How accurate were our 2025 marketing predictions? 

Back in September 2024, we made 5 bold predictions about marketing in 2025. Now we're checking back in to see how right (or wrong) we were. The results might surprise you.

Remember when I wrote that blog post in September 2024 predicting what marketing would look like in 2025?

Well, it's now December 2025, and I'm doing something most marketers won't: Actually going back to check if I was right.

Spoiler: I got some things spot on. And some things... well, let's just say I was optimistic.

Here's my brutally honest review of the 5 predictions I made, what actually happened, and what I've learnt from getting it right (and wrong).

Prediction #1: Voice Search Will Eclipse Traditional SEO

What I Said: "We're predicting that voice search will eclipse traditional SEO. With AI assistants becoming household staples, brands and companies must optimise their content for natural, conversational queries."

What Actually Happened: I was half right, but for completely different reasons than I expected.

Voice search hasn't "eclipsed" traditional SEO but the way people search HAS fundamentally changed because of AI.

The real shift wasn't voice search through smart speakers. It was AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews changing how people find information.

Zero-click searches have continued to surge, with Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) becoming crucial for visibility. People are asking AI assistants questions rather than typing keywords into Google, which means the spirit of my prediction was right conversational, natural language queries matter more than ever.

But it's not happening through Alexa in the kitchen. It's happening through ChatGPT on people's phones and AI Overview results replacing traditional search snippets.

Accuracy Score: 6/10

I was right about the shift to conversational queries, but wrong about the mechanism. Voice search through smart speakers hasn't dominated AI chatbots have.

Prediction #2: Immersive Marketing (VR/AR) Will Become Essential

What I Said: "Consumers no longer want to just see or hear about a product they want to experience it. Virtual and augmented reality will become marketing essentials, creating immersive, experiential campaigns."

What Actually Happened: This one? I was way off.

VR and AR have NOT become marketing essentials in 2025. Not even close.

Yes, some big brands have played with AR filters and virtual try-ons. Apple launched Vision Pro and there's been some buzz. But for the average business (especially SMEs like the ones we work with)? It's nowhere near essential.

The barriers are still too high:

• Cost of development
• Limited adoption of VR headsets
• Consumers not really demanding it
• More pressing marketing priorities

The "immersive marketing" that actually took off wasn't VR or AR it was short-form video content. TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts became the immersive experiences that actually engaged audiences.

Accuracy Score: 2/10

I got excited about shiny tech that wasn't ready for mainstream marketing yet. The immersive marketing that matters in 2025 is engaging video content, not VR headsets.

Prediction #3: LinkedIn Will Be THE Platform

What I Said: "Gary Vee, the king of social trend predictions, has identified LinkedIn as the next big platform for 2025... LinkedIn rewards consistency and authenticity, so being active and creating genuine, value-driven interactions is key."

What Actually Happened: I absolutely nailed this one.

LinkedIn in 2025 is unrecognisable from LinkedIn in 2023. It's become THE platform for:

• Thought leadership
• B2B marketing
• Personal branding
• Building genuine business relationships
• Content that actually drives business results

The algorithm rewards authentic, valuable content. People are having real conversations. Businesses are getting tangible ROI from LinkedIn presence.

And Gary Vee was right (as usual). He called it before most people saw it coming.

At Natterjack, we've seen this first-hand. Our most valuable client relationships now start on LinkedIn. Our content there gets more meaningful engagement than anywhere else. It's become our most effective marketing channel.

Accuracy Score: 10/10

This prediction was spot on. LinkedIn has absolutely become essential for business marketing in 2025.

Prediction #4: AI Will Dominate Marketing Strategies

What I Said: "Artificial Intelligence will dominate marketing strategies, not just for automation but for creative insight. With AI-powered tools, brands can now craft hyper-personalised content in real time, based on consumer behaviour, preferences, and context."

What Actually Happened: This prediction was right, but the reality is messier than I expected.

AI absolutely dominates marketing in 2025. AI has evolved from being a shiny, first-mover novelty to an essential everyday tool in the creative arsenal. But it's not the smooth, seamless integration I imagined.

What's actually happened:

• AI tools are everywhere (writing, design, analysis, automation)
• Marketers use AI daily for content ideation, first drafts, and research
• Hyper-personalised content creation at scale has become possible through AI-driven tools
• AI-powered analytics predict trends and customer behaviour

But the challenges are real:

• Content saturation (everyone's using AI, so everything feels samey)
• Quality control issues (AI still produces mediocre work without human oversight)
• Ethical concerns about AI-generated content
• The need for human creativity to stand out

The businesses winning with AI aren't the ones using it to replace humans they're using it to enhance human creativity and efficiency.

Accuracy Score: 8/10

I was right that AI would dominate, but I underestimated how much human input would still be essential for quality.

Prediction #5: Traditional Interruptive Ads Are Dying

What I Said: "Traditional ads that interrupt the user experience are on their way out. By 2025, brands will have pivoted towards value-driven content, designed to integrate smoothly into the customer journey."

What Actually Happened: This prediction was partially right, but the reality is more nuanced.

Traditional interruptive ads haven't disappeared but they've evolved. Meta's algorithms now prefer short, engaging, and shareable video content over polished publisher pieces, which means even paid ads need to feel native and valuable.

What's actually changed:

• Ads that look like ads perform terribly
• Content-style ads (that provide value) work better
• Organic content from brands outperforms traditional ads
• Influencer and creator partnerships drive more engagement than brand ads
• Native advertising has become the norm

But traditional ads haven't died they've just had to get smarter. Brands that create genuinely helpful, relevant content win. Brands that interrupt with irrelevant messages lose.

The shift is real, but it's not complete. Plenty of businesses still rely on traditional ad formats, especially in B2B and certain industries.

Accuracy Score: 7/10

The trend is definitely happening, but I overstated how complete the shift would be by 2025. Traditional ads are evolving, not extinct.

The Overall Scorecard

Let's total it up:

1. Voice Search > SEO: 6/10
2. Immersive Marketing (VR/AR): 2/10
3. LinkedIn Dominance: 10/10
4. AI Takeover: 8/10
5. Death of Interruptive Ads: 7/10

Average Score: 6.6/10

Not bad, but not amazing either. I got the big trends right (LinkedIn, AI) but was too optimistic about some technologies (VR/AR) and got the details wrong on others (voice vs AI search).

What I Got Right (And Why)

LinkedIn and AI were predictable if you paid attention.

These weren't wild guesses they were logical extensions of trends already happening in 2024. LinkedIn was already evolving. AI tools were already emerging. I managed to connect the dots.

The shift to value-driven content was correct.

Even if traditional ads haven't completely died, the direction of travel is clear. Audiences want value, not interruption.

Conversational search matters.

I was right about this, even if I got the mechanism wrong. People are searching in natural language more than ever just through AI chatbots rather than voice assistants.

What I Got Wrong (And Why)

I was seduced by shiny technology.

VR/AR sounded exciting and futuristic, but I didn't think hard enough about whether businesses actually needed it or whether consumers wanted it. Cool tech doesn't automatically equal effective marketing.

I underestimated implementation challenges.

With AI, I predicted the "what" correctly but underestimated how messy the "how" would be. Real-world implementation is always harder than predictions suggest.

I assumed faster adoption than reality.

Most of my predictions were directionally correct but too ambitious about timing. These trends are happening, but more gradually than I expected.

What will 2026 bring? I'll write another article on that one!