Globally, 62% of sports fans aged 18-34 say they’re seeking unique, memorable experiences connected to live games, in and beyond stadiums/venues (PwC, 2024). Enter ‘fan fests’: atmosphere-rich, participatory zones built for sportstainment, often linked with major sports tournaments/events. In 2025 and beyond, they’ll deliver much-desired communal IRL (in real life) excitement via music, gaming, and brand activations.

Spurred by mega-recommendation machine #BookTok (280 billion TikTok views), publishing’s new purple patch is powering a next-gen literary scene, providing readers with craved-for unplugged media experiences and community-anchored ‘fourth spaces’ (gathering places explicitly for bridging online shared passions with offline communion). From online book clubs and a reading-night renaissance, to spotlighting new favourite genres, big bibliophilic brand opportunities beckon.

Having matured since the first inklings of ‘brands as media entities’ tracked by Stylus, the brand broadcaster era is set to soar, as audiences’ entertainment demands advance across filmic social media content, long-form written content, and podcasting. We outline beauty, fashion, health, finance and luxury hotel brands already leading the way, providing culturally resonant brand roadmaps.

Gaming is proving a perfect fit for agentic AI (semi-autonomous AI assistants), with AI-powered non-player characters (NPCs) stepping into pivotal positions as strategic teammates, advisers, companions, and even adversaries in major games. As an enthusiastic gaming community welcomes these synth beings, the sector is set to provide invaluable blueprints for the future of brand-consumer interactions.

Dissatisfied with mainstream feminism, growing ranks of women online are choosing ‘dark feminism’: reactionary and regressive visions of womanhood presented as empowerment, from a surge in toxic diet culture to valorising subservience to men and an emerging ‘femosphere’. Here, we introduce this developing corner of internet culture, alongside some positive counter-messaging brands can back.

Immersion is now the most important element of IRL entertainment experiences for 64% of audiences globally. Within the skyrocketing immersive entertainment market – projected to hit $442bn by 2030, a CAGR of 26% – untapped possibilities in sense and emotion priming will generate mega brand mileage. From cellular-level sound journeys to darkly challenging theatre-like activations, we outline game-changing directions.

In the era of rage-baiting (provoking anger online to increase traffic), anxious audiences – especially young people re-evaluating their relationships with tech (see AdAge 2025, Next Gen (Z) Marketing Summit) – will prioritise measured social media that’s anti-polarisation, pro-idiosyncrasy, and rewards intentional, kind interactions. We spotlight disruptors leading the way.

As booming youth populations in Europe, Africa and Asia look for global alternatives for the freshest entertainment, China’s homegrown pop culture, boosted by a ‘soft power’ approach to cultural export, is set to find newly eager fans outside the country. From Chinese mythology-inspired blockbuster movies and gaming to addictive C-dramas plus an ambitious Nu-China music youth scene, we line up the coming cultural wave.