Podcasting will enter a new age of hyper-relevance in 2025, propelled by global listeners championing the medium as a preferred provider of authenticity, authority, insight and intimate delivery deemed missing from other media. From American lifestyle advice shows shaping young minds to China’s trusted-brand-led culture pods, text-to-talk AI-produced formats and talk-show-esque video podcasting, we outline the must-know developments.

Historically a niche interest, anime – Japanese animated TV/movies, mostly based on manga comics – is generating swelling devotion among American Gen Zers, with 42% watching it weekly (Polygon, 2024). Fans are responding to anime’s modern fairy-tale storytelling because it combines yearn-worthy emotionality and joyful adventures in a relatable and magical way, presenting prime touchpoints canny brands are already keying into.

While gaming audiences diversify globally, the market to watch is the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with 13-15% of annualised growth projected until 2026 (Kwalee, 2024) – the result of the region’s extraordinary youth boom (see Key Stats). From investment in home-grown gaming studios, esports opportunities and women gamers to a flourishing gaming-centred internet culture, 2025 offers numerous exciting access routes.

As the extremely online adapt to using generative AI tools for their amateur creativity (see Life in AI: Work, Learning & Skills), more social media real estate is given over to synthetic content creation: AI-facilitated storytelling, hyperreal imagery and meme manufacturing. We outline approaches spanning horror mini-movies, reality-remixing visuals and absurdist memes that will captivate audiences mining these new frontiers.

In the US, 66% of Gen Zers say they regularly spend more time watching fan-made companion content – from homages to beloved animation series to infinite hours of gaming explainers and watch-along gameplay sessions – than its source material (YouTube, 2024). This new normal indicates how fan content is set to become entertainment’s epicentre, providing must-know lessons for brands producing fan-tainment in 2025.  

Audiences of real-life cultural experiences continue to surge, and in 2025, they’ll expect adventurous and inventive offerings convincingly conjuring up much-desired communal awe. From new live performance venues prioritising jaw-dropping spectacles to sensorially inventive theatre and cutting-edge alternatives to on-the-ground sports spectatorship, we outline blueprint-providing initiatives. 

Gen Alphas spending their time daily on YouTube, TikTok and Roblox represent a hive of co-creativity, socialising and distinctive storytelling, which will remain key to tap into as this cohort ages. Covering their thrill-delivering left-field YouTube content, network-building on Roblox and the lingo underpinning their interactions, we outline key elements to get familiar with for the coming year.

With 67% of Americans longing for the ‘pre-plugged-in’ (pre-smartphone) era (Harris Poll, 2023), in 2025, tangible media and off-feed pop culture (i.e. physical/consciously nostalgic) will deliver a salve for digital overwhelm. From the resurgence of print magazines to branded zines and cleverly old-school web marketing, prepare to nourish audiences with refreshed media touchpoints.