25 things for 2025

This season’s Chinese New Year fireworks were particularly loud and robust.

Can we take that as a sign of business and consumer confidence that augers well for the Malaysian communications landscape?

Or are we still going to suffer the effects of the Boycott and worry about the slowing GDP growth rate, which fell from 5.3% to 5% for Q4 2024?

To go beyond looking at the sky and counting bursts of light, we decided to put together 25 aspects of media, communications and creativity that we think will matter in 2025.

1. Ad spend may decline: Total ad spend, monitored by Nielsen, has declined by a whopping 12.3% from 2023FY to 2024FY (RM 12b to RM 10.9 b) We do not expect total ad spend in 2025FY to increase much, at most it would stabilize or grow slightly by 2-3%. There is a real risk it will decline further as radio and TV ad spends could reduce.

2. Too much digital, but this will continue: Digital now forms more than 74% of total adex. This trend of increasing digital ad spends will continue in 2025, even though Ampersand Advisory believes that Malaysian advertisers have gone overboard and so much online spend is lopsided and counter-productive. Our research and case studies show traditional media still has a huge role to play.

3. Print is in the ICU: Print ad spend has declined from RM 1 billion (2022) to RM 837million (2024) as per Nielsen. This is however based on rate card, so the actual ad spend will be at least 30% lower.

4. Radio ga-ga: Radio ad spend has declined from RM 440m in 2022 to RM 424 m in 2024. Despite listenership surveys showing that people still tune in, we expect more decline.

5. Free to Air still lives: Surprisingly, Media Prima TV Networks have held their ground. Advertisers increasingly want to reach the masses. Ad spend has grown slightly from RM 3.49 billion in 2022 to RM 3.69 billion in 2024.

6. Astro is fighting piracy and cord-cutters: We expect Pay TV to continue to lose viewers, though that could mean good deals are available to advertisers in 2025. Ad spends on Pay TV have declined from RM 6.13 billion (2022) to RM 4.79 billion (2024). Piracy and cord-cutters will continue to  hurt this behemoth.

7. Billboards buoyant: Outdoor is growing and expected to grow. However, 92% of all screens are static, while DOOH now has 51% of ad spends in the medium. That means we are seeing and will see more empty static billboards, and media owners will convert to digital. However, that comes with capital costs, and there is a serious risk of too many digital screens and clutter.

8. Big screen, not so big budgets: Cinema advertising is growing, from RM 130 million in 2022 to RM 147 million in 2024. This was despite very few Hollywood blockbusters screening in the previous year. Local content is on the rise, which brings me to my next point.

9. Local content draws eyeballs: Local films had a great year, especially Astro Shaw productions. 6 of the top 10 highest grossing local films were made by Astro Shaw. And the top grossing film of the year was Sheriff, which beat Hollywood and all comers by a wide margin. Consumers are increasingly watching local movies, for sure.

10. Branded reality content still works: Calpis Soda One In A Million, drew record eyeballs, scoring a rating of 6+ from its very first episode. In the end, its 8 week run saw over 2 billion reach in terms of impressions, 20 million views online, as well as the highest TV viewership for a non-news programme.

Produced by TV3 and executive produced by Etika’s CEO Santharuban Thurai Sundaram and VP of Marketing Amy Gan, this show has infiltrated the nation as well as conversations in marketing departments. Astro’s. Gegarvaganza has also done well, and these results do highlight the opportunity for brands to entertain.

11. Fear the big B: The big B, Boycott, is not over, though some brands report that some consumer segments are slowly coming back. We anticipate the impact of the boycott to be felt in changed consumer habits: if you have not drunk a Starbucks for over 16 months, would you feel the need to do so now? Especially in categories where there are viable substitutes, we don’t see a comeback to pre-October 2023 days.

12. Local publishers struggle, and will continue to: Local publishers are struggling, as the lion’s share of digital ad budgets are going to Google, Meta, TikTok. This is especially sad when these local publications have readers and eyeballs in the millions. We expect this depressing trend to continue in 2025. For media planners, this is a buying opportunity: eyeballs at low cost.

13. Data remains under-explored: most brands are not analysing or mining their own data. When was the last time you got a relevant message or communication from your bank, or telco, or supermarket? Malaysia’s under-utilization of data will continue, thus the few brands who do explore data will excel.

14. Pickleball and padel are growing sports: there are over 595 pickleball courts in Courtsite, an app which allows you to book and pay online. This is the fastest growing sport in Malaysia currently, and brands like CelcomDigi, Volvo have jumped into it, trying to hit a winner. We expect more brands to get onto the courts in 2025.

15. Mass sports remain strong: Football, badminton, cycling and running will continue to hold their bases of support. E-sports too have more than 2 million regular players today.

16. AI is everywhere: AI is becoming mainstream, and will dominate the discussion in boardrooms. Having an AI strategy in communications is not mandatory yet, but early adopters who use it smartly will profit. Today most agencies are using AI for visuals and storyboards, for copywriting, for idea generation and sending out better crafted emails. Automation will come soon too.

17. Belt-tightening and little rewards: While inflation makes consumers tighten their belts, and with Trumpian tariffs looming large, people will still indulge. Whether that’s spending RM 50-100 for a movie ticket, or trying out an RM 20 speciality coffee, or buying the latest sneaker from On Cloud or Hoka,  people will seek to give themselves little shots of dopamine.

Internal tourism and short holidays will also rise, as longer haul travel to Europe or beyond will be constrained by budgets.

18. Health is hot: Research shows 83% of Malaysians will search for health information and not rely solely on their doctors. Strong traditions of Chinese Medicine and home remedies also broaden the possible solutions, and with rising healthcare and insurance costs, this field takes centrestage in consumers’ minds. Insurance companies will spend more. As Malaysia ages, health concerns will only rise.

19. WFH will continue: Ad conglomerate WPP faced a global backlash when it tried to get its staff to come to work 4 days a week. As white collar workers expect and demand WFH and hybrid employment, the investment in better living conditions: larger homes, a home office, better wifi and furniture will continue.

Conversely, the beauty industry and luxury apparel, already hit by the more casual approach to work, may continue to suffer.

20. Gen Z is lonely: digitally connected but emotionally lonely, 67% of Gen Z when surveyed said people are lonelier than a decade ago. Dubbed “the Loneliest Generation”, our youth will face depression, anxiety, FOMO and more. Brands that create experiences in the real world can help bring joy to Gen Z. They will have to struggle to get them off their phones though!

21. Social commerce will grow: It’s not going away, it’s only going to grow, especially as consumers use Tiktok and Instagram to search. Google Search will plateau, though Gemini and other AI tools are being deployed to arrest the decline of search.

22. Price sensitivity lingers: As brands try to grow, discounting and price promotion is seen as the most effective and immediate lever. Expect more of these in 2025, at the cost of brand-building.

23. Influencers are polarizing: Love ‘em or hate ‘em, we can’t do without them. Now a part of every media plan, the role of influencers will continue to grow in 2025. However, they don’t appeal to all audiences, and our research shows that they can be polarizing: 50% of audiences love ’em, and the other 50% find them annoying or irrelevant to their purchase.

24. Malls must evolve: Malls will need to differentiate and attract footfall. Consumers will seek more dining and leisure options, while actual shopping may reduce as they continue to seek deals online. Our heuristic indicator: once you start getting parking more easily in Mid Valley, you know something has changed.

25. Finally, emotions: Emotion still sells. With increased ad clutter, ads that cut through emotionally or with humour stand a better chance. In “The Extraordinary Cost of Dull,” eatbigfish’s Adam Morgan, Peter Field and Jon Evans explore the problem with dull advertising, its financial implications and ways to defeat it. Agencies and clients would do well to note this, as the business gets even harder in 2025.

Sandeep Joseph is the CEO and co-founder of Ampersand Advisory, Campaign Global Media Independent Agency of the Year and FT Statista 500 High Growth Companies Asia Pacific 2023, 2024. He can be reached at sandeep@ampersand-advisory.com