Let’s chat about something super exciting that’s changing marketing as we know it: Personalisation!

While the concept has been around for years, we’re talking about 2025, and things are getting seriously interesting.

Opining about the future of marketing, we spend a lot of time thinking about how we can make our connections with customers truly meaningful. And when we think about personalization in 2025, we see a future that’s nothing short of utopian.

Imagine This Future…

Picture a world where every interaction a customer has with a brand feels uniquely crafted just for them. It’s not just about putting their name in an email anymore. It’s about knowing what they really need, sometimes even before they do. It’s anticipating their desires based on their past interactions, preferences, and even their current context.

In this utopian 2025, personalization is seamless across every channel – whether they’re browsing online, chatting with an AI assistant, walking into a physical store, or even interacting with your brand through new “phygital” experiences that blend the digital and physical worlds. Messages are not just relevant; they speak in a tone that resonates, using visuals and copy that feel like they were created just for that person or that micro-community. Offers are tailored and delivered at the perfect moment, adding genuine value without feeling intrusive.

This future is one where customers feel seen, heard, and truly valued, building deep trust and loyalty. And for marketers, it’s a world where efforts are incredibly efficient, driving significant growth, boosting ROI, and making every marketing dollar work harder. It’s a future enabled by smart technology, yes, but ultimately powered by a deep understanding of, and empathy for, the human on the other side.

And its not just B2C world that benefits but B2B marketing also. After all, B2B industry is made up of human professionals who are looking for information and making careful judgements as they move down the purchase funnel.

How about we look at the latest data to get a perspective on this ?

What the Data Tells Us

Getting to this future might sound like science fiction, but the wheels are already in motion. Just look at this: According to a McKinsey survey, 90 percent of commercial leaders expect to utilize generative AI (GenAI) solutions “often” over the next two years[i]. Several use cases were identified to have significant impact (See Figure 1 below). GenAI, for those who haven’t dived in yet, uses algorithms and massive datasets to create new content like writing, images, or audio. It’s a step change from traditional AI, offering immense power, sophistication, and utility. This statistic alone tells us that the push towards more advanced, AI-powered approaches to marketing and sales is happening now.

It looks right the world is ready to jet into the next level. Sounds exciting right?

But We’re Not There Yet: The Roadblocks

Despite the exciting potential and the clear intent to adopt new tech like GenAI, we’re still facing some pretty big hurdles on the path to that utopian vision. The reality for many marketing organizations looks a bit different:

• Capability Gaps: Marketers often lack critical skills in areas like marketing technology (martech) and data analytics. This means they aren’t always equipped to use the powerful tools available to them.
• Disconnected Technology: Many companies (See Figure 2 below from a McKinsey report) still don’t have an integrated martech stack that can deliver personalized experiences seamlessly across different channels. Tools and data sets are often scattered.
• Organizational Silos: Teams, especially data science and brand marketing, can struggle to understand each other’s goals and work together effectively. Hiring for specific skills is often siloed too, leading to inefficiency.
• Data Overwhelm: CMOs report feeling swamped by the sheer volume of marketing data. Turning that data into actionable insights for deep personalization is tough.
• Process Problems: Many teams aren’t successfully operating in agile ways, and are mired in weak governance, duplicate efforts, and confusing processes.
• Risk Concerns: Implementing advanced AI, especially GenAI, comes with significant risks like IP infringement, data privacy/security issues, potential for bias, and even generating misleading content (“hallucinations”). Managing these risks effectively requires careful planning and oversight.

We are thinking, are these issues really so challenging that they are impeding next level personalisation efforts?

Digging Deeper: Why Are These Problems So Stubborn?

These aren’t just minor bumps; they’re fundamental challenges rooted in how marketing organizations have traditionally been structured and operated.

• Legacy Structures: Many companies still cling to rigid, hierarchical structures and linear project approaches that don’t support the rapid iteration and cross-functional collaboration needed for true agile personalization.
• Skill Specialization vs. Breadth: Historically, marketers could be really good at just one thing. Modern marketing demands a broader understanding of different functions, which requires significant investment in upskilling across the board.
• Complexity of the Martech Landscape: The universe of marketing technologies is vast and constantly changing. Integrating multiple vendors and ensuring teams are trained and can actually use the tools effectively is a huge undertaking.
• Fear of the Unknown: Embracing new technologies and ways of working requires openness to change and comfort with not having all the answers upfront. Not everyone is ready for this shift.
• Prioritization Conflicts: Sometimes, short-term revenue gains (like through aggressive dynamic pricing) are prioritized over long-term brand trust, which is essential for effective personalization.

But this does not mean that marketers are stuck.

Unlocking the Potential: Bringing the Vision to Life

Here’s the exciting part: These problems are not insurmountable. Our belief is that if we strategically address these core challenges in skills, technology, process, and governance, that utopian future of truly impactful personalization in 2025 and beyond is absolutely achievable. Resolving these issues allows us to leverage the full power of AI to move beyond basic tailoring to hyper-personalization that drives both incredible customer experiences and significant business results.

Lets talk about what the next steps should be ?

Paving the Way Forward: How Do We Get There?

It requires a multipronged approach focused on people, technology, and process.

• Build a T-Shaped Team (and embrace the “Fat T”)
  We need marketers with both deep expertise in specific areas (like data science or brand strategy) and a broad understanding across the marketing spectrum. The “Fat T” profile (see Figure 3 below), with significant breadth and depth in multiple areas, is becoming increasingly valuable. This requires a commitment to continuous learning and upskilling. As Diageo’s chief innovation officer, Mark Sandys, puts it, “It’s important that everybody in the organization has a learning mindset and is comfortable operating without knowing the right answer necessarily, and learning your way to get there.“

• Invest in an Integrated Martech Foundation
  Focus on building a robust technology stack that connects data, decisions, design, distribution, and measurement. This requires prioritizing data quality and governance and potentially consolidating tools to reduce fragmentation. An integrated Digital Asset Management (DAM) system is crucial for managing and deploying personalized content assets efficiently.
• Embrace Agile Ways of Working:
  Shift to project-centric teams and work in short, iterative “sprints”. This allows for rapid testing and learning, which is essential for optimizing personalized messages and offers. Form cross-functional teams that bring together different skills like marketing, analytics, and tech.
• Prioritize High-Value AI/GenAI Use Cases:
  Start with simple, high-impact areas like automating personalized email outreach or dynamic audience targeting. Experiment, track results, and refine for broader implementation. Identify where AI agents can be deployed to enhance customer interactions.
• Establish Clear Governance and Build Trust:
  Put guardrails in place for GenAI content to prevent bias and ensure accuracy. Be transparent with customers about how you use AI and their data. Human oversight remains critical. Proactively manage data privacy concerns. As Kate Muhl, Gartner VP Analyst, notes regarding dynamic pricing, “Dynamic pricing might juice revenue for brands in the short term. But in the long term, that approach to pricing will erode consumer trust.” The same principle applies to personalization – trust is key.
• Foster Creative Judgment in the AI Era:
  GenAI can boost efficiency in content creation, but human creativity and judgment are more critical than ever for ensuring brand distinctiveness and making emotional connections. Mark Sandys highlights this: “The value of creative judgment is going to be much higher with these tools.”

With these approaches, the marketing firms can confidently tackle the challenges and move into the exciting future.

Ready for the Future?

The journey to truly impactful personalization in 2025 is about more than just adopting new tech; it’s about transforming skills, processes, and organizational culture. It’s challenging, for sure, but the potential rewards—deeper customer connections, greater efficiency, and significant growth—make it a journey well worth taking.

What are your thoughts on personalization in 2025? What challenges are you seeing, and what solutions are you excited about? Share your ideas in the comments below!

We offer a range of marketing and branding services, led by top professionals who have decades of experience. We can help in driving your hyper personalisation efforts leading to more effective marketing and competitive advantage. To know more about how we can take your organization to a higher orbit, visit Our Services Page or drop in an email to connect.) 

Sources

1. 4 Steps for Building Greater Agility in Your Marketing Organization, report by Gartner
2.  AI-Powered Marketing And Sales Reach New Heights With Generative AI, report by McKinsey
3.  Modern marketing: Six capabilities for multidisciplinary teams, report by McKinsey
4.  Consumers at the core: A conversation with Diageo’s Mark Sandys, interview transcript
5.  Gartner Marketing Predictions: 6 actionable insights for what’s next in marketing strategy and AI integration in 2025 and beyond

Glossary

• Hyper-personalization: This refers to going beyond basic personalization to create unique messages for individual decision makers based on their needs, profile, behaviors, and interactions—both past and predictive. It involves tailoring every customer interaction to an individual’s specific requirements and preferences.

• Phygital: This term describes experiences that balance digital with physical experiences. It involves strategies that harmonize in-person and digital interactions. The goal is to meet customers through omnichannel experiences rather than solely digital ones, as consumers are actively reducing screen time and favoring blended experiences

• Agile marketing approaches: This is a style of working that many marketers are adopting to adapt quickly to change, possess a wide array of skills, and deliver results. It requires changes in culture and working style, moving away from rigid structures to collaborative, cross-functional project teams. It also involves shifting from linear, hierarchical, sequential approaches to projects towards the rapid delivery of work with frequent adjustments and recalibrations

FAQs

1. What does the future of marketing personalization look like in 2025?

The future of marketing personalization in 2025 is heading towards hyper-personalization. This refers to tailoring every customer interaction based on their individual needs, preferences, behaviors, and even predictive insights. It’s about creating uniquely crafted experiences that feel seamless across all channels, including digital, physical stores, and blended “phygital” experiences.

2. How will Generative AI (GenAI) change the landscape of marketing personalization?

Generative AI (GenAI) is poised to significantly disrupt and enhance marketing personalization. It can analyze massive amounts of data to identify and target new, specific audience segments. A key change is the ability to create personalized outreach content (like emails, social posts, and landing pages) easily and at scale, matching the right tone, imagery, and copy to different groups.

3. What are the main obstacles preventing brands from achieving truly effective personalization in marketing today?

Several significant challenges are hindering the path to advanced marketing personalization. These include capability gaps within marketing teams, who may lack skills in areas like marketing technology and data analytics, disconnected marketing technology stacks, which prevents seamless, cross-channel personalization, organizational silos etc. Marketers also report feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of marketing data, making it hard to extract actionable insights for deep personalization. Furthermore, implementing advanced AI, especially GenAI, introduces risks related to data privacy, bias, and content accuracy that require careful management.

4. What capabilities and skills do marketing teams need for advanced personalization in 2025?

To thrive in the era of advanced marketing personalization, teams need to evolve their skills and capabilities. Adopting agile marketing approaches, working in iterative cycles or “sprints” with project-centric teams, is crucial for rapid testing and learning. The ideal marketer profile is shifting towards the “T-shaped” or even “Fat T” marketer – individuals with both broad skills across marketing disciplines and deep expertise in specific areas. Key domain expertise includes customer insight, marketing technology, and data analytics. Soft skills like creativity, adaptability, and collaboration are also essential for connecting talent across teams and partners. Most importantly, organizations and leaders need to cultivate a learning mindset to continuously adapt to new technologies and customer behaviors.

5. How can businesses overcome the challenges and build a stronger foundation for personalized marketing?

Building a robust foundation for personalized marketing involves addressing challenges across people, technology, and process. Businesses should prioritize investing in an integrated marketing technology (martech) stack that connects data, decisioning, design, distribution, and measurement. This requires improving data quality and establishing strong data governance frameworks. Embracing agile methodologies helps teams work faster and iterate based on insights. Building cross-functional teams that include diverse skills is key to breaking down silos. For GenAI implementation, it’s vital to establish clear governance and guardrails to manage risks like bias and inaccuracies. Focusing on upskilling teams and providing adequate training on new tools is also critical. Starting with high-impact, low-risk AI/GenAI use cases and experimenting is a practical way to begin.