Klara Eide, Head of Client Team and Senior Strategist at Lynxeye, describes how 2025 will be a time of contradictions for brands. And how CMOs can master them and make their brands thrive.
Strategy perspective
What’s next for brand in 2025
As we move towards 2025, brands are brands are torn between a turbulent past and an uncertain future. After years of market instability—from the pandemic to inflation and now the rise of AI—consumer confidence is stabilizing.
But that doesn’t mean brands can relax. Instead, they must master a series of contradictions if they want to thrive in the coming year. In 2025, CMOs will need to balance fame with personalization, clarity with community, and value with indulgence.
Three contradictions brands must master in 2025
Promise / Performance
Balancing fame and personalized promotion
Me / We
Balancing brand clarity and community
Value / Valuables
Balancing great price and treating yourself
Promise / Performance
The first challenge for brands in 2025 is finding the right balance between broad fame and highly personalized promotion. With the growing ability to measure and adapt interactions in real-time, there’s a risk of focusing too much on personalized, bottom-of-the-funnel marketing.
In the drive for conversion, brands can lose focus on new customer acquisition. To avoid this, 2025 will be the year that brands embrace both ends of the spectrum. Brands must boldly declare their promise of excellence to new audiences while also ensuring tailored, personalized experiences for customers close to making a purchase. The brands that find the sweet spot between these two approaches will create lasting demand and avoid churn.
“Post-pandemic consumers also expect to be a part of the brand experience, co-creating and sharing their interactions with others.”
Klara Eide, Head of Client Team at Lynxeye
Me / We
The second challenge is navigating the tension between brand clarity and community involvement. Today’s consumers, especially Gen Z, are looking for brands with a clear identity—brands that stand for something and aren’t afraid to be bold. However, post-pandemic consumers also expect to be a part of the brand experience, co-creating and sharing their interactions with others.
While engaging with a community can increase brand loyalty, it also risks diluting the brand’s identity if not managed carefully. In 2025, brands will need to find ways to actively involve their communities without losing clarity or coherence. For instance, community-driven projects like product drops or crowd-sourced content can add value, but the brand’s competitive advantage must be crystal clear.
“We’re seeing a shift toward more accessible luxury, where even everyday items are sprinkled with a touch of indulgence.”
Klara Eide, Head of Client Team at Lynxeye
Value / Valuables
The final contradiction for brands to navigate is between offering great value and indulging consumers’ desire to “treat themselves.” During periods of economic uncertainty, brands that offer good value for money have thrived. But as consumer confidence grows, there’s a rising demand for luxury and indulgent experiences, even in everyday products.
In 2025, brands will need to strike the right balance between a terrific value equation and experiences that feel special and luxurious. We’re seeing a shift toward more accessible luxury, where even everyday items are sprinkled with a touch of indulgence. Brands that tap into this dynamic will find success by offering consumers ways to elevate their day-to-day lives without losing sight of value.
What’s next
CMOs can master of contradictions and growth by following three steps
The year 2025 will be a time of contradictions for brands. Success will come to those who can navigate these opposing forces and provide customers with the best of both worlds—fame and personalization, brand clarity and community, great price and luxury. CMOs who master these contradictions will see their brands thrive in the year ahead.
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Klara Eide, Head of Client Team
Klara is a Senior Strategist specialized in brand strategy, corporate identity, and experience design, working closely with clients to prepare their brands for the future.
With years of experience in leading complex branding initiatives, Klara is passionate about helping brands find their next step in an ever-changing market.