As we step into 2025, unexpected trends are set to redefine how brands connect with their audiences. Traditional tactics alone will no longer suffice; brands must embrace these emerging trends to remain competitive and relevant.
With insights from our experts, we’ll explore eight digital marketing strategies poised to transform the industry in 2025 and offer actionable insights so you can lead the charge in your industry. Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
The Importance of Incorporating Unexpected Marketing Trends
Embracing unexpected digital marketing trends is necessary if you want your business to stay relevant, drive growth, and build lasting customer connections. These trends often emerge from new technologies, cultural shifts, and changing consumer preferences, offering unique opportunities to stand out.
Unexpected trends often hold the key to meeting modern customer demands. By staying agile and proactive, you can use these trends to create campaigns that resonate deeply and drive meaningful results. Successful brands are those that anticipate, adapt, and innovate, transforming challenges into opportunities for lasting impact.
8 Unexpected Digital Marketing Trends in 2025
Here’s a closer look at the unexpected trends in digital marketing that you should embrace to stay ahead:
- Extended reality
- Voice search optimization
- Platform convergence
- Creative targeting tactics
- Hyper-personalization
- Visual search integration
- Predictive analytics
- AI-driven content generation
1. Extended Reality
Extended reality is an all-encompassing term for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR): two innovative techniques that change people’s perception of their own reality or transport them to a new reality.
Global revenue in the AR/VR market is expected to exceed $40 billion in 2024, with an annual growth rate of 8.97% in the next five years. It is a booming market whose concepts can easily be integrated into various applications and experiences, so it’s an exciting opportunity for VR & augmented reality companies.
AR/VR and extended reality can be applied to the following:
- Mobile apps: Enhancing user experience with interactive and immersive features
- Websites: Integrating virtual showrooms or 3D product displays to engage visitors
- Social media: Creating shareable AR filters and experiences to boost brand visibility
- Video production and marketing: Incorporating virtual environments and 360° videos to captivate audiences
- Digital games: Offering immersive gameplay with AR/VR-based interactions
What The Experts Have To Say
Robert Spierenburg, CEO and Co-Founder of All Things Media, emphasizes the growing role of AR/VR in retail: “Augmented and virtual reality have already made inroads in retail and will become more mainstream in the coming year. As online shopping continues to grow, so do returns and customer complaints.
“In order to increase efficiency, online retailers are beginning to adopt extended reality tools to assist the customer. This adoption can be seen across a wide range of product types ranging from everyday household items from Amazon all the way up to luxury automobiles like Cadillac.”
He presents the following examples of AR/VR deployed effectively in digital marketing:
- Amazon has integrated an augmented reality viewer into their mobile application allowing customers to view multiple product types in their homes before purchase.
- With the help of ATM, Cadillac has deployed mobile virtual reality experiences designed to help users visualize vehicles from the comfort of their homes.
- The Ikea Place app allows shoppers to virtually place Ikea furniture in their homes.
- The Dulux Visualizer lets customers virtually paint a room without touching a roller.
- The Converse Sampler app lets users virtually try on shoes.
He expects great things for this digital marketing trend, and concludes, “As extended reality devices become more commonplace and cost-effective, this trend will only increase leading to a more immersive and practical online shopping experience.”
2. Voice Search Optimization
Voice search has changed how people interact with technology and their devices, as virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa have become household staples. This trend demands a shift from traditional search engine optimization (SEO) to voice-oriented SEO.
Businesses that prioritize voice SEO can capture new audiences, especially the growing demographic of smart speaker users. Around 21% of the global population already uses voice search — it caters to users on the go, providing hands-free convenience.
Voice search can be applied in many ways:
- Voice-activated advertising: Designing ad campaigns that integrate with Siri or Alexa to promote products or services.
- Localized marketing: Targeting local voice search queries to drive foot traffic and local engagement.
- Voice command integration: Adding voice search features to apps or websites for enhanced accessibility and user experience.
- Product discovery: Using voice search tools to help customers find products quickly, increasing eCommerce efficiency and sales.
3. Platform Convergence
Platform convergence refers to the integration and unification of multiple digital platforms to create seamless, cohesive user experiences and business operations. It involves aligning marketing channels, data systems, and customer interactions across social media, websites, email, mobile apps, and more.
In 2025, consumers expect consistent experiences across all touchpoints. Platform convergence ensures that interactions, whether on a website or social media, are coherent and reflect your brand’s identity. For example, a user can shop on your app, receive a cart reminder via email, and then complete the purchase on their desktop, all without repeating or adding steps.
Through social media platforms with shopping capabilities (Instagram and TikTok), you can sync your inventory systems with your business account. You can also leverage integrated tools like Salesforce so your marketing, sales, and customer service teams can work from a single system and deliver seamless customer experiences.
4. Creative Targeting Tactics
With rising concerns over data breaches, growing consumer demand for privacy, and regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the digital marketing landscape is undergoing a fundamental shift. Third-party cookies, once the backbone of targeted advertising, are being phased out, leaving brands searching for alternatives.
By 2025, the focus will shift to first-party data — information collected directly from customer interactions. This emerging digital marketing trend ensures a safer, more transparent way to gather insights while complying with privacy laws.
To adapt, marketers will need to rethink strategies and focus on building direct relationships with audiences through engaging content, loyalty programs, and interactive experiences. Brands that embrace this change will be positioned to thrive in a privacy-first era.
What The Experts Have To Say
Cary Johnson, former CEO at Elevated Internet Marketing, is a strong proponent of safe and secure audience targeting: “Data breaches are everywhere. With privacy being an ongoing and growing issue, we have seen a lot of changes in the digital marketing world that have limited our ability to target as effectively as we once did, especially after the fallout of Facebook’s many data breaches and GDPR updates.
“With this in mind, one of the changes we have started to see (and are prepared for to happen more extensively) is the diminishing ability to target effectively within platforms like Facebook and Google, where they will take further steps back from utilizing their own data to target in an effort to protect themselves. This will require marketers to defer to third-party targeting tools like Experion, Valassis, and others to access the segmentation and targeting needs they have...”
He predicts the rise of first-party data for effective and trustworthy marketing: “First-party data will continue to have an ever-growing role in targeting, whether it is for retention, lookalikes or follow-ups, the best customer is one you already have. So, you should have your privacy policy polished, at some point, these will undoubtedly come under fire.
“To improve your own targeting efforts in digital marketing campaigns, use customized and segmented lists, personalize messaging, and make the online experience a positive one when using these lists, or you run the risk of betraying (and annoying) your most valuable audience.”
5. Hyper-Personalization
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) empower businesses to deliver tailored marketing strategies by analyzing vast amounts of consumer data. Personalized messaging and experiences make customers feel valued and heard, which fosters long-term loyalty. Tailored campaigns are also more likely to convert, maximizing marketing spend.
Around 73% of consumers expect more personalized content, offers, and experiences as technology improves. Additionally, hyper-personalization differentiates your business in crowded markets, and you can ensure your strategies remain relevant and responsive.
Hyper-personalization in digital marketing can be applied in many ways:
- Product recommendations: Leveraging ML to suggest products that customers are most likely to buy.
- Real-time messaging: Sending push notifications or in-app messages based on a user’s location or activity (e.g., food delivery apps offering discounts for nearby customers).
- Tailored ads: Displaying ads based on a user’s search history, preferences, or demographic data for highly relevant targeting.
- Customized landing pages: Directing different audience segments to personalized landing pages designed to cater to their specific needs and interests.
6. Visual Search Integration
One of the top emerging marketing trends is visual search integration, which allows users to upload or capture images to find relevant information or products. Google Lens and Pinterest Lens are spearheading this transformation and simplifying product discovery for millions of consumers.
With this technology, customers find exactly what they’re looking for, which reduces decision-making time. Additionally, visual search aligns with customer habits of capturing and discovering visually and eliminates the need for descriptive keywords.
Here's how brands and retailers can integrate this into their digital marketing strategies:
- eCommerce product search: Allowing customers to upload images of products to find visually similar items
- Style matching: Helping fashion and home decor shoppers find complementary items based on a photo of their outfit or room setup
- Enhanced SEO: Optimizing images with metadata to rank higher in visual search engine results
- Real-time inventory search: Linking visual search to local stores to show product availability in nearby locations
7. Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics, powered by AI, uses historical data to forecast future customer behaviors. It equips businesses with the ability to anticipate customer behavior, optimize marketing strategies, and improve decision-making.
By anticipating customer needs, predictive analytics ensures smoother transitions through the sales funnel and reduces friction points. Furthermore, identifying at-risk customers and deploying retention strategies like personalized offers or rewards will increase long-term loyalty.
Predicting demand trends will help you align marketing efforts with product availability and peak sales periods. Knowing about outcomes like customer lifetime value or churn rates ensures that marketing budgets are spent on high-impact strategies.
8. AI-Driven Content Generation
Global spending on AI in marketing has reached $36 billion in 2024, with experts predicting it will surpass $100 billion by 2028. AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, and Synthesia are revolutionizing content creation by generating high-quality text, images, and even video content customized for specific audiences.
Here are some ways AI is aiding content creation:
- Generates blogs, product descriptions, and social media posts quickly and cost-effectively, which saves time and resources while maintaining quality.
- Allows businesses to produce and distribute vast amounts of content across multiple channels, improving search engine rankings and audience engagement.
- Enables real-time updates based on current events, audience behavior, or market trends.
- Assists in brainstorming and creating new, innovative ideas based on data-driven insights.
In 2025, AI-powered content generation will bridge the gap between creativity and scalability, empowering businesses to deliver impactful, timely, and resonant marketing efforts.
5 Best Digital Marketing Agencies
As these unexpected digital marketing trends reshape the industry, navigating them requires expertise and strategic foresight. Implementing cutting-edge strategies like AI, immersive experiences, and privacy-focused data collection can be complex and resource-intensive.
This is where hiring top digital marketing strategists becomes invaluable. These experts possess the knowledge and tools to translate trends into actionable campaigns that drive results:
1. NEXT/NOW
- Agency Expertise: Software development, AR/VR, wearable technology, Internet of Things
- Minimal Budget: $50,000 and up
- Hourly Rate: Inquire
NEXT/NOW is a pioneering agency transforming the VR industry with cutting-edge immersive experiences. From futuristic settings to serene bioluminescent forests, its state-of-the-art solutions transport users to extraordinary realms.
Through projection mapping on diverse surfaces and mixed-reality applications, the agency also creates interactive worlds that connect brands with audiences through unforgettable, deeply immersive environments.
Its notable clients include Intel, Nissan, and Goodyear.
2. SmartSites
- Agency Expertise: PPC, organic SEO, website development, social media marketing
- Minimal Budget: Inquire
- Hourly Rate: $100/hr
SmartSites is an award-winning digital marketing agency with expertise in SEO and PPC. One of the fastest-growing companies in the US, it specializes in medicine and healthcare, commercial industries, B2B, B2C, hospitality, and entertainment and media sectors.
The agency drives growth with scalable, best-in-class digital marketing solutions that outsmart the competition and exceed marketing goals.
3. Kobe Digital
- Agency Expertise: Website design, Shopify design & development, performance marketing, video production
- Minimal Budget: $1,000 - $10,000
- Hourly Rate: $150/hr
Building highly performing, personalized marketing campaigns for worldwide clients, Kobe Digital makes building value for companies of all profiles its priority. The agency understands that every business demands a tailored approach and, therefore, creates bespoke solutions to meet their needs. By combining data-driven insights with cutting-edge technology, it builds impactful strategies that drive measurable growth.
4. Effeect
- Agency Expertise:Pay-per-click marketing, social media marketing, conversion rate optimization, content marketing
- Minimal Budget: Under $1,000
- Hourly Rate: $80/hr
Effeect is a creative digital marketing agency with a multidisciplinary team that tailors strategies to enhance brand identity and digital presence. It aims to elevate clients’ rankings on search engines and social media platforms with highly impactful campaigns. The agency’s approach centers on delivering customers’ needs, which creates a path to long-term growth and success.
5. Elit-Web
- Agency Expertise: SEO, PPC, eCommerce marketing, lead generation, social media advertising
- Minimal Budget: $1,000 - $10,000
- Hourly Rate: $30/hr
Elit-Web is a results-driven digital marketing agency specializing in crafting tailored, data-driven strategies to elevate businesses in today’s competitive market. From increasing brand awareness to generating quality leads and maximizing return on investment, it uses advanced tools and analytics to deliver meaningful results. With a focus on innovation and strategic planning, the agency helps its clients achieve transformative growth.
Unexpected Digital Marketing Trends: Key Takeaways
By constantly innovating, brands can create engaging brand experiences, effectively capture target audiences online, serve them relevant content, and personalize their interactions on several platforms. These digital marketing tactics will improve brand awareness, increase online traffic, boost conversions, and increase the chance that one-time users transform into long-time customers.
If you need help innovating with your campaigns, consult with the top digital marketing companies from around the world on DesignRush.
Unexpected Digital Marketing Trends FAQs
1. How can brands prepare for unexpected digital marketing trends?
Brands should stay agile by investing in market research, emerging technologies, and expert guidance in navigating an ever-evolving landscape. Early adoption and experimentation with these trends allow businesses to stay competitive and relevant.
2. Why should brands hire experts to navigate 2025 digital marketing trends?
Emerging trends can be complex and resource-intensive to implement. Digital marketing experts bring the knowledge and tools to craft effective strategies, ensuring brands capture savvy audiences and stay competitive.
