What’s your plan for connecting in 2025?

Growth and strategic planning are on everyone’s minds this time of year, and our clients say they are looking for ways to better connect with consumers in the year ahead. We have our own Stitch perspective, but we also wanted to bring some diverse perspectives from a selection of our agency partners.

We work hand-in-hand with these branding and communication experts to infuse authentic consumer insights into their client work, and asked them if they had any advice for our readers on the subject.

Here’s what our agency partners had to say...

STITCH: How can brand visuals create emotional bonds for consumers?

Caroline Dau , President + COO: We believe purposeful brand visuals build emotional bonds by immersing consumers in a cohesive brand world. Through thoughtful design that reflects a brand’s story and values, visuals invite trust and exploration, deepening customer loyalty and long-term engagement.

STITCH: How can brands tell better stories to build customer loyalty?

Mallory Collins , Director of Client Strategy: Exceptional stories start with listening, not telling. Brand stories need to appeal to what the audience already believes to be true. The truth is an insight that is uncovered when a brand actively listens to and attentively observes the target audience.

STITCH: How can brands stay in touch with consumers through evolving cultural contexts in 2025?

Carolyn Hopkins-Vasquez , Vice President of Client Services: To stay connected in 2025, brands need to be real, relevant, and relatable. By understanding their audience's cultural nuances, our clients can build authentic relationships that resonate. It's about more than just marketing or selling a product or service. It's about authentic human connection.

THE STITCH PERSPECTIVE: How can brands build human connections in 2025?

Nate Heckman , President: Don’t study the market, go be in the market. Avoid the ivory tower trap and get into the lives of your audience to learn real human truths. Build personas that reflect authentic patterns and trends among consumer segments, and then evolve your offerings to create the perfect mesh of brand and persona. This is the secret to transforming a transaction into a relationship.

Want to build human-first connections with your consumers?