Winning in an era of unpredictability

It’s fair to say that 2025 continues to fly out the blocks on a wild mission to bring even higher levels of change, unpredictability, and flux shaping our world.

But, as I started writing this on Blue Monday in January, apparently the saddest day of the year, this is not intended as an article lamenting the cultural whiplash we are experiencing within our daily feeds. Instead, it is a more positive perspective on how as businesses and brands, we can not just survive but supercharge in this era of incredible unpredictability.

The only constant in a changing world is change itself

According to an article by GlobeScan, at the end of 2023, nearly 8 out of 10 people believed that “the world is changing too quickly for me.” But, quoting the immortal lyrics of the Chalamet-rekindled Bob Dylan, it’s clear that “the times they are-a-changin’,” and they will continue to change, with the only constant in this forever-changing world being change itself.

So in an unpredictable world with a market and consumers that believe the world is changing too quickly for them, what is the role and impact that brands can have to bring belief, partnership, and confidence to the communities they serve as they also reel and react to daily change?

The answer in a less sporadic and challenged world would be for a company’s chief marketing officer to have a clear brand plan that could be adjusted and evolved upon against fluctuating market conditions. But in this new world order of no real order, having a plan is only as useful as the famous Mike Tyson quote, “until you get punched in the face.” And in a world where we are all ducking and diving daily, that’s not enough, and a new posture and mindset is needed for the chief marketing officer, or change management officer as their 2025 moniker might become, to supercharge brand impact on a daily changing basis.

Optimism is the 2025 driver of confidence

Optimism is the core value of our company 72andSunny, and has been since we launched 20 years ago. And in 2025 this is the mindset and driver of confidence that we are seeing emerge amongst some of the global brands that we partner with, and more broadly within those pioneering thinkers shaping the marketing industry at large.

The optimism we see is a multi-dimensional energizing mindset that stretches way beyond the dictionary definition of optimism as, “the hopefulness and confidence about the future or success of something.”

Optimism challenges the status quo

We see an optimistic mindset that is more ready to challenge the status quo and define new ways of thinking within categories. Whether that is Zurich Insurance creating a global platform “What Could Go Right?” in an insurance category obsessed with things going wrong, Indeed, championing the need to call out that the world of work isn’t working, by creating a global mission to make the world work better and calling out job injustices along the way, or the NFL leading the way to make girl’s flag football officially a varsity sport in all 50 states. We are seeing the brands that consumers gravitate towards being those that are optimistically challenging convention and bringing new math to the categories and culture they inhibit.

Optimism creates unexpected partnerships

We see an optimistic mindset that is more open and driven by collaboration across sectors and brands to create unexpected partnerships and noise. From the wonderfully bizarre partnership for the Super Bowl of Wrexham FC and Channing Tatum bringing Magic Mike-inspired comedy to their big game ad for Stok Cold Brew Coffee, to Nike opening its doors to Kim Kardashian and the SKIMS crew as the attempt to bring relevancy back to their product in the world. Curating the collaborations that provoke intrigue and innovation is a masterskill of modern marketeers.

Optimism provokes play

We see an optimistic mindset that is driving more brands to provoke play and bring a positive energy into the categories they inhibit. On, the running shoe brand’s latest commercial in a category that is driven by competitiveness and performance flipped the script and brought joy and wonder with the Elmo/Federer campaign created by the equally whimsically named NYC agency The Flower Shop, to e.l.f. curating an “e.l.f.time show” second screen experience for the Super Bowl to bring a shoppable dose of playfulness to its community during the big game.

Optimism drives results

And we get excited by this, because in a world where Ipsos believes that only 31% of people are optimistic about what the future might bring, the world of brand and marketing feels like it’s finding its own way to reverse that trend with a mindset that creates momentum and real business change. We see this type of marketing optimism being the unlock for boardroom success from Nike’s share point having risen by 6.2% post the SKIMS news, to momentum busting e.l.f. posting well over 20 consecutive quarters of growth.

And at 72andSunny, a company whose name is imbued with an optimistic disposition, we are excited to see how our industry can flex and drive this cultural and commercial change in the most unpredictable of years.

Chris Kay is president international of 72andSunny.

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