Sun, Sand & Signal Strength: Media + Marketing Truths from POSSIBLE 2025 in Miami Beach
Fresh off the sun-soaked sands of Miami Beach, a bit sunburned and somewhere between a keynote on AI ethics and an espresso-martini-fueled brainstorm about shoppable memes, I realized something at POSSIBLE 2025: Marketing is weirder, faster, and more wildly entertaining than ever.
Gone are the days of long lead calendars and carefully crafted campaigns approved by twelve committees. Today, it’s all about brand vibes, algorithm whispers, and AI that will outkick your punt coverage. So, in true Jeff Mard fashion, I scribbled down the 10 trends that matter on my flight home last night. And couldn’t wait to write this up… so here we go, buckle up.
#1 → Brand is the #1 Growth Arbitrage 💪🏼
If you don’t stand for something, you stand for nothing. Today’s winning brands wear their values proudly. They project a clear, emotional vision that resonates with both current and future customers. If people can’t feel your brand, they won’t follow it.
Inspiration: Carlos Zepeda, Moët Hennessy, Julia Goldin, LEGO, Rebecca Messina, McKinsey & Kellyn Smith Kenny, AT&T
#2 → Organic Social = Your Canary in the Coal Mine 🐤
The algorithm knows. Don’t waste paid dollars trying to prop up bad creative. Use organic performance as your testing ground. When something hits, fuel it with spend… ROAS soars and CAC shrivels up.
Inspiration: Gary Vaynerchuck, Vayner X & Ryu Yokoi, Unilever [we’re doing this w/my startup Bakeful → 15x ROAS]
#3 → Every Voice Matters in Modern Marketing 🎤
Collaboration isn’t optional—it’s essential. Today’s speed demands cross-functional input from SMEs across the business. When you listen widely, you learn faster and win bigger.
Inspiration: Jonathan Halvorson & Tina Vaswani, Mondelēz
#4 → Live Shopping Isn’t Coming. It’s Here. 🛒
Social is built on entertainment. Add commerce, and you’ve got magic. Live shopping blends fun, control, and instant gratification. And yes, people still love to tip their digital bartender (aka: make a purchase).
Inspiration: Gary Vaynerchuck, Vayner X
#5 → Social Commerce Has Entered the Chat 💬
With TikTok Shop leading the charge, social commerce is no longer a nice-to-have. It's table stakes. Your brand must be always-on, shoppable, and part of the conversation. Wherever that conversation happens.
Inspiration: Kristen D’Arcy, True Religion
#6 → Responsible AI Isn’t Optional 🤖
From chatbots to content to media buying, AI is everywhere. But scale without governance is chaos. Get your data house in order and build smart, ethical AI into every layer of your marketing stack.
Inspiration: Frank Cooper III, Visa & Lorraine Twohill, Google
#7 → Experience Matters More than Ever 🫱🏼🫲🏻
Brands must embrace the physical, the digital and the social to create experiences that transcend the expected… will win.
Inspiration: Beth McKenna Moore, LEGO & Jessica Ling, AMEX
#8 → Purpose, Process & Progress Go Together 🏎️
Be a student of the business. Embrace proven flexible frameworks designed to build business. Marketing is now about creating relevance at scale. Creative is no longer just the message. Great creative drives reach, engagement, conversion & advocacy.
Inspiration: Norm de Greve, General Motors & John Furner, Walmart
#9 → Culture is the playing field. Community is the win. 🏈
Culture, community and (ultimately) commerce go together like peas and carrots. There is a direct correlation to embracing inclusion to drive meaningful business growth.
Inspiration: Tim Ellis, NFL, Artis Steves, Big Brothers Big Sister of America & Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills
#10 → Channel M for the Win 🏆
In a world of endless options, brands want focused partners who play well with others and never stop learning. Marketing timelines are shrinking; from 1 year to 1 quarter to 1 month to 1 week. Agility isn’t a skill. It’s survival. Lean into partners you can trust.
Inspiration: Jeff Mard, Channel M
But wait, there’s more. I’m building a custom language model from POSSIBLE 2025 that blends the best keynotes, presentations, and insights I gathered throughout the week. I’ll be sharing a link soon so you can explore the mini-LLM yourself using Google’s Notebook LM. Find me, I’ll gladly share.
Continue the conversation over on LinkedIn.✌🏼
