10 keywords for marketing trends in 2025

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Here are 10 keywords and summaries of marketing trends for 2025. Check out these 10 key trends and start preparing your marketing roadmap for success today!

We hope you find them useful.

1. Hyper-Personalization

Hyper-personalization is marketing that goes beyond simply calling people by their first name or leveraging their past purchase history, and uses AI and machine learning to deliver content and messages that are tailored to the "real-time context" of the individual user.

For example, instead of just "recommended products that people who bought this product also liked" in a traditional shopping mall, hyper-personalization dynamically suggests products based on the user's current preferences, real-time location, weather, mood data (estimated by analyzing usage patterns), etc.

Key features of hyper-personalized marketing

• Utilizes real-time data
  - Analyze your customers' behavior patterns, search history, purchase history, etc. in real-time to provide instant personalized product recommendations or messages.
• Utilize AI and machine learning technology
  - AI and machine learning technologies are used to analyze massive amounts of data, predict future needs of customers, and provide relevant information at the right time.
• Predictive marketing
  - Go beyond simply meeting current needs to anticipate and respond to potential needs that customers may not yet be aware of.
• Enhance customer-centric experiences
  - Consumers expect personalized experiences that are tailored just for them, and companies that meet this expectation drive loyalty and increase sales.

The need for hyper-personalized marketing

• Changing consumer expectations
  - Modern consumers prefer personalized experiences to mass approaches and are more satisfied with brands that recognize and remember them.
• Gain a data-driven competitive advantage
  - Despite changes in the data landscape, such as the blocking of third-party cookies, AI and data analytics can help businesses gain a competitive advantage by learning more about their customers.
• Connect with the 'Meconomy' trend
  - Hyper-personalization is becoming an essential marketing strategy as consumers focus on spending for themselves.

Application examples

• E-commerce
  - Coupang grew its market share by analyzing customers' browsing history and shopping cart data to provide personalized product recommendations and real-time notifications.
  - Gmarket increased conversion rates by using an algorithm to display highly relevant products based on keywords of interest.
• Retail and beauty industry
  - CJ Olive Young created a differentiated shopping experience by providing curation services for each customer through a campaign for color cosmetics.
• Finance and services
  - Lotte Duty Free used an AI-based ultra-personalization system to provide event information at the right time by leveraging customers' past purchase history and reaction data, achieving 6x the effectiveness of the previous system.

2. Voice Commerce & Search

Voice search and shopping through smart speakers or voice assistants are becoming increasingly commonplace. In particular, voice recognition technology is expected to be further developed in various wearable devices such as smartwatches and AR glasses by 2025. Therefore, voice-based search optimization (Voice SEO) and product recommendations/payment flows tailored to voice commands will become important.

Growth of Voice Commerce

• Voice shopping proliferation: Voice shopping using smart speakers and virtual assistants has already become an everyday way of consuming in the U.S. and is showing signs of growth in Korea. AI speakers with displays, in particular, are enhancing the user experience and contributing to market expansion.
• Changing consumer behavior: Consumers can easily use voice to search for products, compare prices, place orders, and checkout. This streamlined process is especially popular among millennials and Gen Xers.
• Market growth projections: The speech and voice recognition market is estimated to be worth $12.6 billion in 2025, and is expected to grow at a significant compound annual growth rate through 2032.

Why Voice Search Matters

• Combine SEO and AI technologies: The rise of voice search has made AI-powered search optimization essential. Natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning technologies can better understand user queries and deliver personalized results.
• Improving the user experience: Consumers prefer to ask specific and complex questions over simple keyword searches, which means businesses need to optimize their content using natural language expressions.
• Use cases for voice search:
  - Searching for information via smartphones and smart speakers.
  - Creating shopping lists and checking product reviews.
  - Providing personalized recommendations.

Strategies for businesses and marketers

• Optimize for voice SEO:
  - Use natural language and question-oriented keywords.
  - Optimize for Google Position 0 (featured snippets).
  - Build a mobile-friendly website.
• Voice advertising and marketing: Advertising with voice is becoming an effective way to engage consumers and increase brand awareness.

3. Live Streaming Commerce

We've already seen live streaming on social media and shopping platforms to demonstrate products and take inquiries via live chat, but in the future, we'll see a shift towards live sales in virtual reality (VR) or metaverse spaces. Consumers can see product details, interact with merchants in real time, and make purchases instantly, just as if they were in a physical store.

Key features and benefits of live commerce

• Real-timeinteraction: Merchants and consumers can communicate in real-time via chat and get their questions answered.
• Live product demonstrations: Show products in action to help customers make purchasing decisions.
• Entertainment elements: Add fun to shopping to increase customer engagement.
• Limited time promotions: Discounts that are only available during live broadcasts encourage immediate purchase.
• Increasetrust: The experience of seeing and hearing the seller's face and voice reinforces trust.
• Build community: Consumers with similar interests come together to connect and build brand loyalty.

Market growth and outlook

• The domestic live commerce market is expected to grow from about KRW 4 trillion in 2021 to KRW 10 trillion in 2023, while the global market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 28.4% from 2020 to 2027.
• In China, it has been centered around wanghong (influencers), with influencers like Wei Ya generating hundreds of billions of won in sales during the Guanggun Festival.

Successful live commerce strategies

• Content planning
  - Create engaging content tailored to your target audience.
  - Utilizing various formats such as product demonstrations, Q&As, and events.
• Marketing and promotion
  - Pre-promotion using social media and influencers.
  - Engaging viewers with pre-air push notifications and pop-up messages.
• Leverage data
  - Analyze real-time comments and reactions to understand consumer needs.
  - Offer additional offers to non-purchasing customers after the broadcast.

Live commerce is not only effective in increasing sales, but also in improving brand awareness and strengthening customer relationships. It is expected to continue to grow in the future as it has received positive responses from various age groups, especially MZ generation.

4. AR/VR Marketing

Experiential marketing through augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) is spreading in various industries. It's not just about showing interesting content, but using AR/VR technology to recreate the in-store experience online or provide product simulations to enhance the pre-purchase experience.

Key features of AR/VR marketing

• Deliver immersive experiences
  - AR/VR technology takes the interaction between consumers and brands to a new level. For example, IKEA used an AR app to let consumers try out furniture in their homes, and Nike created a VR experience to try on shoes.
  These experiences help consumers make purchase decisions and strengthen brand loyalty.
• Driving virality
  - AR/VR technology encourages consumers to share their experiences on social media, creating a natural viral marketing effect. Nike's AR shoe fitting is a prime example.
• Personalized marketing
  - Combined with AI, AR/VR technology can deliver tailored content based on consumer data, enabling hyper-personalized experiences.

AR/VR marketing trends for 2025

• Combining with the Metaverse
  - We'll see more brand campaigns utilizing AR/VR technology on the Metaverse platform, making the digital buying experience more immersive.
• Advancements in wearable devices
  - As devices like AR glasses and VR headsets become more commonplace, more consumers will have access to AR/VR marketing.
• Adoption of haptic technology
  - Advances in haptic technology, which reproduces the sense of touch, will enable more realistic and immersive experiences.
• Proliferation of 5G networks
  - 5G technology will facilitate the delivery of high-quality AR/VR content and enhance real-time interactivity.

Successful AR/VR marketing strategies

• Consumer-centric design: Content should be designed with user convenience and immersion in mind.
• Utilize storytelling: Include storytelling elements to effectively tell your brand story.
• Balance technology and ethics: Utilize technology while considering data privacy and ethical issues.

AR/VR is more than just a technological innovation; it's breaking new ground in marketing. It allows businesses to create unforgettable experiences for consumers and build a strong brand image.

5. Social Impact & Sustainability

As consumers become increasingly concerned about environmental and social issues, brands are actively incorporating corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and sustainability into their marketing strategies. It's important to go beyond the keyword "ethical" and create an experience that says, "By buying this brand, I'm making a positive impact on the world.

Social Impact

Social impact refers to the activities a company undertakes to positively impact society and is closely linked to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management. Its key characteristics include

• Increasedsocial responsibility: Companies are increasingly looking beyond just making a profit to realize social value, such as protecting the environment, contributing to society, and revitalizing communities.
• Branding strategy: Branding around social impact strengthens the emotional connection with consumers. For example, it is essential to incorporate the founder's vision and philosophy into the brand story, or to tell stories that resonate with customers.
• Leveraging platforms: Domestic platforms such as NAVER Happybean and Kakao Impact are realizing social impact through donations and social innovation projects.

Sustainability

Sustainability is emerging as a key element of corporate management in line with the trend of value consumption among consumers:

• Theexpansion of value consumption: consumers value not only the utility of products, but also the brand philosophy and sustainability, such as environmental protection and ethical production.
• Green marketing.
  - Campaigns that emphasize specific efforts, such as using eco-friendly materials and reducing carbon emissions, are on the rise. For example, highlighting environmental efforts during production or recycling campaigns are common ways to communicate sustainability.
• ESG management: ESG management is linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is becoming an important criteria for evaluating companies.

Apply your marketing strategy

• Enhance storytelling: Create stories about your production process or environmental contributions to communicate your brand's social value and sustainability to consumers.
• Build a fanbase: Leverage your brand's fanbase to create a community and design campaigns that engage fans.
• Deliver hyper-personalized experiences: Leverage AI and data technologies to deliver personalized content and services that align with consumers' individual values.

6. Niche & Community Marketing

Targeting "niche communities" that share a specific interest or culture is becoming more effective than broad messages aimed at the masses. Consumers are more likely to share product reviews and talk about their experiences within communities with common tastes.

Key features of community-driven marketing

• Personalized approach: In an era where average consumer tastes have disappeared, brands engage with groups with specific interests to build deeper relationships.
• Emphasizes social interaction: By facilitating interaction between consumers within the community, brands receive feedback and build trust.
• Niche targeting: By targeting a narrow, specific niche, brands gain a competitive advantage and increase customer loyalty.

Benefits of community-driven marketing

• Buildsfandom: Consumers with common interests feel a sense of belonging through communities, which strengthens their loyalty to your brand. Example: LG Gram user community 'Fun'.
• Word-of-mouth effect: Word of mouth that occurs naturally within a community delivers high marketing impact at a relatively low cost.
• Two-way communication: Real-time feedback can bridge the psychological distance with consumers and further enhance their experience.

Success stories

• House of the Day
  - A platform that combines interior content and commerce.
  - User-generated content and a thriving community.
  - Grew to become Korea's leading home improvement platform with over 5 million monthly visitors.
• Carrot Market
  - Expanded from a region-based second-hand trading platform to a local community.
  - Provided opportunities for residents to share information and promote self-employed businesses.
  - Accumulated 32 million subscribers by 2022.

Effective community marketing strategies

• Segment your audience: Create a specific community for users of a particular product or service (e.g., LG's Gram user group).
• Deliver content: Create quality content that drives ongoing activity (e.g., "housewarming" content for a house of the day).
• Leverage platforms: Drive community engagement through blogs, social media groups, newsletters, and more.

Community-driven marketing is more than just a trend; it's a key component of modern marketing strategies. If brands can build a successful community with a personalized approach and ongoing communication tailored to the interests of their consumers, they will see long-term growth and loyalty.

7. Micro-Influencer Marketing

Even more than mega-influencers with millions of followers, "micro-influencers" with real influence and high engagement rates in a specific field are gaining traction. They have the advantage of being smaller in size, but have stronger relationships with their followers, making their brand advocacy more authentic.

What is a micro-influencer?

Micro-influencers are social media users, typically with between 1,000 and 100,000 followers, who have high credibility and expertise in a particular field or topic. They have a relatively small subscriber base, but their high engagement rates and authentic interactions make them highly effective in brand marketing.

Benefits of micro-influencer marketing

• High engagement and credibility
  - Micro-influencers interact closely with their followers and have high engagement rates through comments, likes, and shares.
  - Their recommendations are authentic and trustworthy, and have a strong influence on their followers' purchasing decisions.
• Affordable
  - Compared to mega influencers, sponsorship and advertising costs are lower, making them ideal for brands with limited budgets.
  - Even product seeding (which is free) increases the likelihood of collaboration, which is an advantage for early-stage brands.
• Targeted marketing
  - Subscriber base based on specific interests or geography, making them effective for niche marketing strategies.
  - Aligns well with social shopping trends favored by younger consumers like Gen Z.

Platforms and examples

• Major platforms
  - Micro-influencers are active on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and more, and short-form video and live streaming are emerging as key mediums.
• Success stories
  - Korean skincare brand Cosalex successfully increased sales in global markets with a TikTok campaign utilizing micro-influencers in North America. This example demonstrates the power of micro-influencers based on their high engagement rate and credibility.

Looking ahead to 2025

Micro-influencers will continue to be a key marketing strategy for businesses due to their accessibility and effectiveness compared to larger influencers, especially as the consumer trend toward personalized content and authenticity continues.

8. Data Privacy & Transparency

Data collection and use has become more challenging due to cookie regulations and stricter privacy laws, so we expect marketing in 2025 to increasingly rely on zero-party data (data provided directly from consumers). At the same time, you'll need to be transparent about what data is being used and how it's being used to maintain consumer trust.

Data privacy and marketing

• Personalized advertising and data leverage
  - User data is used to analyze consumer behavior and preferences to deliver personalized ads. This can help maximize ad effectiveness and increase the sophistication of targeting. However, this use of data comes with its own set of privacy and ethical challenges, and has raised privacy concerns among users.
• Regulation and technological change
  - Regulations like the GDPR are strengthening privacy protections and requiring companies to be transparent and accountable for their data use. New regulations, such as the recent Digital Markets Act (DMA), are also restricting the use of data by big tech companies. Technologically, the way data is collected and utilized is changing, with the deprecation of third-party cookies and the introduction of privacy sandboxes.

The importance of transparency

• Building consumer trust
  - Consumers want to be clear about how companies collect and use their data. Providing easy-to-understand privacy policies and offering data management tools are some of the ways companies are increasing transparency.
  - Transparency may be inconvenient in the short term, but it builds customer trust in the long term.
• Transparency and competitiveness
  - Transparent data management and security measures are becoming a key competitive advantage for organizations. It is seen as more than just a legal requirement, but a strategic element that strengthens relationships with consumers.

Future prospects

• Advances in AI and machine learning
  - Artificial intelligence technologies are enabling more sophisticated personalized advertising and data analytics, but they can also increase the risk of privacy breaches. The balance between technology and ethics will become increasingly important.
• Increased user rights
  - Consumers are demanding control over their data and will likely demand more explicit consent for data use.
  - Data privacy and transparency are becoming more than just regulatory compliance; they are essential to building trust-based marketing strategies and sustainable business models.

9. Omnichannel Experience

Delivering a consistent customer experience across multiple touchpoints, including brick-and-mortar stores, online websites, mobile apps, social media, and the metaverse, is essential. The goal is to create a unified customer journey where data across channels should flow organically, and where a purchase can be started on one channel and continued and completed on another.

Defining an omnichannel experience

• Omnichannelis a combination of the Latin words "Omni" (all) and "Channel" (channel) and refers to the organic connection of all the online and offline channels available to customers to provide a consistent experience.
  This approach focuses on helping brands deliver a seamless customer experience across multiple touchpoints, including websites, mobile apps, and brick-and-mortar stores.

Key strategies

• Enhance customer experience (CX)
  - Deliver differentiated customer experiences through integration between digital and offline channels.
  - Utilizing VR and AR technologies to connect virtual and offline experiences.
• Creating synergy between digital and offline
  - Utilize brick-and-mortar stores as logistics hubs or offer quick commerce and pickup/return services.
  - Incorporating digital technologies such as personalized recommendations, loyalty programs, and easy payments.
• Leverage new platforms like Metaverse
  - Provide branded experience spaces and combine virtual and physical services through metaverses.

Success stories

• Starbucks
  - Maximizing customer convenience with ordering and payment systems via mobile apps.
  - Building a loyal customer base with the My Starbucks Rewards™ program.
• Lululemon
  - Delivering personalized home training via video chat and smart mirrors.
  - Integrating digital and offline shopping experiences.
• Target
  - Partnered with Pinterest to introduce visual search technology.
  - Driving online visits with the ability for customers to snap photos to find similar products.
• Walmart
  - Increased sales by enabling online ordering and in-store pickup.

10. Short-form Video Storytelling

The era of short-form video (e.g., 15-30 seconds) continues to grow, and more and more companies are incorporating "emotional stories" as well as simple introductions or entertaining elements. The ability to capture immediate attention, convey brand emotion in a natural way, and convey key messages succinctly is becoming increasingly important.

What is short-form content and why is it growing?

• Changing consumer behavior: The proliferation of smartphones and the desire to consume short-form content has made short-form content mainstream. TikTok, Instagram Releases, and YouTube Shorts are leading the way.
• Immediate engagement: Short length and multi-sensory elements capture consumers' attention and are effective throughout the purchase journey.
• Cost-effective: Low production costs make them accessible to small businesses, and they're highly effective at communicating information and building brands.

Marketing benefits of storytelling short-form content

• Strengthen brand awareness
  - Make your brand memorable by delivering a powerful message in a short amount of time.
  - Emotional or authentic stories build trust with consumers.
• Increase purchase intent
  - When consumers connect emotionally with your brand, it positively influences their purchase decision process.
• Drive engagement
  - Drive spontaneous user engagement through challenge or fandom-based content.

Effective storytelling short-form content strategy

• Content planning
  - Clarify your message and tell an emotional or informative story in a short amount of time.
  - Example: Creating a video about the making of a product or brand philosophy.
• Leverage platforms
  - Distribute the same content across multiple platforms, such as TikTok, Instagram releases, and YouTube shorts (O.S.M.U strategy).
• Leverage AI
  - Use generative AI technology to create personalized content and enhance targeting.
• Fandom-based campaigns
  - Leveraging events and fan content to engage fans.

What the future holds

By 2025, short-form content will evolve beyond a simple advertising vehicle to become more personalized and sophisticated in combination with AI. This will enable organizations to enhance the consumer experience and build lasting brand loyalty.

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