2025 Paid Social Predictions

As 2025 begins, the digital ad landscape is evolving faster than ever. Meta’s ASC is now mainstream, cookies are still here, and advancements in adtech and AI continue to reshape consumer engagement. Here’s a deep dive into key industry trends, with actionable insights based on expert predictions.

The Power of Video: A New Era for Content

Shifts in consumer behavior coupled with advancements in video delivery algorithms are making video ads more impactful than ever before, and this year, we believe the results will begin to show in measurement formats such as LC, MMM and MTA. 

Why It Matters: Historically, performance only shined in a view-through capacity, but now, video ads are a crucial component to influencing purchasing decisions, and its impact is growing at unprecedented rates. 

Recommendations:

• Leverage Product Level Video (PLV) ads to easily convert your catalog content into video assets for testing.
• Prioritize short-form formats that capture attention quickly and consider testing longer video concepts as well. 

The Data Bottleneck: Breaking Through the Noise

Generative AI has unlocked limitless creative possibilities, but the reliance on data has caused a bottleneck. Teams face delays in data analysis, reliance on proxy metrics, and fragmented sources of truth.

Why it matters: The significant time it takes to gather, analyze, and act on data often limits agility and stifles creativity, making it hard to act on developing trends.

Recommendations:

• Test and Iterate Quickly: Deploy flexible, small-scale campaigns that gather insights while allowing the ability to adjust and keep pace with evolving consumer behavior.

Looking Beyond Last-Click Attribution

As the limitations of last-click (LC) attribution become more apparent, there is an increased need to address incrementality. Advertisers should begin to explore more holistic measurement methods such as Lift analysis, Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA), Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM), and Geo-Lift studies.

Why It Matters: Unlike last click models, these methods provide a clearer picture of incrementality and customer acquisition impact. 

Recommendations: 

• Run continuous platform conversion and/or brand lift studies to set benchmarks on incremental impact of your media dollars. 
• Partner with tools like Fospha and Measured (Kargo preferred partners) to adopt advanced measurement strategies.

The Rise of UGC and EGC: Authenticity Rules

User-generated content (UGC) and employee-generated content (EGC) are the new darlings of digital marketing. Consumers crave the biggest buzz word of 2024: Authenticity! And these formats are delivering stellar results - even when it is a scripted average content piece. Often, your best influencer is an existing customer or someone  on your payroll.

Why It Matters: Natively shot, relatable content cuts through the noise and builds trust with consumers increasingly looking to connect with familiar brands. 

Recommendations:

• Invest in UGC: Encourage customers to share their experiences.
• Explore EGC: Showcase employees as influencers to humanize your brand.
• Easily integrate these videos as part of our Product Level Video assets.

Pinterest: Promising but Patience Required

While Pinterest’s new automated campaigns are showing promise, they’re still in the early stages. 

Why It Matters: Early adopters may face short-term challenges but can gain a competitive edge in the long run.

Recommendations: 

• Maintain steady investments and continue to test but manage scale expectations for these platforms.
• Leverage Kargo to run creative simultaneously across multiple channels. 

The advertising world in 2025 is brimming with opportunities and challenges. By embracing these trends—from consistent spending to video content, data-driven insights to authentic UGC—brands can maintain a competitive edge in this dynamic landscape. Pay attention, stay nimble and enjoy this wild ride!