What Changes Do Industry Leaders Wish For 2025?

As 2024 closes its chapter and the page turns to 2025, anticipation for what awaits for what will happen within the world of advertising, especially following such a tumultuous end of the year.

Throughout the last 18 months, much attention has gone into the impact of Gen AI, which is now very present while the biggest agency merger in the history of the industry was agreed with Omnicom and IPG set to come together next year.

Change is widespread, and we're not just talking about new business moves (which are also set to be big news next year as well.)

But who really knows what to expect? Creative Salon spoke to several agency leaders about what change they’d like to see it adopt in the coming year.

Being More Optimistically Fun

2024 was filled with economic uncertainty and political challenge. The industry needs to let its hair down more and be optimistic, according to some of its UK leaders. 

Hannah White, MD at New Commercial Arts (NCA) wants the industry to have “more fun” and celebrate the work that is done, less “ ‘The Industry is dead’ ” chatter. 

A CEO in agreement is Larissa Vince of TBWA\London who also wants the new year to make “more time to have fun” within adland. 

For James Murphy, CEO at Ogilvy UK, being more optimistic is a key wish for the next steps, “both in the creative output and in the industry itself”. 

Karen Martin, CEO at BBH London, feels that 2025 needs more generosity. “It can sometimes feel trite to talk about generosity and kindness in an industry, and world, that often lacks both, but it’s more important than ever,” she says. “Celebrate your competitor when they’ve made a cracking ad, loudly share in your team’s successes and keep creating opportunities for those around you.”

Similarly, Mark Eaves, founder of Gravity Road, wants kindness to take a step forwards. “I feel we’re getting to a stage where LinkedIn communities are behaving in the same hysterical, polarising ways that we, as an industry, have criticised on other social platforms. Observing some recent extremes of comment around certain brand relaunches or other marketing stories – where personal lives are targeted or spotlighted – is out of order. Rebalancing the critiques with the kindness is something I’d love to see.”

With global ad spend increasing, Gareth Mercer, founder of Pablo, would like to see an “appetite for fearless smart creativity grow in step”, making 2025 “the year of unbridled, optimistic fun.”

More collaboration

More agency leaders are hopeful that 2025 will be a year of collaboration. 

Richard Arscott, UK CEO of Revolt, would “love” to see more collaboration between brands. “Collaboration will help solve the problems we face and grow the brands we love faster,” he says. 

Michael Lee, CSO at VCCP, would love to see “more clients willing to do joint creative and media pitches” - assisting the “obvious” notion that the two should be once again fully joined up. “We work very closely with our counterparts in VCCP Media on quite a few projects and the creative and effectiveness synergies are bigger than ever,” he explains. “It’s such a relief to be able to start off in the same room, working from the same blank sheet of paper and have one conversation.” Lee adds that co-creation across partnerships and platforms is essential for reaching audiences and building brands for those targeting millennials and Gen Z.

Helen Bennet, CEO of Weber Shandwick, believes it would be “energising to see more cross-industry collaboration to proactively position (and protect) creativity as a powerful driver of economic growth”. She adds that the last few years have felt “characterised by reactive shifts and macro trends” - something collaborative creativity could influence. 

Separately, Tom Laranjo, group CEO at Total Media, reveals the main change he’d like to see in adland is the industry working together to “nurture and support diverse entry-level talent”. He says: “We need to accept that it’s not just enough to say that we want change but put things in place to actually achieve this. We’ve been committed to training our staff so they have the knowledge to advocate for more inclusion, and this should be the standard for any business hoping to make a real change.”

Digitas are in agreement, wanting to ensure everyone in the industry regardless of their background are given opportunity to thrive. “We believe that diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences are crucial for building thriving teams and delivering better work. We’re particularly focused on advancing female talent and supporting individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds, driving innovation and inclusivity in the industry.  By prioritising these groups, we can drive positive cultural and commercial impact, ensuring a more inclusive, innovative, and successful future for the industry.”

Confident forward-thinking creativity

Miranda Hipwell, CEO of adam&eveDDB London, wants the industry to continue off the spring its found in its step compared to years previous. “In Cannes this year, the focus was much more around creativity that drives effectiveness at the heart of what we do, and doing that in a way that is entertaining and perhaps not as purpose led,” she says. “Next year, I’ld like to see the industry double down on the magic that it can bring in terms of growth through creativity and making sure that we capture the value of it.”

Emma De La Fosse, CCO at Edelman, calls for an “even stronger focus on creativity-first thinking”, which Jason Cobbolt, CEO at BMB, adds that there needs to be a “deeper and firmly-held belief” in the value of the creative industry alongside pricing the product accordingly. 

Change that is more radically different could be what’s next on the cards, says Bill Scott, CEO of Droga5. “It really is time to reinvent ourselves - time now to find its collective new confidence and a new creative voice. We need to innovate with new work and break into new frontiers.” He continues: “At a time of continued uncertainty and challenge - the need for leaps in creativity and invention have never been greater - be it new ways of working, new types of work and re-imagining the convention. Doing things differently. Reinventing ourselves.” 

Lisa De Bonis, CEO of Huge, says that expectation lies with more agencies “bringing their unique personality and voices into solving the problems of today”. She adds: “A vibrant competitive landscape of unique voices is better for everyone in the long run.”

Greater leadership and investment 

The creative industry is an important channel for economic growth, with some agency leaders believing investment as opposed to cost will be a key factor in future improvement.  

Neil Henderson, CEO of St Luke’s, praises the IPA and its commitment to helping marketing to be seen as an “investment rather than a cost” - something he thinks is a viewpoint boardrooms across the country should establish. He adds: “If something positive came from the traumatic cost of living crisis it was new evidence of the elasticity of pricing for strong brands. Brand owners who have invested consistently in their brand were able to increase prices as their cost rose without significant loss to customers.

Henderson also notes how an IPA study points to evidence that analysts are increasingly emphasising the importance of the industry. He continues: “Brand strength and marketing was the most cited factor by analysts for appraising companies; 80 per cent of analysts in the 2023 sample examined marketing expenditure when they profiled companies - a huge increase from  6 per cent of the UK analysts served in 2005. Let’s hope this translates to greater commitment to brand investment through 2025.” 

Jamie Elliott, CEO of The Gate, feels agencies need to “flex” the industry’s muscles as part of the creative industries as a whole flexing theirs. “Reminding the government that is this one of the few industries in which the UK is world leading and a great contributor to the economy. An industry which deserves better support.” He adds that leaders need to step up for clients in order to help prove that “marketing can be a leading function” within their organisations.