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by Ellad Kushnir Matarasso
Oct 15, 2025
Advertising Week New York 2025 drew more than 20,000 marketers, creators, and agency leaders to Manhattan’s Penn District for a week of conversation, innovation, and cultural buzz. Across 550 sessions and 1,200 speakers across 28 themed tracks, one theme clearly emerged: adaptability – from how brands use AI to how they collaborate with creators and navigate economic shifts. Here are the top 10 advertising week trends that defined this year’s event.
AI dominated once again, but the tone shifted from hype to application. “The novelty is wearing off,” said Amy Lanzi, CEO of Digitas North America. Marketers are now focusing less on what AI is and more on how to use it responsibly and effectively. Rather than talking purely about automation, they’re asking tougher questions about data protection, creative control, and measurable ROI.
Brands showcased how they’re embedding AI in processes while maintaining human oversight. Executives like Frances Webster (Walrus) and Stacey Hightower (Omnicom Specialty Marketing Group) described how their agencies use AI for everything from strategy and segmentation to resume screening, speaking with customers and reporting. The general consensus is that AI isn’t replacing people, but rather optimizing workflows. This enforces what we say at Alison.ai: AI is the creative assistant, not the artist.
The takeaway? AI has matured and the conversation is no longer about whether to use it but how.
Creators have moved from influencer add-ons to strategic partners. The creator economy is shifting towards long-term partnerships and shared IP. “You can’t really fake it anymore,” Janice Min, CEO of Ankler Media, said bluntly. “It all comes from the ground up.”Brands like Shark Ninja, whose VP of Global Social Media Stacy Carpenter integrates creators directly into R&D, showed how influencer partnerships are now central to product and content ideation.
This mirrors a larger industry shift visible across Advertising Week 2025, where creators didn’t just attend – they co-led the show. With the event’s first-ever Creator Delegate Pass, four creator-focused content tracks, and a Meta-sponsored Creator Lounge, it was evident how the space has evolved. Meta’s involvement underscored how platforms are no longer just distribution channels but collaborators within the creator ecosystem. As Meta’s Alex Schultz said, his team learns from outside advertisers on how best to use its platform, making the message clear: creativity is becoming a collaborative ecosystem powered by fans, not just brands.
This year’s advertising week trends emphasized participation over persuasion. Companies are shifting from storytelling to story-sharing, designing campaigns with communities, not for them. This is especially clear when it comes to the Gen Z community, an increasingly influential segment that is more wary of traditional marketing and has a high threshold to acceptance. They have made it clear they don’t want to be talked at – they want to participate.
As they move towards co-creating with their audiences, brands aren’t dictating trends anymore. By focusing on fandom and community, they’re creating alongside culture rather than pushing messages into it. Mark Weinstein, CMO and Head of Luxury Brands at Hilton, said during a panel of marketers, “Our job isn’t to create a [passionate] community around us; it’s to tap into culture that already exists.”
This evolution can be seen in both advertising and product design. Stacy Carpenter, VP of global social media at Shark Ninja, explained how their social media, R&D and product teams all sit together when developing new products, bringing in influencers to guide the conversation. “Social is not just a go-to-market team in our company,” she said – virality is actively considered in product development.
Speed is the new creative currency. In a joint panel, PepsiCo’s Jess Spaulding and Molson Coors’ Leslie Malcolm shared how brands are institutionalizing quick responses to cultural moments, while exercising judgment and choosing the right opportunities. Molson Coors’ “Muscle” framework helps teams decide if a risk is worth taking (“Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should” – Malcolm), while PepsiCo utilizes cross-functional collaboration to move from insight to action faster.
Budget pressure is pushing agencies toward collaboration. Kamran Asghar, CEO of Crossmedia, explained how strategic partnerships like their alliance with Joan reduce inefficiencies, helping clients “feel less of that pain” caused by siloed operations. Horizon Media’s Bill Koenigsberg and Amazon’s Sarah Iooss echoed this insight by discussing how joint ventures and shared capabilities are reshaping the agency landscape. The trend among leaders seems to be pushing for efficiency over empire-building.
Several agency leaders noted that clients expect more output for the same spend. “There’s been this impending doom that everybody’s been waiting for,” said Nada Bradbury, CEO of Ad-ID. “People want more or less for the same amount of money.” Agencies are responding by being more selective, strategic, and proactive in pursuing the right business opportunities rather than chasing every pitch. 4As CEO Justin Thomas-Copeland noted that agencies need to ”get really good at judging what is an opportunity that looks like it has some longevity.”
While established big advertisers tread carefully amid flat budgets, emerging brands are taking bold steps and spending strategically to grow. Frances Webster noted that Walrus has found success working with startups preparing for IPOs or acquisitions – brands that may be smaller, but are far more experimental and agile, willing to test and adapt creative ideas quickly. They’re leveraging AI-assisted insights, creator collaborations, and contextual ad placements to punch above their weight.
Emerging brands are proving that adaptability and creativity can outperform sheer budget size. Panels across the week suggested that the most successful marketers in 2026 will behave more like startups – faster, bolder, and more iterative.
Despite cultural pushback against diversity programs, leaders reaffirmed commitment to inclusion as a business advantage. Agencies continue to link diverse perspectives to better creative outcomes and stronger client results. Justin Thomas-Copeland, CEO of the 4A’s, said inclusive teams are economic multipliers and are “great for brands being much more in tune with the market.” Ian Grody of Giant Spoon added, “We remain committed to inclusivity – nothing has changed.”
AI ethics took center stage in a fiery session with Jessica Chan, Perplexity’s Head of Publisher Partnerships. Facing lawsuits from major publishers, Perplexity’s attempt to rebuild trust reignited debate over compensation for scraped content, as well as data rights and transparency in the age of AI. The exchange underscored a broader concern: how AI companies and media can coexist profitably.
Advertising Week is evolving from a traditional conference into a cultural festival. According to global president Ruth Mortimer, the event now functions as “mini-conferences”, with attendees navigating 28 thematic tracks from AI to entertainment, and the Penn District transforming into a creative hub of networking, pop-ups, and local vendor activations. The goal: make Advertising Week as immersive as the industry it represents.
As agencies, brands, and tech platforms brace for economic uncertainty and accelerated innovation, the overarching message from Advertising Week New York 2025 rang clear: marketing belongs to the agile. From AI-driven creativity to creator-led ideation, the future of advertising belongs to those who adapt fast, stay authentic, and connect meaningfully.
At Alison.ai, we see these Advertising Week trends reflected in how top marketers are approaching creative performance, using data, automation, and AI insights to move from intuition to intelligent creation and iteration. Generative AI is empowering teams to ideate, test, and even produce creative at unprecedented speed and scale, enabling brands to keep pace with culture and turn insight into impact in real time.If you’re ready to translate these trends into action, connect with the Alison.ai team to explore how generative creative intelligence can help your brand create, learn, and grow faster.
by Ellad Kushnir Matarasso
29 Sep 2025
