What to expect for 2025?
Having just recently attended the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2025), you’d think I would know.
CES is kind of a new consumer products play land, with all the big brands you know, like Sony, LG, Nikon, Nvidia, Google… shall I go on?
Plus every big car brand you can imagine (plus ’non-cars’ like ZOOX).
The main message from the conference — AI will take over everything. A daunting thought, though it didn’t come across as something to be feared, as in the past. The message was that AI will soon be an integral part of our daily lives (as if it isn’t already!), so embrace it.
Sir Martin Sorrell, who was Chairman of the agency where I first started my marketing career, said it best:
2023 was the Year of WOW,
2024 was the year of HOW, and
2025 will be the year of NOW.
Couldn't resist the urge to be a ‘fan boy’:
Mike Hayes, CMO and Sir Martin Sorrell at CES.
One of the biggest takeaways was how AI continues to dominate the conversation, not as a standalone feature but as an integral part of nearly every product and solution.
It was quite clear at the show that we are living in the “year of now”. AI is no longer an abstract idea — it was a powerful, actionable tool embedded in many of the products and services on display.
The main story line at the show focused on how these innovations serve people by enhancing lives, creating opportunities, and solving real-world problems. I think the head of marketing for Delta Air Lines brought it all home when he said, “We’ve been using AI in our operations for years”.
At Charcoal, we think we’re helping our clients navigate an increasingly AI-driven marketing landscape. But first, we need to be model users of any new technology.
At a high level, AI helps us work more efficiently by handling repetitive or lower-level tasks, freeing us up to focus on the real magic—strategic thinking, creative execution, and making our clients look like marketing geniuses. AI gives us more time to focus on creative storytelling, high-impact strategy, and the nuanced aspects of marketing that require human intuition.
At Charcoal, we see AI as a tool to amplify our work—not replace it. By automating the busy work, we get to spend more time on what actually matters: creating meaningful marketing that connects, resonates, and drives results (while still leaving room for the occasional human-powered brainstorming session).
