Branding in 2025: Bold Moves, Local Stories, and the New Rules of Standing Out
In 2025, branding trends are less about playing it safe and more about being instantly recognizable. The strongest brands are embracing bold and brave identities with real community connection, and aren’t shying away from the kinds of conversations that can spark both support and controversy. The lesson for regional marketers like us at BBG&G? That creative marketing for brands is a high-wire balancing act, but the payoff for realness is bigger than ever.
Photo Credit: Women's Wear Daily
Culture Wars - American Eagle & Sydney Sweeney
Perhaps the most talked-about campaign of the year comes from American Eagle Outfitters, which tapped actress Sydney Sweeney as the face of its fall denim line. The campaign’s core message of “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” turned heads not just for its double entendre wrapped in a cheeky wink, but for the way it landed in the current cultural and political climate. By playing on the word play of jeans/genes and focusing on her physical appearance - blonde hair, blue eyes, “all-American” looks - the brand has sparked immediate backlash and debate.
Critics accuse the campaign of perpetuating exclusionary beauty standards, while supporters (and American Eagle’s investors) argue that the controversy has only driven further attention. The brand’s stock saw a sharp 10% jump immediately after the campaign launch, with social media impressions topping four billion and earned media value estimates reaching $65 million. But even the charitable component of denim sales benefiting a crisis hotline for domestic violence survivors couldn’t lower the noise - especially in a very split U.S. with vastly different standards of beauty and how messaging can be interpreted.
For marketers, American Eagle’s stance is a powerful reminder that storytelling is never a safe bet. The context, language, and casting choices you make carry meaning, and while controversy can amplify reach, it requires thoughtful risk management and an authentic sense of understanding who your audience really is.
Photo Credit: Poppi
Wow Factor Through Color
Color these days isn’t just a branding afterthought—it’s the main focus. As we know, former challenger beverage brands like Poppi and Olipop have rewritten the rules by owning unapologetic color palettes across their flavor profiles and making it the heartbeat of their identities. Their punchy, highly saturated shades don’t just stand out on crowded shelves; they instantly telegraph the brand’s personality across every digital and in-store touchpoint. When you encounter Poppi’s electric orange or Olipop’s signature pastels, there’s no mistaking who you’re looking at—logo or not.
This color-forward strategy has scaled beyond CPG, with big-name travel and hospitality brands getting bolder in their visual approach. Airlines, cruise lines, and boutique hotels are leaning into signature colors that evoke not just a brand, but an entire feeling—think JetBlue’s vibrant blue, TUI’s bold red, or Virgin’s unmistakable crimson. These hues become part of the travel experience, saturating everything from ticketing kiosks to Instagrammable lounges, helping travelers feel immersed in the brand from initial purchase to their final destination.
Even wine, a category long defined by tradition and muted earth tones, is now awash in confident color. Modern producers are dropping the staid beige and gold in favor of lively labels—just look at the bright metallic purple in brands like “Enchante” by former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo, highly stylized Cutwater RTD cocktails, or the pastel-hued cans of BABE Rosé. Color has become shorthand for approachability and fun, attracting new generations of drinkers and standing out in a sea of sameness.
The upshot? In an era where attention spans are short and competition is fierce, brands that “own” a color aren’t just grabbing eyeballs—they’re building loyalty, emotional connection, and an instantly recognizable identity that extends far beyond the logo.
Photo Credit: Crain's Detroit
The Rise of Local-First Tourism
If boldness drives national retail brands, authenticity and a spirit of collaboration are winning the day in tourism and regional marketing.
For regional destinations, this trend is clear: the most effective branding now comes from elevating local stories, building partnerships, and letting residents themselves serve as the brand’s strongest ambassadors.
On the national stage, Brand USA’s “America the Beautiful”’s just launched campaign demonstrates how destination marketing is shifting toward experience-driven storytelling. It focuses on inviting travelers to “feel” the diversity and emotional landscape of the United States, moving beyond the familiar visuals of landmarks and instead foregrounding personal journeys, local culture, and shared experiences. The campaign’s scalable platform allows partners across the country to integrate seamlessly, creating a unified but diverse national brand identity.
Meanwhile, the Pure Michigan brand stays on trend by leaning into the “slow tourism” movement. Its spring and summer 2025 campaigns focus on inviting visitors to linger in places—from Detroit’s food scene to the wild landscapes of the state’s Upper Peninsula—all while helping to build deeper, more meaningful connections. The strategy is working: visitor spending is up nearly 5% year-over-year, and the state’s calm, inviting visuals are helping it stand out in a noisy digital environment. (Crain’s Detroit)
What This Means for Brand Identity Now
What ties these disparate campaigns together is a commitment to clarity and authenticity—whether that means being provocatively bold, or fiercely local. Design trends of distinctive color palettes and simple, memorable typography continue to help products own the shelf and build instant recognition, lessons that tourism brands are now applying in their own visual identities.
BBG&G is at the forefront of these trends, and understands that the most successful regional brands are those that engage local businesses, use real stories and real faces, and aren’t afraid to let their unique identity shine, even if that means not pleasing everyone. Because 2025, branding isn’t about being for everyone—it’s about being unmistakable for the right someone.
Ready to Elevate Your Brand?
Whether you’re a destination, local business, regional coalition, or national brand, brand trends today reward those who are confidently bold, authentic, and rooted in real community. Here at BBG&G, we specialize in helping brands like you develop strategies that stand out - combining creativity with insights that foster positive outcomes.
Contact us or schedule a consultation to discover how our expertise and collaborative approach can help you achieve outstanding results in digital advertising.
