SOCIAL MATTER — THE YEAR RELEVANCE BECAME STRATEGY – VOL 04

The year 2025 has consolidated AI as a technological tool and has also managed to embed itself in cultural conversation and brand strategy. Brands have moved from experimentation to practical application, integrating AI into creativity, campaigns, and strategies… In a year full of changes, one thing has remained constant: the value of brands that matter, also in the social ecosystem.
 

1. THE YEAR AI WENT FROM TOOL TO LANGUAGE

From brand tool to pop culture engine

Brands have adopted AI following two major strategic paths. On one hand, we see functional AI, focused on process optimization and service personalization; on the other, creative AI, which uses generative technology as a new canvas for creativity and communication.

Both strategies seek a place in the brand ecosystem. Functional AI appears in tools such as Ralph Lauren’s ‘Ask Ralph’, an AI agent for luxury clienteling. Creative AI is visible in brands like IKEA joining social media conversations using AI to generate content.

At the same time, a third force has emerged: AI as a driver of pop culture. Major trends (like the “Studio Ghibli” filter or Dall-E viral content) no longer originate from brands, but from the audience. The challenge is no longer just to use AI (functional or expressive), but to understand and connect with the culture that the technology itself is generating.
 

2. THE SHIFT TO TRUST: PEOPLE TRUST PEOPLE

The power returns to authentic voices and communities

Trust has shifted from logos to people. A message reaches 561% more people if shared by individuals behind the official account, whose networks are 10 times larger than the company’s. Social Leadership has stopped being optional and has become the most effective reach strategy.

An interesting shift is also happening in the luxury sector. Many brands have reduced the presence of major influencers at events, overwhelmed by exposure that generates likes but no real business impact or brand value. Instead, they are betting on profiles with history and credibility, such as athletes, entrepreneurs, actors, or musicians. The focus moves from appearance to meaning: less posing, more contribution, less noise, more authentic voice.

These two phenomena lead to the same conclusion: power resides in the community. The challenge is no longer to create a community with a hashtag, but to find existing communities, understand their codes, and build from them, earning the right to participate.
 

3. NOSTALGIA, TEXTURE, AND TRUTH: WHY THE TANGIBLE MATTERS AGAIN

The resurgence of the tangible in the digital age

This year, brands have moved between two complementary poles. On one hand, the adoption of AI to generate new visual universes (such as Coca-Cola’s recent campaign); on the other, the Back to Basics trend, which revives materiality and physical processes. Far from opposing strategies, they coexist in the market: technology scales creativity, while craftsmanship adds texture and warmth, helping certain brands stand out in the digital environment.

This focus on tangibility is evident across sectors. Apple TV+ renewed its visual identity using manual processes and real camera capture, favoring physical objects over computer generation for its new intro. In luxury, Jacquemus has transcended fashion to return to roots: origin, nature, and the tangible.

In line with this, physical formats are also experiencing a resurgence, with examples such as digital reading communities crystallizing in physical book clubs led by creators, or the growing popularity of vinyl, driven by Generation Z seeking a break from digital connection. Similarly, classic tangible hobbies like sewing, ceramics, and crochet or knitting are reclaiming Generation Z, who breaks leisure stereotypes, avoids screens in free time, and chooses creative hobbies.

The retro and handmade movement has become a powerful communication asset on social media, as showing human processes and real textures generates high visual impact compared to pure digital imagery. This “back to basics” trend responds to audience needs and preferences, rooted in nostalgia and the search for authenticity.
 

4. FROM EXPOSURE TO CONNECTION: WHEN QUALITY AND INTENTION REPLACED FREQUENCY

Social media is no longer a public photo album

Social media no longer rewards constant presence, but content with intention. Posting just to post no longer works: today, building a brand on social requires thinking, planning, and adding meaning.

The interest algorithm sets the rules. It personalizes what we see and decides what thrives or dies in the feed. For brands, understanding preferences and insights is not enough; it matters how they respond to them. Leaders like VICIO, MilfShakes, or Nude Project demonstrate this by adopting drop-based strategies, content designed to entertain and create anticipation. It is not an aesthetic or trend choice: it is a channel necessity (quality over quantity). If a brand wants relevance, it must adapt its strategy to what the algorithm and audience demand.

Welcome to the age of fascination. First, we competed to sell. Then to capture attention. Today, we compete to fascinate. Visibility is no longer enough: we must provoke extended attention, inviting immersion in a universe. It is not the ephemeral that wins, but the unexpected, the sublime, the memorable, the valuable. Fascination creates emotional connection and activates the FOMO that sustains communities around a brand.