Article written by:

Tomasz Zduleczny, Global Strategy Director, SentiOne | Dominika Madej, CEE PR & Marketing Manager, SentiOne

There is no doubt that 2025 will be remembered as a breakthrough year for video marketing. Video has stopped being an add-on to communication strategies and has become their very core. At the same time, it has become increasingly clear that creativity alone is no longer enough. Today, brand advantage is driven by the combination of emotions, technology, and intelligent use of data.

The Most Interesting Video Campaigns of 2025: Emotions Instead of Advertising

Over the past year, we have seen numerous campaigns proving that effective video today is primarily about storytelling and building experiences, rather than direct sales.

One of the strongest examples was Empik’s “Welcome to the Club” campaign — a project that focused not on promoting a specific service, but on building a sense of community and belonging. It perfectly illustrates the shift in brand thinking: from sales messages toward creating worlds and emotional connections.

Financial sector campaigns also stood out. ING Bank Śląski, with its campaign “Retirement Is Closer Than You Think,” tapped into nostalgia and pop culture from the 1990s and 2000s, reminding audiences how quickly time passes. Instead of frightening consumers with the future, the brand used humor and emotion to make long-term saving feel approachable.

Meanwhile, XTB, in its campaign “This Is Where Your Money Works,” focused on education and transparency. Showing the “behind-the-scenes” of investing responded to a growing audience need to understand financial mechanisms rather than rely on blind trust.

Another noteworthy example is Rossmann, which consistently delivers on its brand mission: “We inspire and support people in loving themselves every day.” Stories featuring Maja Ostaszewska and Jakub Błaszczykowski demonstrate that self-care is not a luxury but a daily practice. It is a campaign that sells values, not products.

A symbolic sign of the times was also the educational campaign by the Ministry of Energy, “Time to Understand the Atom,” in which Marie Skłodowska-Curie was brought to life using AI. The project showed how artificial intelligence can meaningfully support educational storytelling and help explain complex topics in an accessible way.

Video Marketing in 2025: Shorter, Faster, More Interactive

The year 2025 confirmed the dominance of short-form video. TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts became the main battlegrounds for audience attention. Formats lasting 15–60 seconds proved sufficient to tell a story, evoke emotions, and achieve sales objectives at the same time.

A major leap forward was the rise of shoppable video, which seamlessly merged video with e-commerce. Viewers can now watch content, click on a product, and complete a purchase without leaving the app. Video stopped merely inspiring — it started converting.

Interactive video formats also gained importance: story path selection, clickable elements, and micro-quizzes. These not only increase engagement but also provide invaluable data on user preferences and intentions.

AI in 2025: Democratizing Video, But Not Without Challenges

Artificial intelligence was one of the biggest catalysts for change. In 2025, AI supported editing, subtitles, dubbing, translations, and the creation of multiple versions of the same asset. As a result, even smaller brands could afford professional video campaigns, with production time and costs significantly reduced.

At the same time, the market quickly noticed AI’s limitations. Over-automated, “plastic-looking” content was more often skipped by audiences. This sparked an important discussion around authenticity, ethics, and the role of humans in the creative process. In 2025, AI stopped being a novelty and became a tool that must be used consciously.

Data as the Key to Effective Video Marketing

With the growing volume of content, the biggest challenge today is not a lack of data, but the ability to separate signal from noise. Brands that succeeded in 2025 were those that listened to their audiences and responded to real needs, emotions, and cultural context.

This is where social listening plays a crucial role. Tools like SentiOne enable brands to analyze millions of conversations from social media, forums, blogs, and news portals. Thanks to this, brands can:

• better understand which topics truly matter to their audiences,
• identify emotions and sentiment around campaigns,
• test creative ideas before full-scale execution,
• react faster to changing market expectations.

In the world of video marketing, data has become the foundation of strong storytelling — helping brands create content that is relevant, timely, and credible.

2026: More AI, Even More Responsibility

The coming year will bring further AI development, but the technology will increasingly “hide behind the scenes.” Audiences will no longer ask whether something was created by AI — they will judge content solely on quality, authenticity, and value.

In 2026, key priorities will include:

• hyper-personalized video based on context, intent, and behavioral data,
• deeper integration of video with omnichannel and e-commerce,
• transparency and ethics in AI usage,
• combating content fatigue through simplicity, truth, and emotional credibility.

Social media will increasingly shift toward educational platforms, with brands acting as guides that help users navigate complex decisions — from finance to technology.

The Biggest Changes, Challenges, and Trends for 2026

The year 2026 will mark a new phase of collaboration between AI and humans. Competitive advantage will lie in the ability to create authentic content and meaningful experiences. As audiences become unable to distinguish AI-generated content from human-made content, sincerity, expert voice, and cognitive value will grow in importance.

AI will evolve into a predictive partner — not only analyzing data, but also recommending priorities and directions. Organizations will move from “big data” to “right data,” focusing on context, behavior, and intent. Creators, ambassadors, and influencers will produce content that feels lighter and closer to audiences, making it more human. Digital processes will be simplified to the maximum, and user experiences will become seamless, short, and intuitive — because they will define brand advantage.

In 2026, the winners will be organizations that combine the technological precision of AI with the human ability to build relationships, emotions, and trust.

Summary

The year 2025 showed that the future of marketing is not driven by technology alone. Advantage comes from combining AI with human creativity, data with emotions, and speed with authenticity. In 2026, brands that truly listen — to their audiences, the market, and data — will be the ones creating content that not only captures attention but also builds lasting relationships and trust.