Rachael Simpson is a marketing strategist with over 18 years of experience and joined nesma in November 2024 as regional lead for Yorkshire & Humber, supporting businesses with our SkillsPartner programme to ensure the CIM and CIPR-accredited pathways it offers provide the best impact on team performance.
She also serves as vice chair for CIM’s Yorkshire Regional Committee and works in the cybersecurity sector as a brand marketing strategist at BlackDice Cyber. She is passionate about lifelong learning and believes marketing is key to business growth. Her expertise spans brand communications, content strategy, and consultancy. She has a proven record of delivering impactful, data-driven results in a wide range of sectors, from food retail to manufacturing and technology.
Veronica Swindale, nesma MD, asked her about the defining moments of 2024 and what she was excited about for 2025.
Reflecting on 2024
What were the standout marketing trends of 2024?
One recurring theme for my team and me (from reading many publications, following brand news, attending conferences, etc.) was a renewed focus on brand consistency and purpose-driven campaigns. Marketers increasingly realise that reliance only on short-term performance tactics, such as lead generation, PPC, and paid social media, is a risk that will erode long-term differentiation and brand equity. So, we’ve been seeing more conversation in the marketing community about this – from prominent thought leaders like Mark Ritson – with examples of brands investing in campaigns that reinforce their core values and identity. Les Binet and Peter Field’s research on the 60/40 rule (60% brand building, 40% activation) got refreshed attention as marketers sought to future-proof their brands in a volatile economy. This is all about building deeper, more lasting connections with your audiences and highlights the importance of balancing short-term performance tactics with long-term brand-building strategies, a tension many of us are still navigating daily!
Which technologies had the biggest impact on marketing strategies last year?
I don’t think anyone can answer this question without referencing the huge impact that Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation have had on redefining marketing practices. Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and MidJourney have now been widely adopted for content creation, enabling faster and more cost-effective campaigns. A recent example is Coca-Cola’s Christmas campaign, created entirely with generative AI. This caused a lot of backlashes globally in response to it (and a lot of publicity as a result!)
I also think there have been major advancements in marketing automation software, with the addition of AI for more granular analysis of contact behaviour and campaigns, combined with ‘no hands’ automation—especially in areas like customer success/support, where the use case and need for automation are significant, especially for scaling companies. This was evidenced in HubSpot’s updated CRM tools, which helped support teams manage real-time engagement, while Google’s AI-driven Performance Max campaigns allowed marketers to optimise ad delivery across platforms.
Looking Ahead to 2025
How do you think AI and automation will continue to impact marketing strategies?
In 2025, AI’s role will expand into areas like predictive analytics and conversational AI. However, as automation grows, brands must ensure ethical AI use, and maintaining authenticity alongside technological advancement will remain a challenge. AI may streamline processes, but genuine storytelling will set successful brands apart. The key to long-term success will be using AI to enhance, not replace, human creativity.
How should marketers strike a balance between innovation and maintaining authenticity?
Balancing innovation with authenticity requires marketers to anchor their strategies in the core values and identity of the brand. While innovation through AI tools, advanced analytics, and dynamic content is essential for keeping pace with market trends, it should never overshadow your brand’s consistent voice, purpose, and long-term objectives. For me, consistency builds credibility and loyalty. Marketers must use innovations to enhance their story, not rewrite it. A good way to get that balance is continuously advocating for brand-building activities, as this ensures that innovation supports broader, long-term brand equity rather than being consumed by short-term performance goals.
What new challenges might marketers face in 2025?
Marketing as an industry and marketers as professionals are evolving to meet higher consumer expectations while balancing the potential of technology with the need for authenticity. The challenge will be sustaining these efforts amidst economic pressures, ensuring that the focus on purpose, inclusivity, and consistency continues to drive meaningful connections.
Secondly, I don’t think this is a ‘new’ challenge—it is a significant ongoing challenge for marketing. However, with a tightening economy and constrained budgets, I believe marketing will face heightened scrutiny to prove its value. CFOs and executive leadership will demand a clear connection between marketing activities and business outcomes, making it essential for marketers to speak the language of financial performance and commercial impact.
Some of the key challenges with this:
- Demonstrating ROI: Marketers will be expected to justify every pound spent, tying campaigns directly to revenue, customer acquisition, and retention. The focus will shift to high-performing, measurable activities, making it harder to justify long-term brand-building efforts.
- Short-term vs long-term: As pressure mounts to deliver quick returns, marketers risk overinvesting in performance marketing at the expense of brand equity. This could erode differentiation, making it harder for brands to maintain loyalty and command pricing power.
- Aligning marketing with broader business strategy: To secure stakeholders’ buy-in, marketing teams must align more closely with business priorities, such as market share growth, profitability, or customer lifetime value.
- Skills gaps: With rapidly evolving tools and platforms, teams that don’t prioritise ongoing learning will fall behind in delivering cutting-edge campaigns.
How should marketers prepare for them?
Marketers must prioritise continuous learning and communicate their value to the business by addressing skills gaps and aligning with organisational goals to demonstrate impact. Training like CIM or CIPR qualifications provide teams with strategic frameworks and up-to-date knowledge of emerging trends. In addition, digital upskilling in tools for AI content creation or analytics tools for predictive insights ensures teams can deliver innovative, measurable campaigns.
Most importantly, marketers must demonstrate the tangible and intangible impact of their efforts. Combining financial metrics, such as ROI and customer lifetime value, with qualitative insights, like brand perception, helps present a full picture of marketing’s contribution.
Long-term brand investments should be positioned as essential to mitigating risks. This approach underscores how marketing supports resilience and pricing power. Engaging your stakeholders early (stakeholder mapping is a great framework to use) ensures alignment with business goals, secures buy-in, and strengthens marketing’s role as a strategic driver of growth. Marketers should position themselves and their functions as vital contributors to business growth, even in challenging times.
If you want to get your marketing into the best shape to tackle 2025, get in touch.
