By Mike Sharp
It’s that time of year again: another round of predictions for the year to come. Many of the prediction articles out there focus almost entirely on the impact of AI and how it will help with creative: how it can write copy for us and speed up workflows. So I’m dodging those topics in favour of a more performance marketing focused round up. Buckle up.
1. The continuing slow death of GA4
Anyone who navigated their way through peak performance this year will have felt the pain of Google’s GA4, especially if it was their primary source of truth. Delays in attribution on the platform make it almost impossible to do real time optimisation or be agile around strategy.
We saw delays of two or three days before we got close to a view on how channels had performed. Many ecommerce brands are switching to the raft of real time competitors out there and using them alongside GA4. This leaves Google with the age old conundrum: evolve or die!
2. Search GPT gets a foothold
SearchGPT launched somewhat under the radar this year and is already shaking up how we look for information online. Instead of scrolling through pages of links like we do on Google or Microsoft, SearchGPT gives you straight-up answers in a much more conversational way. This has the potential to seriously change how people use search engines, which could dent Google’s dominance and ultimately its ad revenue. That said, Google isn’t sitting still—they’re working on their own AI integrations, with Gemini now baked into everything. Are Google’s generative AI results with AI Overviews enough to stave off this new contender? It’s an exciting shift that could completely change the way we search and interact with information.
3. Even more focus on privacy
Throughout 2024 there’s been a drive to address privacy concerns throughout the paid media world, with privacy-centric measurement one of the new buzzword bingo entries.
This has meant a shift towards more and more first party data, despite Google’s highly publicised u-turn on third party cookie depreciation (who knew it might impact their revenue?!). 2025 will see more solutions aimed at navigating this privacy-first world whilst maintaining the ability to do good and relevant advertising, through – yes you guessed it – the use of AI and more advanced modelling.
Compliance with the changes that are coming (especially in the US), or those already in place, will require proper consent management to avoid penalties from the ads platforms, or even the regulators.
4. 2023, 2024, 2025 The year of (Short Form) Video!
Much like the Year of Mobile back in the mid-noughties, video ads features yet again this year. Not as a new or exciting ad format but just as the new norm. Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and even now LinkedIn are pushing the boundaries with their platforms, allowing you as an advertiser to connect with your customers in a visually appealing way. Short form and UGC (user generated content) videos now limit the need for huge budget video creatives to gain cut through – though quality is still king!
Google has always sought a way to integrate video into its search product more, and this year I would expect to see video ads appearing in the AI overview results
5. We will all care about customer happiness more
Ever since we all got through the pandemics and lockdowns there has been a drive for more, more, more – chasing the highs we saw in eCommerce sales. That has never been more apparent than it was during the peak period of 2024. Google are already reporting record searches and sales but an increasing number of companies are questioning the cost. What are returns like over the period? What types of customers do we see? Are they truly valuable customers who will come back again? Are they happy customers?
In 2025 I would expect to see this continue as companies try to balance the power of AI with the real human touch. Customers will connect with brands who show genuine understanding of them and their needs.
Lifetime value isn’t a new measure, but an evolution of this is definitely on the horizon to track happy customers who are brand advocates, who buy again, who share their reviews, who trust the brand. Historically the finance directors of the world haven’t cared about this, but will 2025 be the year they sit up and take notice of the impact this could have on the bottom line?
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Launch is a performance marketing agency that takes a human approach. We use experimentation, a driven and ambitious team, and 12 years’ of performance marketing experience to deliver exceptional results for high performing marketing teams. Get in touch if we can help with anything.
