The Year Ahead 2025: Experiences

Jonathan Emmins

Founder and global chief executive, Amplify

Joining the dots between people, brands and culture…

Audiences are no longer satisfied with being told what to do, where to go and how they should interact. People crave the agency to explore worlds on their own terms, whether online or offline. They are as hungry as ever for unique personal encounters as they are for collective ones that bring fans with shared passions and communities together.

Place storytelling at the heart…

Multi-platform storytelling ensures that brands don’t just communicate. They immerse. To do this, we need to create simple but big ideas that traverse channels. We need to allow audiences to seamlessly move between channels, and all the spaces in between, discovering on their terms.

Break formats…

Today, some of the most exciting creative work is that which doesn’t necessarily sit in any one specific channel. We see a continuation of the trend, led by [Amplify client] PlayStation’s "Play has no limits" and "Live from PS5" campaigns, of experiences that have traditionally lived behind screens breaking into the real world, and back again. The latest instalment of the Jude Bellingham-fronted EA FC dominated various cities, streams and socials; Fortnite’s latest drop with Ice Spice and Snoop Dog blurred from in-game into OOH and live performance in Times Square; and culturally defining IPs such as Netflix’s Squid Games 2 launched with a 15,000 strong gig at Drumsheds, headlined by Peggy Gou.

Build worlds…

So many brand guidelines remain 2D, static and didactic when the world is 3D, fast-moving and co-authored with the brand's audiences. Brand building needs to evolve. This transformation is part driven by audience desire and part by significant advancements in emerging technologies. World-building provides brands with a future-proof approach to navigating an increasingly complex brand landscape. While long-established brands are having to get match fit, newer challengers, such as banking disruptor Revolut, are able to build different, in both proposition and brand. Revolut’s recent "Revolutionaries" campaign and London OOH and media takeover celebrated its 50-million-member milestone, driven by a two-day event, with talent from Stephen Bartlett to TenZ and Billy Monger to Charli XCX. The campaign fused brand, talent and entertainment, and pushed and pioneered new digital frontiers, enabling it not only to differentiate but also to connect with customers, existing and new, on a profound level – informing, engaging, and inspiring them.

Create culture…

Culture has the power to transform brands. According to Kantar, brands that are culturally relevant grow almost six times faster. By understanding the building blocks of people’s identities and how they express them, a brand can create meaningful impact.

Brands that ignore culture also find themselves ignored.

Brands that reflect culture get noticed.

Brands that are additive to or create culture thrive.