Passing on Hype: Marketing Leaders on Why They’re Avoiding the Flashiest Trends
In a landscape where shiny new tools and headline-grabbing tactics dominate every marketing conversation, it’s easy to assume that staying ahead means jumping on every emerging trend. But for many seasoned marketing leaders, success in 2025 doesn’t mean chasing what’s popular—it means staying grounded in strategy, authenticity and long-term value.
We asked members of the CMO Think Tank: What’s a marketing trend that everyone’s talking about but your team is intentionally avoiding? Their answers reflect a thoughtful, sometimes contrarian approach to modern marketing, one that favors substance over spectacle.
Strategy Over Stack
Aaron Edgell, CMO of Alliant International University, says his team is consciously sidestepping the martech artificial intelligence (AI) arms race. “Every week, there’s a new ‘game-changing’ tool—but without a clear experiment behind it, it’s just noise,” he explains. Instead of piling on new platforms, Edgell emphasizes refining the thinking, hypotheses and structure behind what they test. “That’s where the real leverage is. Strategy first. Tools second.”
This intentional restraint helps Edgell’s team avoid tool fatigue and keep their focus on outcomes, not features. Rather than becoming early adopters for the sake of it, they prioritize disciplined experimentation, better ensuring each new technology aligns with broader goals.
Community with Purpose, Not Performance
Amber Brown, SVP of Product and Marketing at Clario, has a nuanced take on the community-led growth trend. While many brands are rushing to set up Slack groups and member forums, Brown is hitting pause. “You can’t manufacture belonging with a Slack invite and a welcome email,” she says.
Brown recalls past experiences where companies launched groups without a clear purpose—no unresolved tension to address, no shared mission. “And the result? Another ghost town with KPIs,” she adds. For Brown, real community requires gravity, leadership alignment and a commitment to nurturing engagement over time—not just a vanity metric for a dashboard.
AI That Empowers, Not Replaces
At 360 ONE, CMO Ronak Sheth is embracing AI—but doing so with deliberate boundaries. “We’re fully leveraging AI tools, [but] we’re doing it to empower our people, not to replace them,” Sheth says.
His team is growing, but with a focus on hiring individuals who know how to work alongside AI. From prompt engineering to campaign performance analysis, the goal is to use automation to free up time for what Sheth calls “human storytelling”—the kind that builds trust and emotional resonance.
He’s equally wary of chasing virality: “We’re far more focused on building meaningful, trust-led connections. In this hyper-digital world, human connection will be the biggest differentiator.”
“Brands don’t win by blending in with algorithm-fed sameness; they win by standing out.”
The Case for Creative Discipline
For Magda Paslaru, Founder and CEO of RainbowIdea, restraint in the face of AI-generated content hype is a strategic choice. “Yes, AI is powerful—we use it strategically—but we’re not replacing original thinking with mass-produced content,” she says.
Paslaru believes that standout campaigns come from clarity, creativity and a strong point of view. “Brands don’t win by blending in with algorithm-fed sameness; they win by standing out.” Her team chooses quality over quantity, crafting fewer but sharper campaigns that are designed to spark emotion, not just engagement.
Sustainability Over Virality
Boris Dzhingarov, CEO of ESBO, takes issue with the flood of short-form video campaigns dominating platforms like TikTok and Instagram. “These formats often lack long-term SEO value or brand equity,” he explains. While others chase virality, his team invests in digital PR, evergreen content and authoritative link-building—tactics that build visibility over time.
“Chasing trends can lead to shallow metrics—likes, views, fleeting clicks—without meaningful engagement or conversions,” he says. For Dzhingarov, success is about building credibility and owning your traffic, not renting it from social platforms.
Action Steps for Marketing Leaders
- Don’t chase every new tool. Start with strategy, and let tools serve the plan.
- Build community with intention, not as a performance metric.
- Use AI to support and scale human creativity, not replace it.
- Resist content churn—create fewer, bolder campaigns rooted in original insight.
- Avoid chasing virality for its own sake—focus on sustainable visibility and audience trust.
Why Intentionality Is Better Than Following Marketing Trends
The marketers featured here aren’t averse to innovation—they’re just intentional about how and when they embrace it. In a world where trends evolve faster than most teams can keep up, discernment becomes a competitive advantage. What these leaders have in common is a deep understanding that long-term success isn’t built on fads—it’s built on purpose, strategy and trust. In 2025, marketing that lasts is marketing that’s thoughtful.
