Kicking off 2025 with 10 High-Impact Marketing Campaigns
First - a happy new year to you all and as always, here's a link to check out all my Other Blog Posts before we begin.
10 High-Impact Marketing Campaigns to Drive Growth
Hello, hello, hello to all you founders out there! You’re still alive and kicking – congrats!! Honestly, it’s not a guarantee, so be sure to celebrate the win and be thankful you can keep going.
I have a family member that will rename nameless for this, but one of their favourite sayings is that “life is like a toilet paper roll – the less you have left, the quicker it seems to disappear!“
We all know how quickly 2024 flew by and as 2050 is now closer to us than the year 2000 was, it’s time to start thinking about the future and to plan it better. Especially if you’re a business looking to scale this year.
It’s crucial for your business to adopt marketing strategies that resonate with your consumer behaviors and make the most of tech advancements. So, without further ado, here are ten marketing campaigns to consider for a successful start to the year (and no, it’s not about making cringey Gen-Z videos):
Why do you even need a Marketing Strategy?
Let’s start off with the basics shall we?
You’re entering yet another year where there is more competition than ever, both on a local and on a global level. There are more businesses popping up now than ever before! Innovation is being seen in almost every industry thanks to new technological advancements and if you decide to just sit on your behind thinking “my business is doing great, I don’t need to change” then your business will most likely become a casualty in the coming years.
AI-Driven Personalization
Leverage artificial intelligence to deliver personalized experiences, enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction. For instance, Netflix’s recommendation system uses AI to suggest content tailored to individual preferences, significantly boosting user retention (in case you had no idea how recommendations work).
But what can you do as a smaller business that doesn’t have the budget of Netflix? Well start by asking my best friend – ChatGPT. AI is all around us – if you still aren’t using it, I envy your ability to live under a rock for so long. Now – very important to note. If you’re simply using ChatGPT to generate text for you and then you copy-paste it without a second thought, then welcome to the land of mediocrity – you’re part of the problem! No matter how well you’ve taught your own little GPT to reply to you in the way you like by giving it a “thumbs up” on every other response, it’s not enough. You need to keep some of your personality and you most definitely need to add your own expertise to the topic at hand if you want to be taken seriously.
Source: Altitude Marketing
Best for: Both B2B and B2C businesses aiming to enhance customer experience through personalization.
Interactive Content
Engage audiences with quizzes, polls, and interactive infographics that encourage participation and sharing. BuzzFeed’s quizzes are a prime example, driving high engagement and viral sharing. I mean, they’re very much 2016-2020, but, I predict a version of them will come back this year. Why? Just look at every social media. Instagram and LinkedIn and Facebook are pushing for more of their various formats to be used in posts – LinkedIn promotes the use of Polls, Instagram does the same with stories that have Questions in them and to boost engagement has now allowed people to comment on stories in general too.
People don’t want one-sided communication. They don’t want to be told something. They want to feel engaged. Right? Right?!? I mean, you’re reading this – and it’s a very one-sided affair, but you’re not exactly most consumers.
Best for: B2C businesses looking to boost brand awareness and customer interaction.
Community-Driven Campaigns
Build and nurture communities around your brand to foster loyalty and advocacy. LEGO’s Ideas platform allows fans to submit and vote on new set designs, creating a sense of ownership and community.?
We’ve talked about communities a LOT on this website, from how to be creative with them, to how your brand voice resonates through them.
For 2025, have a think if your business is actually able to “give a voice to the voiceless” and either form a new community around a specific topic or rally a population that is there but currently scattered into a single unit that stands strong behind your brand. An example would be RedBull and everybody who loves adrenaline.
Source: Foleon
Best for: B2C businesses aiming to create a loyal customer base.
Sustainable Marketing
Highlight your brand’s commitment to sustainability to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers. Patagonia’s “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign encouraged customers to buy used items or repair their gear, promoting sustainability.?
Maybe you’re sitting here saying “we’ve got nothing to do with sustainability” – sometimes, that’s okay too. As a business, you don’t have to, and in fairness you really shouldn’t be everywhere, care for everything and try to appeal to everyone. That’s the one surefire way to fail spectacularly. Find your people and work for them, they’ll appreciate it more than you trying to be a little bit of everything and spreading yourself too thin.
Source: The Sustainable Agency
Best for: Both B2B and B2C businesses with a focus on corporate social responsibility.
Influencer Collaboration 2.0
Partner with influencers who align with your brand values to reach new audiences. Something that I have been saying for a very long time and will continue to repeat – do NOT think you need to “go big or go home” with influencers. Building long-term relationships with them is far more important than to pay a large lump-sum, once-off for a single post and then have the influencer and all their fans forget about you the very next day. Having someone who genuinely cares about what you do, advocate for you every day is incredibly powerful.?
Do note – influencers aren’t only on social media, that’s just where their voice gets amplified. For small, local businesses the solution may very well be the most “popular” person in town becoming a “fan” of your business and recommending his friends and family go there. Understand that this sort of “stamp of approval” carries a lot of weight and even if it’s just one-person in your mind, there is a virality element to it that you may not expect but will be felt once you make that connection a reality.
Source: Vogue Business
Best for: B2C businesses aiming to expand their reach through trusted voices.
领英推荐
Email Marketing Revamp
Enhance email campaigns with personalized content and LESS dynamic visuals to increase open rates and conversions. Airbnb’s personalized email recommendations based on user behavior have proven effective. However, ’tis an expensive one!?
But wait, what do you mean LESS visual elements?! Yes. Stop it. Nobody receives an email that is so bloody beautiful they linger in it longer (yes, obviously there are exceptions). Do you know what works even better? Sending them information in the email that your users actually want to read! I know, shocking right?!?
E-mail marketing is brutally powerful and if you want to argue with me that it’s dead – sure, let me know by emailing me at [email protected].?
Source: Altitude Marketing
Best for: Both B2B and B2C businesses seeking direct communication with their audience.
Customer-Centric Loyalty Programs
Develop loyalty programs that offer real value, encouraging repeat business and customer retention. Almost every big business now has some form of referral programs, retention programs and whatever else have you. The pain of customer churn is so immense – the fact that they not only spent the money to acquire you as a customer (CAC) but then lose you as a current customer, lose access to your network of potential referrals and lose your testimonial because of X, Y, or Z?! That is absolutely dreadful! It’s why businesses fight SO hard to keep you once they get you. They understand the pain of having a high churn. Once you get a customer – keep them happy and they’ll bring more customers. If they leave unhappy, not only will they not bring you more customers, they may convince others not to join or worse – convince others to leave too!?
Be smarter – develop a retention program and invest into it properly!!
Source: Foleon
Best for: B2C businesses aiming to increase customer retention.
Video Content Expansion
Again, I don’t think I’ll ever advocate posting generic, cringey video content online just to try and get some more views. Even if you get some views out of these types of clips, if this isn’t your personality and your style across the board, there is absolutely no point in you wasting your time to do this.
Then again, if you aren’t using videos you most definitely are missing out! This is the most popular form of consuming content and short-form videos are the ONLY type of content which is viewable on EVERY single social media platform – TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn – they all have it. It is the most shareable form of content that allows you to use both audio and visual hooks to reel the user’s attention (sorry, not sorry about the pun).?
Want examples of how videos work? SERIOUSLY?!! Open any of the 14 apps you have on your phone and see how you brain-rot for over an hour doom-scrolling through meaningless content and then ask me again…
Source: Vidsaga
Best for: Both B2B and B2C businesses looking to enhance engagement.
Hyperlocal Marketing
Ohhhh, it has “Hyper” in the title so it must be important! Truth is, there is local marketing – flyers, location targeted ads, etc. but you can actually do a lot more!
It’s similar to the way you can advertise to a specific segment of businesses in an industry OR you can do Account Based Marketing (ABM) where you run ads and different in-person and digital campaigns targeting the potential decision makers and champions of a single organization to get them talking about your product. This is incredibly successful when it comes to marketing to larger organizations.
Well, back to the topic at hand, businesses in 2025 should target local audiences with tailored campaigns to increase relevance and engagement. Domino’s “Pizza Turnaround” campaign addressed customer complaints of pizza arriving cold, leading to improved brand perception. Want to dive in deeper? Imagine you’re a brick-and-mortar store and decide to go door-to-door in your neighbourhood and give everyone a sample of your products instead of waiting them to possibly come by the store. You get to build a relationship with these people and get them interested in who you are as well as what you’re offering.
Source: Altitude Marketing
Best for: B2C businesses with a physical presence aiming to strengthen local ties.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Implement analytics to inform marketing strategies, ensuring campaigns are effective and measurable. Spotify’s personalized playlists are based on user data, yes. Now every other business is doing “2024 recap” and what not.?
However, probably without even knowing it, you have loads of data on your users too! The way they use your products or explore your website – what kind of insights can you get from that? Maybe plan more content like those posts that have worked well before. Maybe you can launch a new product that answers some of the problems your clients have been complaining about.
You have vast amounts of information all around you – use it well!
Source: Exploding Topics
Best for: Both B2B and B2C businesses aiming for measurable marketing success.
Key Takeaways
It’s literally 10 bullet points – don’t tell me you want me to spell them out here again… Ugh, fine – here:
By integrating even one of these strategies into your marketing plan, you can position your business for success in 2025. Tailor each approach to fit your specific industry and audience and don’t forget to show your own personality with everything that you do!
Happy New Year!
Have a brilliant week ahead,
Lenard?
This list of marketing strategies is inspiring—practical, forward-thinking, and relatable. I love how it balances innovation (like AI and data-driven decisions) with timeless principles like building loyalty and community. The tone is conversational, almost like a pep talk, which makes it feel actionable. It’s clear the author wants readers to think strategically without losing their unique voice. Personally, I’m intrigued by the hyperlocal and community-driven ideas—there’s something powerful about connecting on a grassroots level. Good article Lenard! I like it :)