I've been to the year 2025...

January has come and gone... and it feels like marketers have lived a million lives since gathering in Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show only a few weeks ago. A strong reminder as to just how fast the industry moves these days. From the tech floor to the changing social landscape with the TikTok ban and unban, new administration, and growth of new AI partners, 2025 has already given us a lot to think about.

CES showed us the return to personalization, propelled by AI. While personalized marketing is always our intent, we know it’s becoming more and more difficult as we move further into a world post-cookies, growing walled gardens and consumer privacy laws globally and domestically. However, AI has proven to be another tool marketers can use to help combat those challenges while staying brand safe & compliant.

The highlights:

Personalized content: At this point, Gen AI is prevalent in just about everything. In a world where algorithms drive targeting, there is a need for more and more creative. DCO is expanding where marketers can use AI to further personalize brand assets to reach niches in a platform centric way. This is further amplified with the notion that everyone can be a content creators and technology like a whole room dedicated to camera add-ons for your phone.
Personalized experiences: AR/Metaverse is back (though not sure it ever left) but the focus here is more around personalized experiences brought to life through spatial computing. Smart glasses, VR headsets & gaming lead the way here and while consumer adoption is still limited, it opens the door to how can brands engage in these personalized experiences and tailor their messaging for both the space and the consumer
Personalized connectivity: Smart homes and smart lifestyles drove a lot of the conversation at CES. From Samsung to LG, it was great seeing how the future home can be tailored to both your need and your behavior. From pulling in data about your pet/plants/family to what’s in your fridge to the content you watch on a small or large screen, there is about to be even more data to come and screens where brands can provide tailored utility. Many of these screens are also getting more connected into retail media networks to both enable consumers for direct shopping experiences but also closed loop measurement to show impact. Retail Media Networks also showed up strong at CES this year.
Personalized targeting: ID Graphs showed up big this year. While last year the conversation was largely dominated by Trade Desk’s launch of Universal ad IDs, this year programmatic partners and many media partners touted their own paired with holding companies investing and new technologies investing in this space.

After CES came the TikTok ban, new AI platforms, and political changes around DEI and sustainability which has shifted the ways we think. Fortunately, this is a resilient industry and at Crispin, we are prepared to face these challenges with clients and their return to personalized marketing through...

Constantly testing. While there are always channel leaders, we can’t rest on those channels to always be leaders. Where possible, we want to carve out dedicated test budget for new forms of communication (organic or paid) and stay close to performance as consumer sentiment shifts.
Rooting ourselves in the data and listening. Especially via social listening and conversing with your target audience. Data from six months ago is not going to be helpful anymore, but ensuring real time feedback loops are in place will help future proof brands
Prioritizing brand safety and data safety. From the creators we work with that are vetted by VwD, an AI based brand safety platform, to partnering closely with client’s legal teams and business affairs to ensure brands are safe from the talent to their consumer data.
Media and creative have to be best friends. Long gone are the days where one has more power than the other. And to be moving at the speed of this industry, you need integrated partners to collaborate on paths forward and optimize campaigns in real time toward success.

-Freddy Dabaghi, Chief Transformation Officer