Our Insights
Media Trends We’re Anticipating in 2025
We started Lewis Media nearly three decades ago because we wanted to deliver a different standard for our clients. And while that hasn't changed, the industry as a whole has done nothing BUT change. By honing in specifically on media, building a deep bench of channel experts, and investing equally in our team and tech — we’re equipped to stay ahead of the curve. Just like every year prior, we expect plenty of change to come down the pipeline in 2025. Here’s what we have our eye on.
AI’s Impact Will Grow
Artificial intelligence regularly makes headlines, and we anticipate it will continue to do so in 2025. For our team, AI has automated some of our internal processes so that we can be more efficient with running and optimizing campaigns. We now have more time to leverage our human know-how and expertise. With the housekeeping handled by AI, we’re reallocating our extra time to media strategy, analyzing data, and considering the big picture and our next move.
While AI makes some of our tasks easier, it can make others more difficult. For example, Meta AI has been implemented for advertisers on Meta platforms, and can be pretty heavy handed in adjusting campaigns automatically. In many cases you can’t toggle this option off, and if you do, AI sometimes still steps in and makes adjustments regardless of presets. That’s why having a hands-on media company like LMP matters. We don’t pass off client campaigns to third parties to manage. We keep a close eye on them ourselves, and an especially close eye given these new AI-driven changes. In 2025 we’ll continue monitoring client campaigns closely to adjust, reset, and make changes as needed.
More Shifts Thanks to the Impact of AI on Search
Artificial intelligence plays a role with search as well. The impact of AI on search is apparent because it’s nearly impossible to type a search query into Google without being presented with a response generated by AI. In fact, that’s usually what’s shown first. The percentage of people who rely on these AI-generated replies is on the rise, with more than half of Gen Z and millennial browsers reporting that they head directly to ChatGPT when they have a question.(1) Younger generations also lean on the search functions within TikTok and Instagram when looking for information rather than traditional search engines.
You might think that the impact of AI on search means you can ease up on your SEO strategy, but we don’t think that’s the case. Folks remain weary of the influence of AI, and AI-generated responses aren’t necessarily the best or most reliable answer to individual queries. Online users know that there is a difference between AI and Google search. As a result, SEO optimization still has a place in 2025. We wrote a blog all about the continual need for a sound SEO strategy here.
It is important though to consider where display ads are placed, as that might change alongside the changing AI and search engine experience. We’ll be giving that careful consideration as the year progresses and consider all available options as the offerings change. Ads placed within AI-search tools aren’t a worthwhile investment for our clients just yet, but we’re keeping an eye on it so that we can leverage that placement once it’s viable. From our perspective, the phrase “because that’s how we’ve always done it” has no place in a modern and flexible media strategy
Audience Fragmentation Will Present a Challenge
Our goal at Lewis Media is to reach a client’s audience where they are. But gone are the days of that being a straightforward answer. The number of streaming platforms continues to increase, more podcasts are added daily, and new social media platforms regularly hit the scene. As a result, your audience might be spending their time across several different channels. For the average brand, audience fragmentation makes it really challenging to figure out where your media dollars are most effective.
Streaming services are bundling together, they’re expanding into live TV, and they’re partnering with sports leagues. Netflix has a deal with FIFA, the NFL, and WWE. The 2024 Summer Olympics received unprecedented streaming coverage and personalization with Peacock. Multiple streaming platforms are currently trying to secure rights to women’s sports, viewership of which has more than doubled since 2022.(2) Each streaming platform is vying to bulk up their offerings and earn their slice of the pie, but for every new platform and bundle, audience fragmentation gets worse.
Our advice? Don’t rely on guesswork. Brands need to really dive into who their target audience is, where they’re spending their time, and what message will resonate most. At LMP, we leverage media mix modeling and client data to nail down these answers before we start campaigns. Media strategy isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. We work with our clients to recommend the right creative for the right channel to meet their unique goals. Audience fragmentation will continue to present a challenge in 2025, but partnering with the right media agency can help your brand overcome audience fragmentation to meet your goals.
Retail Media Will Be a Game Changer for Brands
We’ve seen the growth and impact of retail media firsthand over the past couple of years, and we think it will continue to see notable growth in 2025. We’ve invested in Skai to improve retail media campaign performance for our clients, and it’s helped us do just that. That, along with more than a decade spent mastering The Trade Desk, and our in-house retail media expertise is industry leading. Don’t just take our word for it though. When we launched a recent retail media campaign for one of our clients, we were able to deliver a 113% increase in return on ad spend compared to the agency they were working with prior.
Retail media offerings will continue to grow in 2025, and our ability to leverage them will grow alongside it. We’ve already started investing in additional resources to expand our demand-side platform advertising capabilities (more to come on this later this year!)
One Last Thing…
You can count on two things in the media industry. First, that it will continue to change, but it might not be the gradual changes we’ve seen in the past. AI has the potential to rapidly accelerate the change in our industry. And second, we’ll be honest with you every step of the way. Something that isn’t changing this year is the transparency we offer our clients. Data drives our decision making and allows us to track our campaign performance. We think it’s incredibly important that our clients see, have access to, and fully understand the metrics that matter most. That’s not a 2025 media trend though — our commitment to transparency is built into every element of our business.
Get in touch with us to learn more about the Lewis Media difference.
