The Post Office scandal, the triumphs and defeats at the Euros, the Labour landslide and Trump’s second run to the White House were among the biggest news stories of 2024. With 24 million(source PAMCo H2 2024) people turning to news brands — across apps, papers, websites, podcasts, videos and more — every single day, professionally curated journalism in all its forms remains in high demand.
Trust in the craft of journalism is key here, especially when considered against a backdrop of fake news, misinformation and operators who no longer care about the truth. It is clear that quality, regulated and trusted journalism is more important than ever.
So, what does 2025 hold for UK news brands? News publishers will continue evolving, innovating and adapting, as they have always done, in response to shifting audience preferences and the changing political and economic landscape. Technological innovations in data and AI will be key drivers of change across the news publishing industry, underpinned by the values of trust and quality.
Here’s a snapshot of five key themes that news brands will offer to advertisers this year.
State of the nation: challenging, complex and chaotic
News brands will double down on understanding their readers. They they will continue to speak for them, speak with them and stand up for them, delivering the news and information that helps readers interpret the world around them. And the relationship is mutual. Audiences will continue to value the importance of quality journalism — a recent OnePoll survey highlights that 83% of people recognise the need to support trusted and verified information, especially in a world where the majority of Brits (73%) believe the challenges of the world are more complex than 10 years ago. On a personal level, Brits believe their personal finances, work and poor physical health that will cause them the most stress this year. People want journalists to continue to focus on being a trusted voice (60%), fight misinformation (56%) and hold power to account (40%), tell original stories (23%) and simplify the complex (21%). You name it and journalists will have it covered for their readers. Conversely, half of people believe that the social platforms contribute negatively to the national conversation, with a third determined to scroll social media feeds less this year.
What this means for advertisers
People clearly understand the importance of news brands and trusted journalism. And if they want to spend more time in these environments, publishers are primed to deepen those relationships. Publishers are already in a unique position with their first-party data, compromising of millions of registered users and billions of consented monthly data points putting them in an incredible position of expertise, targeting and understanding of their readers at an intimate level. Combined with the direct and growing bond between journalist and user this provides a perfect opportunity for advertisers to get directly involved with these audiences at an authentic level in a language they relate to, and a format they want (written, audio, visual, digital or all combined).
Trust: human content is a premium
With AI-generated content becoming ubiquitous, human-created/edited content will become more trusted, unique and authentic and therefore valued as a premium product. Six in 10 people already trust new brands because they are held accountable to laws and regulations and this rises to 71% among 18-24s (Source: Trust, more than a feeling, IPA Databank, Tapestry & d.fferento/ogy). For news publishers, this will result in a concentrated focus on marketing that celebrates quality journalism, emphasising its trust and reliability — qualities already valued by readers. Editorial strategies will adopt a more personal approach, offering greater transparency into newsrooms and producing “how it was made” explainers. Journalists and contributors will showcase more of their personalities and forge even stronger personal connections with their audience.
What this means for advertisers
In a world where content is universal — but trust and provenance are not — news brands will continue to offer advertisers the opportunity to tell their brand stories in trusted, fact-checked, quality, environments, which will increase the trust in their brands. This is important for advertisers because — according to the latest analysis of the IPA Databank by Peter Field — brand trust is now undisputedly linked to profit. And all the evidence shows that news brands have become increasingly effective at driving positive returns for brands because of this invaluable metric: Trust.
AI
News brands will continue to expand and develop AI-driven data-led products and services.
When it comes to generative AI, news publishers are aware of the attached opportunities and risks. Ultimately harnessing technology to take away admin tasks, freeing up time for journalists to be out in field, investigating stories, fighting for what’s right and holding the powerful to account, can only be a good thing. However, AI can’t answer a call, knock on a door or go undercover — it will never replace the hugely important work that journalists do — but used carefully and strategically, it has the potential to drive efficiency, productivity, personalisation and ultimately grow audiences. So, publishers will continue to test and learn, with both caution and governance. When it comes to the operational side of news brands, the adoption of AI will continue to transform advertising operations into a more intelligent, efficient, and creative domain – with manual workloads becoming automated.
What this means for advertisers
Advertising processes within publishers will become more efficient, data-driven, and personalised, delivering better results for brands and consumers alike. The improvements for advertisers will be vast and will include much greater ad optimisation, supercharged A/B testing, highly personalised and bespoke real time content and the unprecedented ability to process and analyse vast amounts of news brands’ first party data to uncover hidden patterns and trends. Predictive analytics models will use this data to forecast customer behaviour, enabling more accurate targeting and audience segmentation so that advertisers can craft strategies that resonate more effectively with their audiences, reducing wasted spend and enhancing campaign performance.
Video, voice and apps
There will be diversification in terms of both content development and the way in which this content is distributed by news brands. Video will continue to be at the heart of most publishers’ investment and growth areas, including short-form video across established platforms and new channels. The successful development of longer-form vertical video franchises will also continue to flourish, including investigative and entertainment editorial content on websites, apps and streaming services. News brands will continue to develop audio products, from streaming to podcasts and bite-size voice content. Snappy audio content will become a vital part of publishers’ portfolios as people continue to consumer on-the-go formats, in some cases combining video and audio. The resurgence of apps, will continue, driven by people’s desire for convenience, speed, and personalisation. Renewed interest in mobile app engagement will be critical for news publishers as it provides a logged in environment to deliver personalisation and sophisticated monetisation strategies with greater control.
What this means for advertisers
All this will continue to evolve the way that news publishers forge greater engagement with their audience driving connections across multiple platforms. This will supercharge commercial integrated partnership opportunities for advertisers, helping them to reach a broader audience range — from Gen Alpha to Gen Z to the Baby Boomers — and tell their own brand stories in new, deeper and impactful ways.
Data driven personalisation
Publishers will focus on expanding their registered user base — whether that be through paid-for subscriptions or attracting logged in users — providing more reasons for people to share their data through premium content offerings, rewards, community features and enhanced advertising experience, as well as partnering with other parties in the space including advertisers and retail media to maximize opportunities. News publishers will offer a varied, flexible and pragmatic approach to data capture (and monetisation) to ensure alignment with varying business models. For all news publishers building stronger personal connections between journalists and readers will be essential in fostering even greater trust and loyalty, which will deliver an unrivalled competitive edge in market.
What this means for advertisers
The expansion of first-party data offerings, coupled with the evolution of AI technologies will lead to more powerful and personalised contextual targeting capabilities within news publishers, expanding on their ability to tailor commercial content to individual reader preferences, whether that’s based on browser habits, location, preferences and even emotions. This in turn will drive uplifts in both brand and business outcomes for advertisers.
Summary
Are we now at a tipping point? Will advertisers begin to invest more in fact-checked, responsible, accountable media partners such as news brands, that deliver scale and effective storytelling?
In a world of endless distractions, marketers and agency planners need to refocus on what truly resonates: real life moments of joy, real life challenges and chaos, meaningful connections that help and guide people in their lives and work that sparks emotion and stays in the memory. It’s not just about being noticed: it’s about creating something that matters. This is where news brands shine. They’re more than publishers — they’re cultural touchpoints, life accelerators that inspire and engage.
Through high quality, thoughtful storytelling, news brands deliver something invaluable and unrivalled in today’s fast paced media landscape: time well spent. News brand campaigns don’t just reach audiences; they connect with them, creating moments of resonance that foster lasting loyalty. In a crowded market, it’s these meaningful experiences and relationships that set brands apart. Working in close collaboration with publishers, advertisers have the opportunity to create work that doesn’t just fill the page but stays in the hearts and minds of our audiences.
Because journalism in all its forms benefits people, society and brands.
