Does it kind of feel like everything just keeps getting weirder, faster?
It can be hard to keep up with the unprecedented times we live in, but it’s necessary, especially if you’re a media buyer or brand marketer.
That’s why we just released OUTFRONT’s 2025 Advertising Trends Report, with insights into what consumers are thinking, feeling, and doing, how advertising decisions are being made, and why out of home is an essential part of any media plan.
Grab the full report to access over 50 pages of need-to-know information, but for a sneak preview, keep reading – this is a six-pack of 2025’s most essential advertising trends.
Millions of workers are returning to office and riding transit.
Alt: Carpool Miami digital OOH bulletin
Amazon and Dell are the latest join the ranks of employers implementing full return-to-office policies. Overall, the majority of workers goes into the office at least three days a week at the time of this writing, while a potential Federal RTO mandate could affect two million more.
The shift in return-to-office policies is reflected in the surging growth we’re seeing in transit ridership. In fact, New York’s MTA set a post-pandemic leadership ridership record in December and eight of OUTFRONT’s transit partners have notched double-digit ridership growth through Q3 of last year!
(SOURCES: Flex Index, MTA, APTA)
Consumers’ mistrust of AI limits scope to low-stakes, high-effort tasks.
Alt: AI company advertisement on digital billboard in San Francisco
Artificial intelligence is everywhere, seemingly overnight. What are consumers using it for? Thus far, the top use cases include travel booking and shopping assistant functions like price comparison (36%), search (29%), and recommendation (26%). Each represents a labor-intensive task where the incremental work may not be worth the benefit.
However, when it comes to functionalities like financial, legal, or medical advice, even those early adopters who have embraced it elsewhere are only half as likely to trust AI in realms like these where the stakes are higher. To expand its adoption, artificial intelligence must calm consumer concerns about bias (31%), ethics (21%), and accuracy (43%).
(SOURCES: NielsenIQ/GFK, eMarketer, YouGov, PwC)
Social media, influencers drive both product discovery and conversion.
Alt: Meta Instagram NYC subway campaign featuring influencers
Finding yourself frustrated with search lately? You’re not alone. And it’s not just Google – even e-commerce retailers are neglecting the user experience of their websites, earning a C grade or worse for product discovery purposes from 4 in 10 consumers.
To fill the vacuum, social media – particularly content created by influencers – is growing in importance along the buyer’s journey. Originally, the focus was on top-of-funnel purposes like product inspiration; now they’re also utilized to drive conversion and other down-funnel KPIs. But no matter which stage it’s intended to impact, authenticity – which consumers define as consistency (56%) and honesty (43%) – is the most important element of a successful partnership.
(SOURCES: Constructor, Journal of Marketing, Forbes, NielsenIQ)
High-attention media gains recognition for its superior value and performance.
Alt: Roscato advertisement on OUTFRONT PRIME digital bulletin in Miami
Two and a half seconds – that’s all it takes for attention to become memory. But only one in five ads cross that critical threshold. What difference does it make? Media that hold at least two and a half seconds of attention deliver a 65% lift in business effects like profitability and customer acquisition.
Not only does high-attention media lift brand metrics like familiarity, favorability, and consideration, it also lifts conversion rates by 130% and incremental sales by 157% while reducing the cost per conversion by 51%. Best of all, there’s no correlation between attention and CPMs – making the good stuff (like out of home) a great value.
(SOURCES: Amplified Intelligence, EARC, Havas Media Network/Lumen, Amplified Intelligence, IAS)
Out of home earns enough attention to significantly impact recall, consideration, and purchase intent.
Alt: Times Square DOOH advertisement for Target
Out of home’s high attention levels translate to high-quality impressions that make their mark. Media platforms that can capture at least 2.5 seconds of attention are considered high-attention, as that’s the length of time it takes to imprint a long-term memory. But the effect of exposure doesn’t stop there. Purchase intent is impacted at the 8-second mark and consideration at nine.
The average out of home ad gets 12 seconds of eyes-on attention, with nine in ten OOH ads passing that crucial attention-memory threshold. This gives out of home a 5.9x advantage over digital when it comes to memorability.
(SOURCES: QMS/Amplified Intelligence, Equibity, Teads/Lumen)
Digital out of home gets even more attention, neuro response, and activation.
Alt: Digital transit campaign for Discover Puerto Rico on Livecard MAX media inside New York City subway
Out of home commands consumers’ attention now more than ever. While all OOH formats drive recall, digital out of home leads, driving 3.2x more neuro response and memory activity than traditional static formats.
Digital out of home also drives more activation, IRL and otherwise, than any other advertising medium. It’s easy to understand why DOOH is the number one, most-preferred advertising format of both marketers and consumers.
(SOURCES: The Harris Poll, YouGov, WOW Media/Neuro Insight)
Understanding these six trends can set the table for success. But to really feast on 2025 trends,