From Global Reports to Local Reality: What 2025 Marketing Trends Mean for Brands in Turkey
Every year, a new wave of global marketing reports lands on our screens. Nielsen talks about “chaos to clarity” and the power of data-driven marketing. McKinsey tracks how consumer expectations are shifting across 18 markets. reveals which channels people trust (and which they don’t). WARC announces that global ad spend will pass the one trillion dollar mark.
These reports are packed with useful signals—but they don’t automatically translate into a plan for any specific country. For brands in Turkey, the real question is:
How do we turn global trends into decisions that make sense for our market, our consumers and our budgets?
Let’s unpack what the latest global reports are saying—and what they practically mean for marketing in Turkey.
How do we turn global trends into decisions that make sense for our market, our consumers and our budgets?
Let’s unpack what the latest global reports are saying—and what they practically mean for marketing in Turkey.
The Global Picture: Five Signals You Can’t Ignore
Across Nielsen, McKinsey, Kantar, WARC and others, five big themes keep showing up.
1. AI and data-driven marketing move from buzzwords to baseline Nielsen’s 2025 Annual Marketing Report frames the current moment as a move “from chaos to clarity,” with AI and shoppable formats reshaping how marketers plan, target and measure. Their survey shows marketers see AI as a way to improve customer engagement and operational efficiency—especially in audience definition, creative optimization and media mix modeling. At the same time, a recent McKinsey article on marketing’s “modern rethinking” notes that only about 6% of European marketing organizations describe their gen AI use as mature, but those that do are already seeing around 22% efficiency gains, with expectations to reach 28% within two years. In other words: AI and data-driven marketing are no longer optional experiments. They are quickly becoming the minimum requirement to stay competitive.
2. Global ad spend passes the one-trillion mark—and keeps growing WARC forecasts that global advertising revenues will surpass $1 trillion and climb to around $1.1 trillion in 2025, growing roughly 7–8% year-on-year. A December 2025 update from WPP’s media arm projects ad revenue reaching $1.14 trillion in 2025, up 8.8%, while Reuters reports that digital formats already account for more than 70% of total ad spend. The message is simple: even in uncertain macro conditions, brands are still investing heavily in marketing—especially in digital.
3. Attention, not just reach, becomes the real currency Kantar’s Media Reactions 2024 study highlights a persistent gap between where marketers like to place ads and where consumers are actually receptive.
Two patterns stand out:
• Retail media networks (RMNs) and point-of-sale environments are highly trusted and effective for both marketers and consumers.
• Out-of-home (OOH) has recovered strongly in terms of trust and perceived impact, with Kantar noting that marketers are increasing spend and seeing good returns.
In other words: the fight is shifting from “who can shout the loudest” to “who can show up where people are genuinely open to listening.”
4. Consumers want value, wellness and authenticity McKinsey’s State of the Consumer 2025 identifies several behavioral forces: value-conscious spending, rising expectations around wellness, and a desire for brands that feel authentic and aligned with personal values. People are more selective. They may be willing to pay a premium—but only for products and experiences that clearly justify it.
5. Privacy and measurement complexity are here to stay Nielsen, Kantar and WARC all underline the same tension: as cookies deprecate and privacy rules tighten, measurement becomes more complicated, not less. Marketers are shifting toward first-party data, clean rooms and model-based measurement. The days of “easy” last-click attribution are over.
1. AI and data-driven marketing move from buzzwords to baseline Nielsen’s 2025 Annual Marketing Report frames the current moment as a move “from chaos to clarity,” with AI and shoppable formats reshaping how marketers plan, target and measure. Their survey shows marketers see AI as a way to improve customer engagement and operational efficiency—especially in audience definition, creative optimization and media mix modeling. At the same time, a recent McKinsey article on marketing’s “modern rethinking” notes that only about 6% of European marketing organizations describe their gen AI use as mature, but those that do are already seeing around 22% efficiency gains, with expectations to reach 28% within two years. In other words: AI and data-driven marketing are no longer optional experiments. They are quickly becoming the minimum requirement to stay competitive.
2. Global ad spend passes the one-trillion mark—and keeps growing WARC forecasts that global advertising revenues will surpass $1 trillion and climb to around $1.1 trillion in 2025, growing roughly 7–8% year-on-year. A December 2025 update from WPP’s media arm projects ad revenue reaching $1.14 trillion in 2025, up 8.8%, while Reuters reports that digital formats already account for more than 70% of total ad spend. The message is simple: even in uncertain macro conditions, brands are still investing heavily in marketing—especially in digital.
3. Attention, not just reach, becomes the real currency Kantar’s Media Reactions 2024 study highlights a persistent gap between where marketers like to place ads and where consumers are actually receptive.
Two patterns stand out:
• Retail media networks (RMNs) and point-of-sale environments are highly trusted and effective for both marketers and consumers.
• Out-of-home (OOH) has recovered strongly in terms of trust and perceived impact, with Kantar noting that marketers are increasing spend and seeing good returns.
In other words: the fight is shifting from “who can shout the loudest” to “who can show up where people are genuinely open to listening.”
4. Consumers want value, wellness and authenticity McKinsey’s State of the Consumer 2025 identifies several behavioral forces: value-conscious spending, rising expectations around wellness, and a desire for brands that feel authentic and aligned with personal values. People are more selective. They may be willing to pay a premium—but only for products and experiences that clearly justify it.
5. Privacy and measurement complexity are here to stay Nielsen, Kantar and WARC all underline the same tension: as cookies deprecate and privacy rules tighten, measurement becomes more complicated, not less. Marketers are shifting toward first-party data, clean rooms and model-based measurement. The days of “easy” last-click attribution are over.
The Turkish Context: A Fast-Growing, Digitally Heavy Market
So where does Turkey sit in this global picture?
According to the Türkiye’de Tahmini Medya ve Reklam Yatırımları 2024 report, total advertising and media investments in Turkey reached 253.6 billion TL in 2024, representing about 78.9% growth versus the previous year.
Deloitte and industry bodies (RD, IAB Türkiye, ARVAK) report that:
• Digital channels make up a rapidly increasing share of total media investments.
• digital, video, search and display formats dominate, with mobile accounting for close to 80% of digital spend.
• Traditional channels like TV and outdoor still hold relevance, particularly for reach and brand-building, but their share is gradually shifting as digital grows.
In short: Turkey is very much aligned with global trends—fast growth, heavy digital skew, strong video and mobile usage—but with its own economic dynamics and consumer sensitivities.
According to the Türkiye’de Tahmini Medya ve Reklam Yatırımları 2024 report, total advertising and media investments in Turkey reached 253.6 billion TL in 2024, representing about 78.9% growth versus the previous year.
Deloitte and industry bodies (RD, IAB Türkiye, ARVAK) report that:
• Digital channels make up a rapidly increasing share of total media investments.
• digital, video, search and display formats dominate, with mobile accounting for close to 80% of digital spend.
• Traditional channels like TV and outdoor still hold relevance, particularly for reach and brand-building, but their share is gradually shifting as digital grows.
In short: Turkey is very much aligned with global trends—fast growth, heavy digital skew, strong video and mobile usage—but with its own economic dynamics and consumer sensitivities.
What Global Trends Actually Mean for Brands in Turkey
If you are a brand or marketer in Turkey, what should you do with all this?
1. Treat AI as a practical tool, not a futuristic slogan
Global reports show that AI is already improving efficiency and personalization for marketers. Locally, budgets are under pressure and media prices are rising. That makes AI particularly relevant in three areas:
• Audience segmentation and media planning – Using AI-enhanced tools to refine who you talk to and how often.
• Creative optimization – Testing multiple variations of assets quickly, especially in performance campaigns. • Measurement and modeling – Filling gaps where direct tracking is harder due to privacy changes.
The priority isn’t to “do AI” for PR value, but to quietly embed it where it removes friction and waste.
2. Build your media mix around receptivity, not just cost and reach
Kantar’s Media Reactions data reminds us that not all impressions are equal. Retail media, e-commerce placements and point-of-sale environments are gaining trust; OOH is back in favor; some social platforms have seen trust decline.
In Turkey, where physical retail, modern trade and shopping malls still play a strong role in many categories, this suggests:
• Invest in retail media and in-store experiences that connect seamlessly with your digital campaigns.
• Use OOH intelligently—especially digital OOH—to reinforce key brand assets rather than just shouting offers.
• Test and learn which social and digital channels really deliver attentive audiences for your category, not just cheap impressions.
3. Align your propositions with value and wellness
McKinsey’s consumer research shows global demand for wellness-linked products and experiences, coupled with value-conscious behavior.
In Turkey’s inflationary context, this often translates into:
• Clear value stories – Not just “discounts,” but transparent benefits: durability, multi-use, time-saving, local sourcing.
• Everyday wellness – From food and beverage to home, beauty and services, consumers respond well to offers that feel nourishing, calming or supportive in daily life—without sounding like pseudo-medical claims.
Global narratives become more credible when they are translated into real local tensions: energy prices, cost of living, daily stress, family priorities.
4. Future-proof your data and measurement As global players move away from third-party cookies and simplistic attribution, Turkey-based brands will feel the same pressures.
Nielsen’s 2025 report stresses the importance of first-party data and better integration between measurement tools.
For Turkish marketers, this means:
• Investing in CRM, loyalty and consent-based data capture.
• Working with agencies and partners who can run incrementality tests, MMM or other model-based approaches rather than relying solely on last-click numbers.
• Preparing for a world where you can’t see everything, but you can still make confident, data-informed decisions.
1. Treat AI as a practical tool, not a futuristic slogan
Global reports show that AI is already improving efficiency and personalization for marketers. Locally, budgets are under pressure and media prices are rising. That makes AI particularly relevant in three areas:
• Audience segmentation and media planning – Using AI-enhanced tools to refine who you talk to and how often.
• Creative optimization – Testing multiple variations of assets quickly, especially in performance campaigns. • Measurement and modeling – Filling gaps where direct tracking is harder due to privacy changes.
The priority isn’t to “do AI” for PR value, but to quietly embed it where it removes friction and waste.
2. Build your media mix around receptivity, not just cost and reach
Kantar’s Media Reactions data reminds us that not all impressions are equal. Retail media, e-commerce placements and point-of-sale environments are gaining trust; OOH is back in favor; some social platforms have seen trust decline.
In Turkey, where physical retail, modern trade and shopping malls still play a strong role in many categories, this suggests:
• Invest in retail media and in-store experiences that connect seamlessly with your digital campaigns.
• Use OOH intelligently—especially digital OOH—to reinforce key brand assets rather than just shouting offers.
• Test and learn which social and digital channels really deliver attentive audiences for your category, not just cheap impressions.
3. Align your propositions with value and wellness
McKinsey’s consumer research shows global demand for wellness-linked products and experiences, coupled with value-conscious behavior.
In Turkey’s inflationary context, this often translates into:
• Clear value stories – Not just “discounts,” but transparent benefits: durability, multi-use, time-saving, local sourcing.
• Everyday wellness – From food and beverage to home, beauty and services, consumers respond well to offers that feel nourishing, calming or supportive in daily life—without sounding like pseudo-medical claims.
Global narratives become more credible when they are translated into real local tensions: energy prices, cost of living, daily stress, family priorities.
4. Future-proof your data and measurement As global players move away from third-party cookies and simplistic attribution, Turkey-based brands will feel the same pressures.
Nielsen’s 2025 report stresses the importance of first-party data and better integration between measurement tools.
For Turkish marketers, this means:
• Investing in CRM, loyalty and consent-based data capture.
• Working with agencies and partners who can run incrementality tests, MMM or other model-based approaches rather than relying solely on last-click numbers.
• Preparing for a world where you can’t see everything, but you can still make confident, data-informed decisions.
Turning Global PDFs into Local Briefs
Global reports are useful—but only if they change what you brief and build.
Here are three questions to ask as you translate them into your next campaign or annual plan:
1. Which 1–2 global trends are most relevant to our category right now? For a grocery brand, it might be retail media and wellness. For a fintech, it might be AI-driven personalization and trust. You don’t have to follow every trend—pick your battles.
2. How do these trends intersect with Turkey’s realities? Take the numbers on ad spend growth, digital share and macro conditions, then overlay local consumer behavior, media consumption and price sensitivity.
3. What changes in how we brief our creative and media partners? That might mean adding a retail media layer to TV campaigns, designing creative for both outdoor and Reels from day one, or allocating a test budget for AI-assisted optimization.
When you answer these questions, global PDFs stop being “interesting reading” and start becoming a roadmap.
Here are three questions to ask as you translate them into your next campaign or annual plan:
1. Which 1–2 global trends are most relevant to our category right now? For a grocery brand, it might be retail media and wellness. For a fintech, it might be AI-driven personalization and trust. You don’t have to follow every trend—pick your battles.
2. How do these trends intersect with Turkey’s realities? Take the numbers on ad spend growth, digital share and macro conditions, then overlay local consumer behavior, media consumption and price sensitivity.
3. What changes in how we brief our creative and media partners? That might mean adding a retail media layer to TV campaigns, designing creative for both outdoor and Reels from day one, or allocating a test budget for AI-assisted optimization.
When you answer these questions, global PDFs stop being “interesting reading” and start becoming a roadmap.
Conclusion: Global Signals, Local Moves
The 2025 marketing landscape is loud: AI is everywhere, ad spend is breaking records, attention is scarce, consumers are more demanding, and measurement is getting harder.
Global reports from Nielsen, McKinsey, Kantar, WARC and others give us a clear set of signals.
For brands in Turkey, the opportunity lies in how you respond:
• Use AI and data to work smarter, not just faster.
• Plan media around where people actually pay attention, not just where CPMs are lowest.
• Shape propositions around value and everyday wellness that match local realities.
• Invest in data, measurement and experimentation that will still make sense in a privacy-first future.
In the end, global trends don’t write your strategy for you. They simply ask a question: In a world where everyone has access to the same reports, what will you do differently in your market?
Global reports from Nielsen, McKinsey, Kantar, WARC and others give us a clear set of signals.
For brands in Turkey, the opportunity lies in how you respond:
• Use AI and data to work smarter, not just faster.
• Plan media around where people actually pay attention, not just where CPMs are lowest.
• Shape propositions around value and everyday wellness that match local realities.
• Invest in data, measurement and experimentation that will still make sense in a privacy-first future.
In the end, global trends don’t write your strategy for you. They simply ask a question: In a world where everyone has access to the same reports, what will you do differently in your market?
Short-Form Content as the Glue Between Offline Moments and Online Stories
One of the most powerful phygital tools doesn’t look “high-tech” at all: short-form video.
Reports from We Are Social and Hootsuite highlight that short-form content on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts has become central to how people discover and evaluate brands.
For phygital experiences, short-form content plays three roles:
• Amplifier – Turning a physical moment (a pop-up, event, in-store activation) into shareable content that reaches far beyond the people who were there in person.
• Guide – Helping visitors know what to look for when they arrive: which installations to try, which QR codes to scan, which AR experiences to unlock.
• Memory keeper – Extending the life of a temporary activation by living on in feeds, playlists and highlight reels.
From Nike’s AR-driven in-store adventures to Amazon Go’s cashier-less stores and Sephora’s virtual try-on experiences, many of the strongest phygital case studies rely on content to connect the dots between physical and digital experiences.
For phygital experiences, short-form content plays three roles:
• Amplifier – Turning a physical moment (a pop-up, event, in-store activation) into shareable content that reaches far beyond the people who were there in person.
• Guide – Helping visitors know what to look for when they arrive: which installations to try, which QR codes to scan, which AR experiences to unlock.
• Memory keeper – Extending the life of a temporary activation by living on in feeds, playlists and highlight reels.
From Nike’s AR-driven in-store adventures to Amazon Go’s cashier-less stores and Sephora’s virtual try-on experiences, many of the strongest phygital case studies rely on content to connect the dots between physical and digital experiences.
