional POS.

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⁠Global travel is gradually recovering to pre-pandemic levels, with international borders open and travel restrictions lifted. With the return of Chinese tourists, they are gradually reshaping the travel landscape and fostering economic rejuvenation.

For travel companies, it is crucial to personalize their marketing strategies by blending global appeal with local relevance to build a meaningful connection with their customers and drive tourism growth in this lucrative market.

Impact of Chinese tourists on travel industry

Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists were the world’s biggest spenders, accounting for 155m outbound trips and spending $255bn in travel expenses. In 2023, Chinese tourists regained their position as the leading overseas spenders, with UN Tourism reporting a total expenditure of $196.5bn – surpassing all other countries.

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The ad, which builds on the dating app’s ‘No Ordinary Love’ anthology, was created by the creative collective Birthday.

Hinge is highlighting the experiences of real couples who eventually met on the app. As daters wrestle with expectations about how and where their love story should begin, the new campaign challenges the binary of meeting either in person or on a dating app. Instead, ‘It’s Funny We Met on Hinge’ showcases how the path of today’s relationships doesn’t necessarily fit perfectly into either mold.

Each video features the stories of seven real-life couples who unknowingly crossed paths in person – such as through overlapping childhood neighborhoods, mutual connections with family members, and brief interactions at work – but ultimately connected after matching on Hinge.

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Titi Odeyinka reflects on why so many top ‘global’ brands tend to miss out on Africa, explaining how her agency Check helped Adidas in Nigeria.

In the US, you can easily watch Ted Lasso on your Apple TV app, Across Sub-Saharan Africa, the journey to AFC Richmond is far more long-winded. Accessing a global hit show like Ted Lasso is not as simple as subscribing and pressing play. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) might help them bypass geographic restrictions, but VPN services add costs and complexity. Alternatively, audiences could enter the murky waters of piracy—logging into dangerous websites that jeopardize their digital security.

This indicates a wider issue.

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Lunch with Lynn, anyone? Jaywing’s Becca Tredget says that, with brands seeing considerable success in 2024, next year employee-generated content will truly go stratospheric.

71% of people say that it’s even more important to trust the brands they buy from today than it was in the past. But, too often, the reality of the brand world doesn’t live up to that expectation: people are losing trust in brands on a daily basis.

It’s a perfect storm of consumers demanding more from brands, and brands being exposed for inauthenticity. Just look at high-profile cases of greenwashing, or the recent news from an iCubesWire survey that 53% of audiences do not trust influencer content. But how do we start to go about building trust with audiences?

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With the year drawing to a close, agency leaders give us their key takeaways from 2024. In this installment of Agency Advice, we hear what they’ve learned about AI and tech and where it’s heading in 2025.

2024 hasn’t exactly been an annus horribilis, but it’s not necessarily been an annus mirabilis, either. With marketing budgets continuing to be tight, ongoing debates around hybrid working practices, streamlining as AI begins to impact agency models and client expectations continually shifting (and not in a good way), the last 12 months have been challenging. But in challenges come opportunities.

Here, agency leaders muse on what they have learned about AI and tech and how agencies should handle it in the year ahead.

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Themes this year include truth bombs, sports teams and subtle digs at digital fads from shops such as Isobel, BMB and Atomic London.

It’s that time of year again when ad agencies like to show off their creative chops and battle it out for the best Christmas card. This year, there are some hot contenders, each with a unique perspective on the festive season… to put it mildly.

From cheeky jabs at digital trends such as NFTs to a few broken teeth during a hockey game photoshoot and even wrapping paper featuring blunt truths instead of festive imagery, it’s a diverse selection box of holiday greetings.

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This year, brands had to grapple with culture war politics, find ways to cut costs using AI and think up new ways to structure the marketing function. We round up some of our most-read brand stories of 2024.

Several pivotal moments in marketing during 2024 have kept the industry talking and debating, but there have also been many lessons.

Heinz faced backlash after two campaigns were accused of perpetuating racial stereotypes, sparking a broader conversation about DE&I and representation and reminding brands of the need to be more mindful of the communities they engage with.

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Instagram head Adam Mosseri on Thursday teased new gen AI video features. Could this represent the beginning of more advanced platform-integrated AI capabilities for creators and brands?

Instagram is preparing to roll out generative AI editing tools in the new year, enabling creators to transform the look of their videos using simple text prompts.

Powered by Meta’s generative AI model Movie Gen – unveiled in October – the new features are designed to simplify video editing by allowing users to seamlessly alter nearly any aspect of a clip – swapping out backgrounds, adding realistic-looking accessories and objects into the video or even animating a creator’s face.

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Labor unrest threatens delivery delays, customer dissatisfaction and ecommerce disruption this holiday season.

Today, the Teamsters union launched what it describes as the “largest strike against Amazon in US history,” targeting the online retailer at the height of the holiday shopping season.

Pickets began early Thursday at key facilities in major cities, including New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco and several locations across Southern California and Illinois.

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In 2024, CMOs had to get used to new team structures, become experts in the fashion industry and know when to say no to a trend (eg Brat Summer). Few people can do all those things; here’s how the role evolved.

We’ve analyzed some of our most interesting interviews of 2024 to identify lessons for the year ahead.

1. Buddy up with other departments

There have been some interesting examples of new ways to structure the marketing function this year, with greater collaboration between product, design and even policy teams.

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As social media devolves from its (forgotten) community vision to squabbling and worse, Hopscotch’s Marcus Hernon argues that now’s the time for brands to fill the gap.

As we head into 2025, brands that build, nurture, and grow their own loyal communities find themselves with a unique advantage. Social platforms have faltered in their ability to foster lasting, authentic relationships with consumers. Community-first brands are filling the void by offering something people crave: real human connection.

This is not a passing trend; it’s a seismic shift in how brands communicate, connect, and thrive. The bad news? If you’re still relying solely on social platforms to build meaningful engagement, it might be time to reconsider – because they’re not exactly delivering on their “social” promise anymore.

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The rise of conversational search provides rich opportunities for brands, says Jason Hartley at PMG. Here’s how to make sure the bots talk about you.

Search is one of the most transformative innovations of the digital age, simplifying access to the internet and enabling brands to deliver highly relevant content to potential consumers. However, it falters when users only have a vague idea of what they want, need multiple things, or struggle to articulate what they’re after. This, in turn, creates challenges for marketers trying to leverage strong intent signals during the critical consideration phase.

Generative AI has changed that. Tools like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Perplexity are transforming search from static queries and lists of links into dynamic, interactive exchanges. Instead of simply retrieving results, AI-powered systems now engage in back-and-forth conversations, delivering tailored, contextually relevant answers.

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With the new year upon us, The Drum Network gathered a panel to discuss the trends that might shape 2025: tech, of course but there’s still hope for humans in the mix. And good old-fashioned brand strategy might be due a revival.

Any new year brings with it a raft of tech predictions, and 2025 is no different. While difficult conditions might have beset the marketing industry of late, our panel of experts see the seeds of renewal in brand strategy and human creativity in the year ahead. Which isn’t to say things will be easy.

The main strategic issue at the moment, as Anna Rashid, chief digital innovation officer at Tangerine Communications, is that: "Media makes money in the absence of creativity.”

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The spot was created by Dept and teases fans before the sequel to the hit Korean show drops on Netflix on December 26.

Just Eat wants to encourage people to ditch festive leftover food and enjoy a cheeky takeaway while watching the follow-up season to Squid Game.

At the center of the 360 campaign is a high-stakes spot full of jeopardy and featuring the huge ‘red light, green light’ Young-hee doll. The call-to-action ‘Order Play Win’ at the end of the spot directs viewers to a campaign microsite to play a digital game inspired by the show, for the chance to take home a cash prize.

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Targeting, not virality, should be the aim of your social media strategy, says Henry Collins at Redpill. Because reaching the right audience increases conversions, ensures brand relevance, and reduces possible risk.

Going viral – it’s the ultimate dream for many brand marketers, right? We all want it. One viral video means skyrocketing metrics, huge numbers of eyes, tonnes of engagement, and lots of social buzz. But here’s the thing: in 2025, going viral could actually be a bit of a liability for your brand’s social media strategy.

It might sound counterintuitive, but we’ve seen firsthand that the most impactful campaigns don’t aim for broad, viral exposure. Instead, they focus on precise targeting and delivering the right message to the right people. After all, what’s a ‘view’ or ‘engagement’ actually worth?

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As 2024 draws to a close, this installment of Agency Advice sees agency leaders share their key takeaways from the year.

2024 hasn’t exactly been an annus horribilis, but it’s not necessarily been an annus mirabilis, either. With marketing budgets continuing to be tight, ongoing debates around hybrid working practices, streamlining as AI begins to impact agency models and client expectations continually shifting (and not in a good way), the last 12 months have been challenging. But in challenges come opportunities.

Here, agency leaders muse on learnings around simplification, clarity and focus.

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Our annual round up of key learnings and takeaways from The Responsible Marketing Hub with Google, that marketers can carry forward in 2025.

As 2024 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on the evolution of online ad measurement and effectiveness. This year marked a turning point for marketers, with significant shifts in technology and regulations converging with the rapid acceleration of AI. Marketing leaders who embraced these changes gained a competitive edge, setting their businesses on a path toward future growth.

Looking ahead to 2025, privacy-first measurement strategies, new media effectiveness solutions and AI adoption are likely to reshape the digital advertising landscape further. From mastering metrics for the boardroom to cutting-edge AI campaigns, The Responsible Marketing Hub with Google supports marketers in mastering end to end measurement, effectiveness and growth strategies to help them deliver ROI for their business.

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As brands grapple with tighter budgets and rising expectations, Zappi’s Nataly Kelly explores why connected insights – integrating market research with performance data – will transform AI from a tool to a strategic powerhouse in 2025.

In 2025, brands will face an unprecedented crossroads: prove ROI in the face of rising economic pressures and rapidly shifting consumer expectations – or risk losing relevance. Marketing teams are under pressure to do more with less, grappling with tighter budgets while delivering measurable impact to the business. For many, this will require a fundamental shift in how they approach consumer data, decision-making, and innovation.

Enter the power of AI and connected insights: the integration of market research with performance data to create a unified view of the consumer, leveraging AI agents in the process. By centralizing data streams and making them accessible across teams, brands can turn AI into a business gamechanger, using it to predict trends, anticipate consumer needs and wants, and drive meaningful growth.

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Strategists should give poetry a try in 2025. Shook's Gemma Moroney rhymes off the reasons why.

“An insight’s like a joke.” To laugh at a joke is saying, “I recognize myself in that.”

Both quotes I’ve picked up along the way in my magpie-way. Both are correct, in my opinion. And no doubt why absolutely loads of creatives seem to have done a stand-up comedy course. Whether through choice or company-wide training.

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Will the fallout from the mega-merger put agencies into ‘pitch mode’ in 2025 as unsettled Omnicom and IPG clients look for new homes? In his final CEO Soapbox column of the year, Gareth Davies warns brands and agencies against the itch to pitch.

The mega-merger that is Omnicom acquiring Interpublic has caught the attention of adland (much to the relief of Jaguar, no doubt). It’s big news, of course, in every sense of the word. And while much has already been said (both good and bad) about the emergence of the soon-to-be world’s largest agency group, there is one story still waiting to be written: what will this mean for their clients? Will it generate excitement or will it provoke the ‘itch to pitch’?

In one sense, the question is, of course, a little simplistic. After all, pitching decisions are rarely so trigger-happy – thankfully. But it is also true that one of the main red flags for any client/agency relationship is conflict. And with two heavyweight holding companies coming together, there is likely to be plenty of debris flying around.

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The new Saudi activation turns emojis into meal combos, exclusive offers and a tangible ‘Emoji Coke’ cup.

What’s in the cup? Coca-Cola Middle East says it’s them.

The iconic red-and-white soda emoji is getting a playful new owner in Coca-Cola’s latest campaign, ‘Emoji Coke.’ The brand is staking its claim on the emoji – depicting a white cup with a red stripe and straw – and transforming it into real-world meal combos, exclusive vouchers and a limited-edition collectible cup.

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The actor and fitness icon blends retro charm with cutting-edge tech to redefine at-home cardio.

Jane Fonda, the queen of home fitness, is back – and this time, she’s taking her iconic workouts from VHS tapes to virtual reality.

Meta’s latest campaign for its VR fitness platform, Supernatural, reimagines Fonda’s 1980s workout legacy for the Meta Quest generation, to prove that cardio can be anything but boring.

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Seed’s Ananya Ranjit wants to see more Christmas ads that sleigh... for Gen Z. She explains what is working this season.

The lights are strung, the trees decorated, and – like clockwork – Mariah Carey makes her grand entrance into playlists worldwide. It can only mean one thing: tis’ the season… for Christmas ads!

From Sainsbury’s enlisting the BFG to Aldi's Kevin the Carrot rescuing the Christmas spirit, this year’s batch gives us plenty of traditional festive family magic. What it doesn’t give us, though, is Gen Z’s reality. While these campaigns offer the classic ingredients to cook up nostalgia and connection to tug at the heartstrings of older generations, they leave Gen Z out in the snow. Because Gen Z is rewriting the rules of festive traditions, often celebrating away from home with family we have gained along the way and navigating the season with a tight budget. Our unique realities deserve a brighter spotlight in the holiday narrative.

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Leo Burnett chose to bring the beloved mascot, a staple since 1958, back to the forefront as the centerpiece of a new masterbrand identity.

Building on its 117-year brand history, Kellogg’s has revealed a bold new visual identity for its cereal portfolio, hoping to spur excitement about its breakfast offerings.

At the heart of this new push is Cornelius the Cockerel, Kellogg’s beloved mascot since the mid-fifties. The animal has been reimagined for the ad ‘See You in the Morning,’ which celebrates the brand’s legacy.

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The charity for London’s homeless and vulnerable has launched an outdoor campaign created by Wonderhood Studios to drive donations of hot meals.

Soup Kitchen London has partnered with Just Eat for ‘Homeless Delivery,’ which allows the public across the country to order a meal as they usually would through the Just Eat app, but instead of the meal getting delivered to their door, their order acts as a donation to the Soup Kitchen, funding a meal for someone facing homelessness.

According to the charity, demand for its daily services has significantly increased due to rising inflation and the soaring cost of living crisis. These challenges make Soup Kitchen London’s work during the festive period more essential than ever.

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MG Empower’s Joe McElligott asks a simple question: What does social media look like in a world without screens?

In September this year, newly branded for his cool-guy era, Mark ‘The Zuck’ Zuckerberg released his latest weapon in the quest for dominion over digital: the AR glasses dubbed Orion.

We’ve had a few false dawns of AR and VR over the years, from Pokémon Go’s AR phenomenon to Apple’s Vision Pro headset (the latter’s production numbers have already scaled back due to underwhelming demand). But Orion feels different. Gone are the bulky, heavy, battery-laden designs of VR headsets. In their place: lighter materials, a sleeker, less obtrusive look, and not-so-obvious functionality.

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In this week’s My Creative Career, Rob Doubal and Laurence ‘Lolly’ Thomson – the duo who worked on campaigns including Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot and Snoop Dogg’s Just Eat jingle – are now taking the helm as global creative leaders at M&C Saatchi, which they hope to “reinvigorate.”

For Rob Doubal, advertising came on to his radar in the early 1990s while watching Chris Tarrant’s ‘Tarrant on TV’ program, which showed outrageous snippets of telly from around the world. Doubal recalls thinking that all the ads on the show looked “awesome” and that they were “genuinely funny” back then. He knew early on that it was something he wanted to explore.

After navigating a slight detour by studying politics at university, where he was “motivated by fear” and felt like he should learn about the subject, he found himself at the Watford Ad School under the watchful eye of the late great program leader Tony Cullingham.

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The president-elect reportedly met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on Monday, just hours after the company made a formal plea to the Supreme Court to block an impending ban.

On Monday, Donald Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at Mar-a-Lago, CNN reports, on the heels of a press conference in which the president-elect said he has a “warm spot” for the app and credited it with bolstering his campaign success.

The popular video-sharing app appears to be on its last legs, set to be banned in the US on January 19 should its Chinese owner ByteDance not secure a non-Chinese buyer.

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The Drum’s founder ponders whether the porter’s present popularity comes at a price. Do viral TikTok challenges and beer shortages risk making the brand feel like a fleeting trend rather than a permanent icon?

James Joyce once called Guinness “the wine of Ireland.” Now, as TikTokers tilt their pints and Gen Z ‘split the G,’ it’s beginning to look less like the quiet classic of pub culture and more like the Coca-Cola of beer – viral, ubiquitous and dangerously close to gimmick territory. While Diageo must be celebrating this Christmas as pints pour faster than pubs can replenish kegs, there’s a growing sense that this level of hype could come at a cost.

Let’s address the reality: Guinness dominates the on-trade stout market. Walk into almost any pub and you’ll find it’s not just the best option; it’s the only option. Guinness’s hold on this space is down to a potent mix of tradition, smart distribution and sheer presence. It’s the ‘everywhere stout,’ backed by generations of loyalty and a legacy of unforgettable advertising. No other beer has managed to own a moment in culture quite like Guinness’s iconic ‘Surfer’ ad, with its slow-motion waves and those thundering white horses. “Good things come to those who wait.”

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Want to learn how to harness AI, automation and creator voices to drive business growth in 2025? Register now to gain insights from Meta leaders, industry experts and creative trailblazers at the industry’s landmark virtual event.

Put down the crystal ball: the forecast for how to thrive in 2025 is here. The annual Meta Marketing Summit will return on February 12, 2025 to explore a new era of performance and possibility driven by AI, automation and new voices — and registrations are now open to all.

Over the 90-minute online event, attendees at Meta Marketing Summit will hear from Meta leaders on what’s ahead for the marketing industry, how to use automation to drive efficiency and engagement in campaigns, and how to collaborate with creators to develop authentic, engaging and diverse content. Plus, they’ll receive the latest updates on Meta products and features across AI and mixed reality.

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