2025 was another busy year for digital marketing. AI stopped feeling like a new gadget and started becoming part of everyday work. Search and social continued to merge. Audiences were harder to define, yet easier to understand if you knew what signals to pay attention to. And through it all, we kept asking the same question: what does it take to grow internationally in a world that won’t stop changing?
Looking back at our blogs from the year, several themes emerge.
Discovery in a shifting platform landscape
We began the year by asking whether your brand should be on Bluesky Social. Every year brings a new platform that promises to change everything, and every year we see some fade away as quickly as they appeared. Remember Clubhouse? Vine? Threads? Platforms rise, fall, and merge, but the real story is what sits beneath them: how people discover things online.
That’s why later in the year we explored how search and social are quietly merging. The lines between a search query and a social scroll are getting thinner, and brands that understand this crossover are the ones shaping the next phase of discovery.
The rise of AI, context, and meaning
It’s impossible to reflect on 2025 without talking about AI, and we certainly did. We explored Google’s AI Mode and what it means for search visibility, and examined the pitfalls of context collapse in AI marketing. When machines are reading, summarising, and quoting content, how do you preserve meaning across different cultures and audiences?
Our Local In-Market Experts, or LIMEs, helped us unpack the nuances. From high-context to low-context cultures, they reminded us that human insight still matters, even in an algorithmic world. We also looked at where AI can misread keywords and the potential costs, and how to track metrics that genuinely matter as measurement evolves. When OpenAI launched its Atlas browser, we considered what an AI-first web could mean for marketers everywhere, and how to balance automation with human judgment.
Our Local In-Market Experts, or LIMEs, helped us unpack the nuances. From high-context to low-context cultures, they reminded us that human insight still matters, even in an algorithmic world. We also looked at where AI can misread keywords and the potential costs, and how to track metrics that genuinely matter as measurement evolves. When OpenAI launched its Atlas browser, we considered what an AI-first web could mean for marketers everywhere, and how to balance automation with human judgment.
Beyond Borders and the bigger picture
This was also the year we published Beyond Borders: The Power of Local Expertise in an Algorithmic World, our second book following Going Global. It brought together so much of what we’ve learned about international marketing. The book explores how brands can combine AI and human insight, balance global reach with local relevance, and build authenticity across markets. We wrote it to make sense of how technology and expectations are changing the way people connect internationally.
B2B gets personal
B2B had a big year too. We explored the ‘messy middle’, the journey from the first spark of awareness to the final purchase decision. Along the way, we looked at why thought leadership doesn’t always translate across borders, how LinkedIn strategies should vary by market, and the role of SEO in B2B. We also discussed whether the traditional whitepaper still has a place in an AI-driven world.
First-party viewpoints have become increasingly important, because they’re one thing AI can’t replicate. B2B decision-makers respond to human insight, so we encourage our clients to surface internal expertise through their content. We practised what we preached with our own guide: Viewpoints: How AI is Reshaping B2B Marketing – Through the Eyes of the Experts, featuring first-person interviews from across our business. Hard copies were handed out at the B2B Marketing Expo in November, but you can get hold of the PDF version here.
B2B marketing was once seen as purely logical, a world apart from consumer marketing. That’s changing. Decision-makers now expect the same clarity, creativity, and seamless experience they see as consumers. By highlighting internal expertise through initiatives like Viewpoints, B2B brands can connect on a human level while adapting to local market differences.
A changing workplace and a new chapter for Oban
In July, we celebrated becoming an Employee Ownership Trust. For us, this wasn’t just a structural change but a statement about who we are. It means every team member has a stake in Oban’s future and a voice in shaping it. We wrote about why we did it and what it means for our clients: stability, commitment, and a business built for the long term.
We also marked International Women’s Day by sharing stories from some of the brilliant women in our Brighton HQ. The theme was ‘Accelerating Action’, and each story showed what that looks like in practice – from overcoming barriers and finding mentors to backing yourself and helping others do the same. It was a reminder that progress isn’t abstract; it happens through real people taking action, often in small but significant ways. Later in the year, we explored how inclusivity varies by region, recognising that diversity and inclusion take different shapes around the world.
The global consumer and the luxury lens
In June, we attended the Walpole Luxury Summit and came away with fresh insights into how the definition of luxury is evolving. We shared what we learned about engaging high-end consumers in the GCC and how luxury consumption itself is changing. Today’s luxury buyer is more digitally fluent, sustainability-minded, and culturally diverse than ever before.
Performance, precision and practical know-how
We never lose sight of the fundamentals. This year we looked at how to use paid media to test new markets, compared the ROI of SEO and paid media for international growth, and shared advice on improving display performance and writing better ad and landing page copy.
We also examined how we expect video to influence search, paid media, and social in 2026, and shared practical tips for improving your video campaigns.
The calendar that keeps on giving
One of our most popular annual releases, the Global Marketing Calendar, is back for 2026, covering more than 150 dates across 60 countries. From Winterlude in Canada to Chinese New Year to the USA’s 250th Independence Day, it helps marketers plan ahead with practical insight. We highlighted 10 key dates in a blog to give a flavour of how the calendar can be used. The point isn’t just to know when an event happens, but to understand why it matters and how it can be put to work. Think of it as a tool for smarter campaign planning, helping you connect with audiences at the right time and in the right way.
BrightonSEO gave fresh ideas as always
In October, BrightonSEO gave us plenty to think about. We captured our key takeaways in a blog, covering how people are discovering, scrolling, and buying online. Highlights included making accessibility a real advantage, treating TikTok as a full ecosystem where discovery, entertainment, and shopping all happen, and ensuring every social post delivers value on its own. It was a reminder that even with new tools and platforms, marketing works best when you understand the people you’re trying to reach.
Looking ahead to 2026
2025 showed us what AI can do. 2026 is about putting it to work for your international campaigns and making sure they actually connect with the people you’re trying to reach. If you want to start the year with smarter, more effective global marketing, get in touch.
Let’s accelerate action together
At Oban, we believe change happens when we act, support each other, and keep moving forward. These stories show how small steps can make a big difference. If you want to improve your digital marketing, get in touch. Let’s get started.
